Fastmail: new pricing plans Duo & Family - anyone using it? - Page 3

TenFour · 6 Apr 2024, 06:10 AM

I find the way tech companies price stuff very perplexing. Just state what your prices are up front, and don't fool around trying one set of pricing on some people and another set on another set of people. The secret pricing will be discovered, and it will tick off the ones getting the worse pricing. I've done retail sales for decades and people just hate pricing gimmicks. Sure, special offers and sales are great, but treat everyone the same.

pjroutledge · 6 Apr 2024, 08:06 PM

I agree that it ticks off customers, but I worked in retail pricing for years and differential pricing maximises revenue. Even when and though it ticks off customers.

TenFour · 6 Apr 2024, 08:19 PM

Quote:

I agree that it ticks off customers, but I worked in retail pricing for years and differential pricing maximises revenue. Even when and though it ticks off customers.

It may maximize revenue when the product you are selling appeals to the dumb masses, but when you are selling something to an informed niche audience who will research the choices you can't afford ticking off any customers. Your competitor that provides transparent fair pricing will be the winner. And, the customer you tick off may never come back, no matter how great your product is. Plus, those people will tell their friends interested in the same niche esoteric product. Look at what is happening here on EMD with regard to this pricing scheme. Now, you may argue, and I suspect they are, "We don't need so many niche, informed customers." "We'll make up the difference by attracting new customers." Personally, I could not live with myself selling products like that. I want the most informed and most loyal customers because my product is the best. I think that is the way to longterm value and longterm success. Frankly, I think that is what FM has done over the years, and it is sad to see them trying a new angle on pricing like this. The enshittification of tech continues.

pjroutledge · 7 Apr 2024, 05:54 AM

Don't you think, though, that most of Fastmail's customers are "an informed niche audience" that have already done their research and are knowingly paying a premium for Fastmail? They are not, in general, simple price-seekers and evaluate a range of criteria (including but not limited to price).

In my experience, price-seekers are a small proportion of most markets and firms cater for them (or is that 'pander to them') with introductory offers and short term discounts. That small proportion of the market tends to hop around between suppliers. But the majority of customers are inertial, or have made their purchase decision based on non-price criteria, including bad or good experiences.

I think that Fastmail's informed and most loyal customers - even those who shop around - are there because, for them, Fastmail's product is the best.

If Fastmail is seeking growth in customer numbers or revenue, the pricing scheme is a rational. Many of Fastmail's customers might be peeved because they can't readily access the new prices, but when they shop around most of them will probably still find that Fastmail's product is the best for them.

TenFour · 7 Apr 2024, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Don't you think, though, that most of Fastmail's customers are "an informed niche audience" that have already done their research and are knowingly paying a premium for Fastmail? They are not, in general, simple price-seekers and evaluate a range of criteria (including but not limited to price).

I agree, but you should treat your best customers the best! It's not like FM is unique in this niche. Ticking off loyal customers might just encourage them to check out competitors at renewal time. There's Proton, Tuta, PolarisMail, and many more. It takes just one bad experience to lose a customer. Decades ago I had a bad experience at a Ford dealer and I swore I would never consider a new Ford again, and I haven't.

hadaso · 7 Apr 2024, 08:37 AM

Did anyone see these "new plans" anywhere except his one reddit thread from 6 weeks ago and few screenshots shown here? I tried to Google it and find no additional or newer info on these price changes.

I hate it when a company gives me a price and then a year or two later I find out that somewhere in the fine print it said that it's time limited (I usually find out after I am charged a higher price one or several months. I'm OK with a company that tells me what the regular price is and that I am getting a limited time discount. I really hate it when I consider changing a service and before leaving the current provider I ask about the possibility of getting a lower priced, being told what is the lowest price they can offer me, and later after I switch having them call me with a price offer not better than the one I have with the new provider. If it's a real offer (and not time limited) they wasted my time because they could have told me the same before I made the effort to switch, and they waste my time again with an offer I don't need. I usually tell them that if they want me to switch back they should provide an offer significantly better than what the new provider gave me.
Anyway, I try not to bother myself with small price changes. What I paid Europecar for the small scratch made by my son an hour before we returned the car is enough for many years of email service. The hotel my wife forgot to cancel when she found a cheaper deal could pay for several more years of email service.

n5bb · 7 Apr 2024, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hadaso

Did anyone see these "new plans" anywhere except his one reddit thread from 6 weeks ago and few screenshots shown here? I tried to Google it and find no additional or newer info on these price changes...

Yes, as I posted much earlier in this thread, you can sign up for a free trial account and see the new pricing if you look at the Billing & Plan page new style plans. I asked Rob Mueller at Fastmail about these changes, and here are his comments from his reply email to me:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Mueller

So you only get those new prices if you opt in to the new style plans in the modal popup that appears when you go to the Billing & Plan page for the first time. If you don't agree to that, you can stick with the old plans for now and get the old pricing which is what's advertised on the site.

Having said that, we do plan to switch all new users to getting only the new pricing soon, in fact that's likely next week. When we do that, we'll update the pricing page with the new prices to reflect that these are the only plans going forward for new users.

Sometime later this year, we're aiming to convert all existing users to the new plans as well. We'll ensure we contact all users well in advance with details before we do that.

There's a number of reasons we're making these changes:

We're switching billing providers to one that can better handle tax compliance in all the countries we sell in, reducing the chance of tax and invoicing mistakes for users
We're offering new Duo (2xStandard) and Family (6xStandard) plans to make it easier for people to bring their partner/family to Fastmail at a significantly better cost
We're offering payments in over a dozen different currencies, allowing many more people to pay in their local currency rather than having to deal with fluctuating USD exchange rates and foreign currency fees local banks often charge on each payment

And yes, we're also slightly increasing prices. This is our first increase in many years, and will help us cover the many rising costs we've also been encountering in running Fastmail.

Bill

Terry · 7 Apr 2024, 03:10 PM

We're offering payments in over a dozen different currencies, allowing many more people to pay in their local currency rather than having to deal with fluctuating USD exchange rates and foreign currency fees local banks often charge on each payment.

Yea about time

And yes, we're also slightly increasing prices. This is our first increase in many years, and will help us cover the many rising costs we've also been encountering in running Fastmail.

He wants an extra chips with his Burger

Avion · 7 Apr 2024, 08:04 PM

I've had a Fastmail account for many years, and in recent years have taken to renewing my 3-year subscription every 6 months or so, to hopefully have a maximum (or nearly) subscription left, should Fastmail increase their prices.

I last renewed in September 2023 (for 3-years) but recently have noticed that, when attempting to renew again, the option is grayed-out. I can renew for 24 months, but it won't let me renew for 36 months.

So, for now, I'll just wait and see what happens.

Terry · 7 Apr 2024, 08:13 PM

If you wait until Sept you can then renew for 3 years, its because they are working on a 3 year subscription.

TenFour · 7 Apr 2024, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Mueller
So you only get those new prices if you opt in to the new style plans in the modal popup that appears when you go to the Billing & Plan page for the first time. If you don't agree to that, you can stick with the old plans for now and get the old pricing which is what's advertised on the site.

Having said that, we do plan to switch all new users to getting only the new pricing soon, in fact that's likely next week. When we do that, we'll update the pricing page with the new prices to reflect that these are the only plans going forward for new users.

Sometime later this year, we're aiming to convert all existing users to the new plans as well. We'll ensure we contact all users well in advance with details before we do that.

Any mention of what's going on with POBox.com?

Grhm · 9 Apr 2024, 03:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenFour

The enshittification of tech continues.

What a great word! But I'm afraid it's inevitable. Capitalism enshittificates everything it touches.

Avion · 9 Apr 2024, 04:19 AM

I think it's a terrible term, it's become popular on Mastodon, but at least I can filter out posts that use it.

So disappointed to see it here on the forum.

TenFour · 9 Apr 2024, 07:43 AM

Former Word of the Year. From Wikipedia:

Quote:

Enshittification is a term coined by writer Cory Doctorow in November 2022 to describe a pattern of decreasing quality observed in online services and products such as Amazon, Facebook, Google Search, Twitter, Bandcamp, Reddit, Uber and Unity. The American Dialect Society selected the term as its 2023 Word of the Year. Doctorow has also used the term platform decay to describe the same concept.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification

NumberSix · 9 Apr 2024, 08:11 AM

OK, I'll stick my neck out...

Doctorow's term "enshittification" has absolutely nothing to do with anything going on at Fastmail. Nothing.

You may feel the quality of service is declining at FM, and that it's getting more expensive, etc, and those complaints may be entirely justified (though I don't agree with them), and yet you cannot commandeer this new term just because it sounds like how you feel. There is NO connection. The term has a very specific meaning that applies primarily to social media platforms.

6 Apr 2024, 06:10 AM	#31
TenFour Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: USA Posts: 1,737	I find the way tech companies price stuff very perplexing. Just state what your prices are up front, and don't fool around trying one set of pricing on some people and another set on another set of people. The secret pricing will be discovered, and it will tick off the ones getting the worse pricing. I've done retail sales for decades and people just hate pricing gimmicks. Sure, special offers and sales are great, but treat everyone the same.

6 Apr 2024, 08:06 PM	#32
pjroutledge Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Melbourne, Oz Posts: 133	I agree that it ticks off customers, but I worked in retail pricing for years and differential pricing maximises revenue. Even when and though it ticks off customers.

7 Apr 2024, 05:54 AM	#34
pjroutledge Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Melbourne, Oz Posts: 133	Don't you think, though, that most of Fastmail's customers are "an informed niche audience" that have already done their research and are knowingly paying a premium for Fastmail? They are not, in general, simple price-seekers and evaluate a range of criteria (including but not limited to price). In my experience, price-seekers are a small proportion of most markets and firms cater for them (or is that 'pander to them') with introductory offers and short term discounts. That small proportion of the market tends to hop around between suppliers. But the majority of customers are inertial, or have made their purchase decision based on non-price criteria, including bad or good experiences. I think that Fastmail's informed and most loyal customers - even those who shop around - are there because, for them, Fastmail's product is the best. If Fastmail is seeking growth in customer numbers or revenue, the pricing scheme is a rational. Many of Fastmail's customers might be peeved because they can't readily access the new prices, but when they shop around most of them will probably still find that Fastmail's product is the best for them.

7 Apr 2024, 08:37 AM	#36
hadaso The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Holon, Israel. Posts: 4,853	Did anyone see these "new plans" anywhere except his one reddit thread from 6 weeks ago and few screenshots shown here? I tried to Google it and find no additional or newer info on these price changes. I hate it when a company gives me a price and then a year or two later I find out that somewhere in the fine print it said that it's time limited (I usually find out after I am charged a higher price one or several months. I'm OK with a company that tells me what the regular price is and that I am getting a limited time discount. I really hate it when I consider changing a service and before leaving the current provider I ask about the possibility of getting a lower priced, being told what is the lowest price they can offer me, and later after I switch having them call me with a price offer not better than the one I have with the new provider. If it's a real offer (and not time limited) they wasted my time because they could have told me the same before I made the effort to switch, and they waste my time again with an offer I don't need. I usually tell them that if they want me to switch back they should provide an offer significantly better than what the new provider gave me. Anyway, I try not to bother myself with small price changes. What I paid Europecar for the small scratch made by my son an hour before we returned the car is enough for many years of email service. The hotel my wife forgot to cancel when she found a cheaper deal could pay for several more years of email service.

7 Apr 2024, 03:10 PM	#38
Terry The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: VK4 Posts: 3,028	We're offering payments in over a dozen different currencies, allowing many more people to pay in their local currency rather than having to deal with fluctuating USD exchange rates and foreign currency fees local banks often charge on each payment. Yea about time And yes, we're also slightly increasing prices. This is our first increase in many years, and will help us cover the many rising costs we've also been encountering in running Fastmail. He wants an extra chips with his Burger

7 Apr 2024, 08:04 PM	#39
Avion Member Join Date: Sep 2022 Posts: 79	I've had a Fastmail account for many years, and in recent years have taken to renewing my 3-year subscription every 6 months or so, to hopefully have a maximum (or nearly) subscription left, should Fastmail increase their prices. I last renewed in September 2023 (for 3-years) but recently have noticed that, when attempting to renew again, the option is grayed-out. I can renew for 24 months, but it won't let me renew for 36 months. So, for now, I'll just wait and see what happens.

7 Apr 2024, 08:13 PM	#40
Terry The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: VK4 Posts: 3,028	If you wait until Sept you can then renew for 3 years, its because they are working on a 3 year subscription.

9 Apr 2024, 04:19 AM	#43
Avion Member Join Date: Sep 2022 Posts: 79	I think it's a terrible term, it's become popular on Mastodon, but at least I can filter out posts that use it. So disappointed to see it here on the forum.

9 Apr 2024, 08:11 AM	#45
NumberSix Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: The Village Posts: 615	OK, I'll stick my neck out... Doctorow's term "enshittification" has absolutely nothing to do with anything going on at Fastmail. Nothing. You may feel the quality of service is declining at FM, and that it's getting more expensive, etc, and those complaints may be entirely justified (though I don't agree with them), and yet you cannot commandeer this new term just because it sounds like how you feel. There is NO connection. The term has a very specific meaning that applies primarily to social media platforms.