Show HN: No more subscriptions. Find software you can buy once and own forever

https://buyoncesoftware.com

by richbowen • 2 years ago

8 4 2 years ago

buyoncesoftware.com

Do you have a one-time purchase software? Post it!

dirkc• 2 years ago

Nice website. I like the dark theme of the site.

I have a question about your criteria. In the FAQ you say

Buy Once Software is a directory of software products that you can purchase once and own for a lifetime. No subscriptions, no recurring payments, just a one-time purchase.

From that description it doesn't seem like that excludes software relying on hosting, APIs or 3rd party services?

I ask this since I'm developing an app and I'm thinking about pricing. I really like the idea of a one time purchase, but the app has an API and uses push notifications. While the costs are nominal, there is no way that I can commit to keep the app working indefinitely.

And I can't help but feel dishonest if I set the app up as a one time purchase since I know that ultimately it is either not sustainable or claiming that purchasers will have the app forever looses meaning and becomes marketing.

yodon• 2 years ago

SaaS costs money to provide.

There will always be people who don't want to pay for your product. If you run a business, don't spend your time optimizing for the "customers" who refuse to pay you. Optimize for the ones who will pay you. That's how business works.

Customers who insist on getting your SaaS for a one time payment forever are not the customers you want.

JohnFen• 2 years ago

it doesn't seem like that excludes software relying on hosting, APIs or 3rd party services?

I don't know about the author's intent, but from my point of view, it should exclude those things. If I'm using software that relies on an external service somewhere to work, then I can't actually own that software in any meaningful sense.

mlisowsk• 2 years ago

Then make it a one-time purchase valid for 3 or 5 years and after that customers need to pay again. Kind of in the middle between strict one-time only and classic SaaS that auto-renews.

Or: before SaaS we used to have the model of one-time purchase + annual maintenance fee (which was a small percentage of purchase, like 5-10%). The benefits of the "maintenance fee" to be defined by you. But it used to include updates of software and in enterprise context often support.

Show HN: No more subscriptions. Find software you can buy once and own forever

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