[mattwdelong]

This is pretty neat, but it's not something I would enter my CC details for and pay for each month. I would however drop a one time ~$25 fee and self host it on my own server, and maybe use it. At least this way, I will see it running on my server and periodically update it.

I'm just one person of many, but when I see neat little apps like this I would always much rather pay for it outright than pay for it each month. I don't know why more people don't sell cool services like this. Chances are I am going to just cancel it after a month anyway.

[natep]

Especially for something like this. I might not need this to land a job for years, but when I do, I'll want to know that all the work I put into adding content to this won't have been wasted (i.e. service disappears for any number of reasons, OP is already 98% busy :/).

That's not so say that a hosted, subscription service wouldn't be useful for some, but self-hosing would allow users to solve problems for themselves that would otherwise be feature requests, and hard to design well for everyone.

I know OP doesn't want to be another LinkedIn, but there's no reason why he or someone else couldn't create an opt-in browsable database of these for better discoverability. How awesome would it be if you could click a link next to your hackathon entry and see the status page of other attendees?

[1123581321]

For hosted, an annual fee is appropriate here. A $25 annual fee is quite similar to a one-time fee of $25 because once it is paid, there is nothing to do but use it for an entire year. After a year, it's very obvious whether the app is worth another $25 or not. Either way the developer's compensation is nearly the same assuming many accounts share the low cost of the servers.

[mattwdelong]

There is a mental line between annual and "once and forever" type purchases. I think it comes down to the thought of getting more value and the fact that you own it..it's yours. Secondly, what if I purchase an annual subscription and forget about it the next year? I just paid another $25 for an app I stopped using over 10 months ago. I don't like that hassel of having to remember what my card is attached to and what random fees are going to come out each month, and that's why I don't like subscribing to anything.

I would rather drive a shitty used car at a one time $5k purchase price over a brand new car at $300/month. For the same reason, I also don't get into cell phone contracts and cable subscriptions. I don't know what subset of the population is like me, but I think it would surprise you.

[1123581321]

I agree people are like that, although I am not sure more people are willing to self-install than pay for hosted.

You also make a good point about renewals. Because the cost of annual plans is out of mind for most of the year, it's important they allow users to disable auto-renew. I use Pandora, RescueTime and Forrst and they all have this option.

[justindocanto]

I sent you (OP) a note saying i'd join via a freemium model, but i like this too. I'd pay a flat fee upfront if basic updates were free.

[kennedysgarage]

That is some great insite. I never really thought about that angle. I will have to look more into that type of payment. Thanks for the help!

[matthewlyle]

This was my first reaction too. Very cool, but wouldn't pay monthly for it.