| You are missing the point of lifetime deals.
The early adopters pay a price more than the actual money - risk and time. Venture capitalism is the same. The money does not matter, the risk undertaken is the true cost when investing in a very new product just launched in the market. The early adopters and payers actually fund the most crucial development period of the software. Also, downloadable software does not cause any real loss (except opportunity cost) to the developer unlike cloud based / SaaS where operational costs matter. Once offered, any lifetime deal has to be honoured because credibility matters a lot. Lifetime deals bring in the initial financing that companies need. Without lifetime deals, some products might not take off. An ideal situation is where a developer offers lifetime deals for a developing software, pulls in revenue and traction and thereon, goes on to achieve comfortable monthly membership revenue that can sustain the lifetime deals. THere are many examples of successful software that got launched and found success by raking in LTD money. Most importantly, the lifetime deals can be a viable option against venture funding at the cost of giving up stake in the company. On the side, Remember the time airlines offered lifetime tickets? |
Open ended liabilities are a terrible idea for exactly the airline lifetime ticket reason.