Talk about an insult--Cheers? (Page 2): When I renewed the above they gave me a special discount. I believe they give it to everyone for renewing.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Curmudgeon wrote:

I sent this message to Topaz Labs about support fees

On Wed, Jan 24, 2024 at 10:10 PM UTC, Jack Mann <safemann@cox.net> wrote:
Is this correct? Photo AI renewal $99 and a separate $77 to renew Gigapixel. Total of $176 yearly?

Their response

Hi Jack,

Thanks for reaching out.

That is correct.

Cheers!

--
Liv Abreu

Topaz Labs

When I renewed the above they gave me a special discount. I believe they give it to everyone for renewing.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

Don’t worry, after your subscription expires you will get numerous emails giving you a special rate. And if you don’t take advantage of that offer, they will continue to sent the offer that will expire soon.

ronichas Loc: Long Island

Have you noticed everything is getting more expensive. Topaz products have come a long way. Photo AI is an awesome program. It costs the company to upgrade the products, who is supposed to pay for that?

If you love the product, then it is worth the upgrade. I used to pay $200 every 2 years to upgrade photoshop, because it was worth it to me. Now I have the subscription and pay yearly. Again, it takes time and money to upgrade photography products. We spend so much money on our cameras and equipment, why shouldn't we spend some on the processing software.

To me, it is worth the cost to upgrade to a new & improved product.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Curmudgeon wrote:

I sent this message to Topaz Labs about support fees

On Wed, Jan 24, 2024 at 10:10 PM UTC, Jack Mann <safemann@cox.net> wrote:
Is this correct? Photo AI renewal $99 and a separate $77 to renew Gigapixel. Total of $176 yearly?

Their response

Hi Jack,

Thanks for reaching out.

That is correct.

Cheers!

--
Liv Abreu

Topaz Labs

What a bargain! Less than $0.50/day! 😂

jimvanells Loc: Augusta, GA

Interesting! I only use Photo AI and it has an upscaling segment built in. I have been working with it and noticed that it has the same controls and options as the stand alone version of Gigapixel. The software automatically determines what the best level of upscaling would be and you start with that. I have found that the AI is a bit better than me on that decision. I have no interest or need to add Gigaipixel to my lost of annual expense.

MJPerini

The new reality is either a subscription or annual updates for new features.
All you can do is look hard at what software you use, and decide if the price they charge is "Worth it" TO YOU.
Companies seem to be using customer's "inflation experience' in other areas and assume people will pay whatever is asked. The only way to combat that is for enough folks to cut back a bit on what they are willing to upgrade each year.
Some companies are using "Unbundling" as a tactic. Charging separately for different but related pieces of software.
If you conclude that you are getting value, and it is worth it, then you pay what is asked.

While Adobe took most of the heat for subscriptions, their photographer's bundle seems to have been consistent and fair. Personally I do not use their products, but my daughter does and it is very hard to argue with the Lightroom /Photoshop bundle, and it is still more powerful than anything out there.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Curmudgeon wrote:

I sent this message to Topaz Labs about support fees

On Wed, Jan 24, 2024 at 10:10 PM UTC, Jack Mann <safemann@cox.net> wrote:
Is this correct? Photo AI renewal $99 and a separate $77 to renew Gigapixel. Total of $176 yearly?

Their response

Hi Jack,

Thanks for reaching out.

That is correct.

Cheers!

--
Liv Abreu

Topaz Labs

Considerably more than Lightroom/Photoshop and not even close to the same functionality!

bwa

Jsykes

bsprague wrote:

My renewal price is $178 and, for now, I can't see it. Topaz has the most confusing product mix, website and pricing structure of any thing I use. I did enjoy my first year of Photo AI and continue to use it without upgrades.

PhotoMono123 Loc: Houston, Texas

Keep this all in mind when you think you are saving money by not doing Adobe's $10/month subscription. My plan includes Lightroom (cloud), Lightroom Classic, Photoshop (including Bridge and Camera Raw) on desktop and iPad, and 20GB of cloud storage. I can pay extra and get additional cloud storage, but I use my Apple cloud so have no need.

For about the cost of 2 lattes per month I get all of this plus updates throughout the year. I gave up on some other software that I rather liked because of "updates at a price."

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

PhotoMono123 wrote:

Keep this all in mind when you think you are savin... (show quote)

"cost of 2 lattes per month" Great way of putting it and a steal at that price!

bwa

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Retired CPO wrote:

...Will your current software cease to work on a specified date? Or are you talking about not getting any upgrades that they will be coming out with in the future?

There is some confusion about the difference between updates and upgrades.

Updates are included in the first year with a Topaz product purchase. Upgrading is like buying new software, similar to how PS Elements is marketed. Some people are still happily using versions of Elements that came out five years ago, and they haven't paid a penny more since purchase.

Everything electronic now has the inevitable shelf life expiration due to changes in cameras, operating systems and so forth.

wapiti Loc: round rock, texas

Curmudgeon wrote:

Everything I have from them will continue but I will not get any more updates. What I have now works really well and there are always other ways to denoise and sharpen.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Linda From Maine wrote:

There is some confusion about the difference betwe... (show quote)

It seems that the harsh reality for software companies is the need to use a subscription system. The upgrade system dooms companies to bet that each upgrade will trigger a cash infusion from loyal customers. Software companies that have adapted to subscriptions can see a steady cashflow that allows planning, product development and reasonable employee stability.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

bsprague wrote:

It seems that the harsh reality for software companies is the need to use a subscription system. The upgrade system dooms companies to bet that each upgrade will trigger a cash infusion from loyal customers. Software companies that have adapted to subscriptions can see a steady cashflow that allows planning, product development and reasonable employee stability.

Thankfully, within the past six months or so, I've (mostly) given up whining about things I can't change. Reality is hard enough

BebuLamar

Linda From Maine wrote:

Thankfully, within the past six months or so, I've (mostly) given up whining about things I can't change. Reality is hard enough

You can see in this thread, the majority like that so that will be it.