Hi,

I'd like some feedback on possible purchase models and support on LimeStore.

We want to support:

* One-off payments
* Subscriptions

An open question is which version of an extension the customer buys, and how long bug fixes will be supplied.

Examples:

Customer buys extension EX 1.0.0 with one-off payment. EX 1.0.1 is released, customer can download it on the extension library page on limesurvey. EX 2.0.0 is released, customer can or cannot download it? If it contains lots of new functionality, maybe it's better created as a new extension called SUPEREX or similar.

Customer subscribes to EX 1.0.0. Bug fix 1.0.1 is released. The customer can download it. After subscription is expired, customer will not (or?) be able to download further bug fixes like 1.0.2 etc.

Any comments or preferences?

Ping @Mazi and @DenisChenu or @shnoulle

No real opinion …

I don't want to sell subscription (Licence), because all my plugins still free by like a speech.

But there are subscription for automatic update, and with subscription came support …

In my opinion : it must be near LimeSurvey subscription system : autoupdate do 2.X and 3.X and future 4.X or 5.X : plugins muts follow the same system …

Just to be clear, for our hosting we will provide ONLY subscriptions for plugins (other extensions don't differ for hosting vs CE, since they contain no PHP code, so both one-off and subscription are available).

Which support and updates do you offer for people who buy your plugins, Denis?

@Ollehar, my 2 cents:

Extension versioning:
Especially for templates we are providing different versions of the same product due to compatibility reasons. At our shop system (WooCommerce) this is done by creating so called variations. Check this template for example. At the product page you can select the version top right: survey-consulting.com/product/limesurvey-template-janus/
Technically, a variation is like a stand alone product and you get a different ZIP file depending on the version you select.

So we need to find a way to deal with this since the same product may not be compatible with different Limesurvey versions.


Subscriptions vs. one-time payments:
I recommend that the product owner can set a price for each. We by default provide support for a full year but usually answer questions later as well. Maybe we add a "support included for..." field for both options as well?

If the owner doesn't want to provide further support anymore e.g. for subscriptions, how can we deal with that?

ollehar wrote: Which support and updates do you offer for people who buy your plugins, Denis?

I sell only new plugins : 6 month warranty (for LS compatibility) in general.
For setup and plugin support : 1 month email support + 1 hour call support. 3 month warranty.

[strike]About LimeSurvey pro hosting : i don't understans "One-off" ? For me there are only Subscriptions (with included minimal support according to the price).[/strike] OK : subscription only .


Else i'm upset about some great plugin but need "Tools" plugin : can have plugins pack ? For example :
1. responseListAndManage pack = responseListAndManage + getQuestionInformation + reloadAnyResponse + renderMessage
2. surveyChaining = surveyChaining+ getQuestionInformation + reloadAnyResponse + renderMessage
3. maintenanceMode : maintenanceMode + renderMessage

Mazi wrote: @Ollehar, my 2 cents:

Extension versioning:
Especially for templates we are providing different versions of the same product due to compatibility reasons. At our shop system (WooCommerce) this is done by creating so called variations. Check this template for example. At the product page you can select the version top right: survey-consulting.com/product/limesurvey-template-janus/
Technically, a variation is like a stand alone product and you get a different ZIP file depending on the version you select.

So we need to find a way to deal with this since the same product may not be compatible with different Limesurvey versions.

Hm, this probably will have to be solved by adding different extensions. But yes, somehow pointing out a relation between them would be good.

Mazi wrote: I recommend that the product owner can set a price for each. We by default provide support for a full year but usually answer questions later as well. Maybe we add a "support included for..." field for both options as well?

If the owner doesn't want to provide further support anymore e.g. for subscriptions, how can we deal with that?

Do you offer free bug-fix releases for everyone who bought the template? How would you notify about a new release?

Mazi wrote: If the owner doesn't want to provide further support anymore e.g. for subscriptions, how can we deal with that?

I'm not sure yet, have to check if the terms and conds say anything about this scenario.

In fact : for LimeSurvey CE : i see this more like ComfortUpdate for LimeSurvey.
Still have solution for installing upgrading via zip/git

But can get a subscription to have the update of some plugin inside LimeSurvey with alert and all.
This is the real service and it came with some support and warranty.

DenisChenu wrote:

ollehar wrote: Which support and updates do you offer for people who buy your plugins, Denis?

I sell only new plugins : 6 month warranty (for LS compatibility) in general.
For setup and plugin support : 1 month email support + 1 hour call support. 3 month warranty.

[strike]About LimeSurvey pro hosting : i don't understans "One-off" ? For me there are only Subscriptions (with included minimal support according to the price).[/strike] OK : subscription only .


Else i'm upset about some great plugin but need "Tools" plugin : can have plugins pack ? For example :
1. responseListAndManage pack = responseListAndManage + getQuestionInformation + reloadAnyResponse + renderMessage
2. surveyChaining = surveyChaining+ getQuestionInformation + reloadAnyResponse + renderMessage
3. maintenanceMode : maintenanceMode + renderMessage

Thanks for the support example! I guess we need a "support" field for every extension, to be shown on the product details page?

For extension packages, we would need support from LS first, so it can install a ZIP-file that contains multiple plugins? Either that, or a way to relate different extensions, "good with", "requires", "required by", ...

we would need support from LS first,

You mean LS pro/saas ? Or CE ? (for CE it's free for sure)

ollehar wrote: Either that, or a way to relate different extensions, "good with", "requires", "required by", ...

Yes, there are already a feature about that .

But selling getQuestionInformation on SAAS even at 5€ : nobody get it alone. reloadAnyResponse have some interest but …


For renderMessage : i think i can add it (fixed to remove 2.X support system) in 4.X in general plugin. It's only an helper for other plugin: and really more light since 3.14 …