[eftpotrm]

I confess I actually sympathise with him.

At the core his point strikes me as inane - that he won't spend a tiny fraction of the cost of his other equipment to solve a problem, that he clearly underprices his time - but still, the pricing strategy here sounds flawed.

I use Synergy, too; I'm all Windows so Mac-compatibility isn't an issue, but it's a nice program. Note nice though. Not deal-breaker, not revolutionary, not transformative. Could I be persuaded to pay for a better version? Sure, but only so much. Elasticity of demand as highlighted in the article only goes so far; ultimately there will be a ceiling price above which your revenue falls.

It's a gadget, not a core tool, and (IMHO) needs to be priced at the 'impulse buy' level. $25 / machine is enough to make people think (even if it's a tiny fraction of total system cost) and you're suddenly out of impulse and into avoidance.

[bartelsmedia]

> $25/machine is enough to make people think and you're suddenly out of impulse.

And this is ABSOLUTELY intentional.

We do NOT want impulse purchases. We don't believe that it is ethical to lure/seduce users to rush to their credit cards.

We don't believe that it is for any good if people buy something and then perhaps realize that they don't need it, are not able to use it properly and waste everybody's time in support and finally perhaps request a refund and are left with an unhappy experience.

No thanks.

We rather want users to be convinced. The software itself shall stand out and trigger the purchase decision. Not the price tag and not any sales tactics.

I believe, that there are cultural differences between the US and Europe regarding sales approaches but we are just fine with that.

Try the software. Become confident with it. Check prices. Review your options. Try other programs. Be back and we welcome you.

[Czarnian]

Similarly, I have a friend who is in the comic book industry. When he does signings, he brings a bunch of his original work (covers, pages, etc.) with him to sell. He has about 5-10 pieces that he prices at 10x the similar pieces. One time I asked him why cover x was so much more expensive than cover y from the same series.

He said that he's particularly proud of those pieces and that price pretty much guarantees that whoever buys it will take care of it. They'll put it in a proper frame and display it somewhere where it can be appreciated. As opposed to the less expensive pieces which may go in a sleeve and put on a shelf.

[colomon]

I've been a Synergy user several times in the past, and it always seemed great for the first few days and then descended into annoying bugs. (No connection this morning for no apparent reason. Or my mouse gets trapped on one system once or twice a day.)

On the one hand, my notion of how much software should cost says $50 for a Synergy clone is insanely expensive. But if I think of the benefit received, I've got to say that a Synergy clone which Just Works probably is easily worth $50.

[xenonite]

this leads to another market strategy:

people build their computer system and habits around Synergy until they get to its nasty bugs.

then they readily move to the better ShareMouse.

Similarly, most people start out with a small and cheap car. Then, for retirement, they buy a Mercedes.

-> First, you are hinged on, then you strive for the better.