Paul Haddad Jan 20, 2023
I have 3 items left before our first and maybe even last beta build. Unfortunately all 3 are things that need to run on a real device and/or testflight builds, which makes things significantly more complex to work on.
Show threadGiorgio RomanoJan 21, 2023

@paul the price in the beta is the price you have decided to use on release?

Can I ask why the price is almost triple of that of tweetbot? I will subscribe anyway, fantastic product, but as a fellow developer i’m curious for the choice

I suppose the reason is the reduced market share, and the increase schould compensate the fewer total subscriber to mangiane your reveneue almost stable

Additional, plan to migrate tweetbot subscription? With price increase obviously

Show threadPaul Haddad 

@GiorgioRomano Good question. The price will be higher for a lot of reasons. Above anything else we want sustainable pricing, good for us since we don't have to get a real jobs, good for everyone else because their favorite app can stick around for another 10+ years.

The market is, for now, smaller but also Tweetbot was way too cheap for the value it provided. We're trying to compensate for that, while also keeping in mind that we want new users on the app and networks.

Jan 21, 2023 at 4:32pmWeb
Show threadDylanJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano I’ve gotta admit that I didn’t remember how much tweetbot cost, so went to check the pricing to see it was still an incredibly reasonable $15/yr. You could tell me that’s what tweetbot was and I’d believe you. I was worried I was looking at like $30 or something!
Show threadDonnie HarkcomJan 21, 2023
@wavebeam @paul @GiorgioRomano I thought the same thing hah
Show threadJames GilbertJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano @wavebeam My annual subscription in the UK is even less: £5.99
Show threadHJan 21, 2023
@wavebeam @paul @GiorgioRomano Tweetbot was $10 a year or .99c a month this will probably be $35 a year or $3 a month
Show threadPrasenjeet DuttaJan 21, 2023
@wavebeam @paul @GiorgioRomano $15? I was paying £6 a year for Tweetbot 😦 although I did unlock other features with a tip.
Show threadRick WilliamsJan 21, 2023
@wavebeam @paul @GiorgioRomano exact same. I saw mentions of 3x and was expecting like $60. Tweetbot was way underpriced.
Show threadJohn ClaytonJan 21, 2023
@wavebeam @paul @GiorgioRomano I’ll gladly pay that before letting Space Karen get a single impression. Can’t wait for Ivory!
Show threadrickJan 21, 2023
@wavebeam @paul @GiorgioRomano wait $15/year is the Ivory price? TweetBot was less than that?? I honestly don't think I even looked at the price.
Show threadKate BrandenJan 21, 2023
@rick @wavebeam @paul @GiorgioRomano TweetBot was $7, I think. Ridiculously low, IMO.
Show threadrickJan 21, 2023
@katebranden yeah that's like the price of a smoothie now
Show threadTymJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano Will the subscription cover macOS also?
Show threadJosh McConnell Jan 21, 2023
@tym @paul @GiorgioRomano I’d be curious about that too. If the price includes macOS then that’s pretty solid
Show threadJake has moved!Jan 21, 2023
@paul I used tweetbot for 6+ years for my original $2.99 (total, not per year) so I suppose I owe you, ha ha!
Show threadSageJan 21, 2023
@paul When you or Mark mentioned the other day about Tweetbot subs reupping soon, I went to the App Store and realized I’d forgotten how inexpensive Tweetbot was. I would happily pay that yearly price as a monthly price.
Show threadThe Duke In Purple~Jan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano
The pricing seems totally reasonable. I was already, admittedly pleasantly, surprised by how little Tweetbot's cost was.
But this is also totally in the range of completely affordable and reasonable.
I would probably offer a "transition deal" for former Tweetbot subscribers if they come over to Ivory. Might nudge a couple more people over to the wooly side of things. 😅
Show threadJonathan JoelsonJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano The price may get competed down over time, but for now Ivory is the only iOS Mastodon client I’m aware of that isn’t a hobby/side-project, and it shows in the polish; the very first alpha, while missing features obviously, was more polished than any other Mastodon app I tried. That’s worth charging (and paying!) for imo.
Show threadGene Cowan 🏳️‍🌈Jan 21, 2023
@paul I feel like I got a decade of every day use from Tweetbot and I’m happy to subscribe at a higher price to a new app with that same usefulness. You really underpriced your hard work all those years.
Show thread6tusBeckmesserJan 21, 2023
@genecowan @paul We are happy to pay! 📣🥂🤣 No, joking aside — this is more than reasonable!
Show threadAmy D Jan 21, 2023

@paul @GiorgioRomano I often wondered why the sub price for TB was so low but I figured it was due to competition.

I'm very happy with the price set in the beta plus I know a ton new features are coming.

Any chance you can build in multi column support for the iPad views? If that won't work from a design perspective, multi window support with Stage manager could work if you could build in awareness between the different windows so you don't end up opening the same view more than once.

Show threadPaul Haddad Jan 21, 2023
@travelingflwr you can already add a side column on iPad and we've supported multiple windows for a while (though to be honest I don't even have a device that can run Stage Mangler).
Show threadAmy D Jan 21, 2023

@paul Yeah, I have that set now. I was thinking of at least one more column. For the iPad, I think there's room for at least one more column.

Let me play with multiple windows and set you some pics. :)

I can't believe I haven't tried that already.

Show threadRobert George 𓇳𓃀𓁹𓏏𓇥𓆓𓀀Jan 21, 2023
@paul @travelingflwr I’m not sure if that was intentional or not, but I will now only refer to it as Stage Mangler.
Show threadPaul Haddad Jan 21, 2023
@rrgeorge @travelingflwr I'm clever that way, sometimes.
Show threadAmy D Jan 21, 2023
@rrgeorge @paul Yeah. Same. That's funny!!
Show threadElias FoxJan 21, 2023
@rrgeorge @paul next time @viticci rants about it that should be the term he uses.
Show threadAmy D Jan 21, 2023
@paul Yeah, ignore my request for more columns.
Show threadMattJan 21, 2023
@paul don’t know if Apple provides a native way to do it, but the capability to gift someone a subscription would be great.
Show threadPaul Haddad Jan 21, 2023
@matt AFAIK they don't offer that, you can give purchases but that's about it.
Show threadMattJan 21, 2023
@paul that’s what I figured. I have a few people that I know I’d get over here but they balk at paying for stuff and it’s easier to give ‘em a subscription than argue lol.
Show threadPaul Haddad Jan 21, 2023
@matt yeah seems like a crazy limitation, I think its the same for one time IAP which makes even less sense.
Show threadJohn MinnihanJan 21, 2023

@paul @GiorgioRomano this exactly: 'way too cheap for the value it created'

a lesson i learned early on in my consulting was to bill for value delivered rather than hours spent. this led to a particularly rewarding opportunity to resolve an issue that had blocked a major networking gear co's (you know them) internal infrastructure initiative for two yrs.

i billed $80k for three days of development. value, not hours.

Show threadNate DaigerJan 21, 2023

@paul

If you put up a Patreon or some other straight-donation page, I’d be thrilled to donate $50 to offset people asking for refunds.

I’ve been enjoying mastodon a ton, and Ivory has made the experience seamless. I don’t miss Twitter one bit.

It’s so pleasant to refocus my attention solely on interesting nerds again, like the old days.

Show threadJared CountsJan 21, 2023
@paul I was surprised that my subscription to Tweetbot was only $5.99/year. Given that I opened it multiple times a day for probably a decade, that price seems low
Show threadStefan ですJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano Honestly, I wish more devs would consider the 10-20$/year (or 1-3$/month) price point. I feel like a lot of apps that originally were a 5-15$ one-time purchase suddenly converted to 3-5$/month which is just too much.
Show threadBrianJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano I was not a Tweetbot subscriber (or much of a Twitter user), and I’m very hesitant to “subscribe” to use software that is not a service. (I prefer the old model of “I pay again when a new, major version is released”, but I understand why that’s not a great option in modern app stores. All that said, I saw the $15/year price tag and went from “I’ll help test, but I doubt any features will be enough to make me subscribe.” to “Oh, that’s far more reasonable than I expected.”
Show thread🇬🇧Daron BrewoodJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano Hoping you'll put in timeline position retainment for the local timeline.
Show threadJesse TremblayJan 21, 2023
@paul I would be willing to pay more than $15/yr
Show threadOlivier MartinJan 21, 2023
@paul agreed, #TweetBot subscription was really cheap, happy to support you guys on #Ivory once it's out !
Show threadSven A. SchmidtJan 21, 2023
@paul Folks need to understand that a higher price is a feature, you buy longevity. And let’s be honest $15ish per year is a very fair price for the product.
Show threadWarner CrockerJan 21, 2023
@finestructure @paul Concur
Show threadSteve ShepardJan 21, 2023
@WarnerCrocker @finestructure @paul Agree.
Show threadPierre H.Jan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano
Show threadMike CohenJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano $15/year is reasonable.
Show threadpaulJan 21, 2023
@paul The best way would be to allow people to tip, in addition to the very reasonable subscription you already have in place (£15/year feels about right, maybe towards the low end of reasonable). You’ve essentially then turned it into “pay what you can afford”.
Show threadRussellJan 21, 2023
@paul hope you consider doing something special so users can help support the transition/launch (beyond just subscribing). Perhaps some kind of early time-limited campaign where supports get an enduring badge/icon/theme/etc.
Show threadMaya DawnJan 21, 2023
@paul Will Ivory at least have one purchase iOS and Mac? I'd rather pay double for one app than twice for the same app.
Show threadBrian HoughJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano I think this is totally fair. The amount of value Tweetbot gave me over the last 10+ years was worth far more than you actually asked for - happy to return the favor now.
Show threadAndy FragenJan 21, 2023
@paul How about $3/month and $30/year?
Show threadChristian KündigJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano Please introduce a 8$ “Stephen King” tier.
Show threadZenishJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano Tweetbot was definitely a steal for an app I used daily. I think the Beta price for Ivory is reasonable.
Show threadStephen HoffmanJan 21, 2023

@paul @GiorgioRomano How do I send y’all more?

USD$19.99 Premier Subscription tier in V1.1?

Because yes, I too want y’all around for a few more years, and with a sustainable app business.

Show threadBen 🌹 Jan 21, 2023
@paul fwiw I was a tweetbot subscriber and if you'd asked me I'd have said 15/yr was cheaper not more expensive hahaha. Will happily pay that for Ivory.
Show threadLorisJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano The price seems fair but will have to include both iOS and Mac version I think
Show threadBud GibsonJan 21, 2023
@paul I think you were limited on what you could do with Twitter. I remember the early days of Tweetbot had this start/stop flavor to them. Your feature set had to be less, and you were always threatened with being cut off. You have room here to create a much better product.
Show threadJason WalkeJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano makes sense. Happy to pay this new price to support the development of an awesome app.
Show threadMatt PollariJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano thanks for the thoughtful reply and will do it.
Show threadMichael GoodmanJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano any plans for a lifetime one off payment?
Show threadJoe MansfieldJan 21, 2023
@paul @GiorgioRomano Take my money. I got 10, maybe 100x, more value out of Tweetbot than you charged for it.
Show threadOlivier Roux (moose)Jan 21, 2023
@GiorgioRomano @paul I’d have happily paid at least €30/year for Tweetbot.