Adobe has blinked!

[madmanchan]

Thanks Eric.  That is clear.  There is, however, a basic difference between the PS and LR arrangements in that if I have LR on a perpetual license I can continue to use it without paying extra, even if terms for future purchasers are changed; with PS rental if the price goes up and I don't want to pay the extra, I am high and dry.

That is correct.  That is the fundamental shift with the subscription model and I recognize that many users don't like that (i.e., the software stops working should you choose to end your subscription).  Unfortunately it doesn't look like I'll be able to do anything about that.

[Wayne Fox]

I'm guessing quite a few people will love the new price, but also a lot of people who are probably being specifically targeted by this offer may have done what you did and recently bought CS6/LR5 and are probably not inclined to also subscribe to CC in the next few months.

true and yes tough on them, mostly because they chose to wait 15 months up upgrade to CS6 ( the LR upgrade doesn't take as big of a bite out of the budget).  Don't misinterpret me please, I'm not criticizing them for this, I think just about everyone has been burned buying something not realizing a couple of weeks later something new and better or the same and cheaper is coming. So buying CS 6 not knowing a better path that makes CC viable was coming falls in that category.

but agreed, wonder if they've considered some policy based on a recent purchase like this.  I do believe they are still struggling with the challenges of making the new model work yet remain profitable for many types of users ... education is one.  I was listening to a guy who is over the computer lab at a high school, about 100 machines, and currently there isn't an economically viable path for them to maintain the CC applications on all their machines. they have an educator/teacher model, but that really doesn't fit a school computer lab.

It's a work in progress, hopefully they can adapt to situations.

Personally I've been on CC for about a year at the 29.95 price and have been pretty happy, I get a year free because of PS world, and I just talked to adobe reps about when the year is up because of the PS world deal i can still downgrade to the PS/LR bundle at 9.95.  I was afraid I would have to lose the free year so I could do that before dec 31st, but they had already thought of that issue.

[StuartOnline]

Wayne,

My 29.99 rate just ended last month and it went up to 49.99. I wonder if I could downgrade to the 9.99 deal when they release it?  I really do not need anything else but LR & PS.

Stu

[Wayne Fox]

My price went up to the 49.95 because my year trial ended.  After the year I'm receiving from attending photoshop world next september, I was told I could downgrade to the 9.95 price - I don't have to lose the free year to sign up for the 9.95 before the dec 31st deadline.  Sounds like those who are on the full CC price right now would have that option. You may have to call, but you may just need to sign up when the 9.95 price is released and the process will take care of it.

If I see the CC specialist in the Adobe booth tomorrow I'll try and ask him.

[StuartOnline]

If I see the CC specialist in the Adobe booth tomorrow I'll try and ask him.

Thanks Wayne for the info.
Would be great if you happen to see one of the CC specialists.
Have good time at the Photoshop World.

Stu

[MHMG]

For Eric and Mike and all other Adobe employees following this thread:

Yup, I'd like to take Adobe up on that offer for PS and LR bundled for $120 per year... Oh wait, I don't own a standalone version of PS only, so I'm apparently not eligible. I've been a better Adobe customer than that over the years. I bought CS1, then upgraded to CS3,CS5, and finally to CS6. I'm a photographer, but I also rely on Indesign and Acrobat occasionally, so in the past buying CS upgrades rather than standalone versions of PS, ID, and Acrobat Pro was what worked for me.

Staying with the full CC approach doesn't work for me any longer because Adobe's new pricing structure for the full CC subscription effectively doubles my costs if I move to CC from CS6. I can't justify that cost increase, so with some regret I will be weaning myself from ID and Acrobat Pro over the next year or so. PS and LR are the only Adobe software I anticipate using once CS6 gets too long in the tooth to run on newer computers. Bottom line: for some photographers the new LR+PS offer may be attractively priced and a nice gesture by Adobe to silence the furor in the photography community, but for other customers like me, it's just rubbing more salt into the wound.

I hope Adobe management gets this whole subscription pricing model worked out some time in the near future so that it doesn't keep disenfranchising many of it's existing customers. Right now, IMHO, it's still a mess.

regards,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com

[PBC]

It seems the new Photographer's plan is now listed on the UK site as - Creative Cloud plan for Photoshop customers £8.78 a month incl. Lightroom.

Also the plan for Creative Cloud single-app membership for Photoshop seems to have been removed.

So I checked my plan which was for the single-app and it has been changed to "Photoshop Photography Program (For CS3+ customers)" so I am assuming this means I have been moved, I don't need to do anything and it will remain £8.78 a month next year?

But the plan I am now on isn't listed as one of the available plans!

All very confusing as I think my plan has changed (for the better) but I am not sure and had nothing from Adobe telling me they changed my plan.

Happy with the subscription model but confused :-(

Phil

[PBC]

OK further confusion on this :-(

Thought I would check that LR 5 was on my plan so I could get the update through CC, but it isn't listed in the Creative Cloud app. So, off to the Adobe site and the "Creative Cloud plan for Photoshop customers £8.78 a month incl. Lightroom" has been removed as a listed plan.

So off to My Adobe account to check my subscription and it is still listed as "Photoshop Photography Program (For CS3+ customers)" so it hasn't changed back - but I have no idea of what is included with this plan as it seems LR isn't.

So, I expect this is some internal communication muck up and I expect I need to give the nice customer services people a call and find out what is happening.  Unless anyone knows what is going on?

Phil

[MikeChambers]

OK further confusion on this :-(

Thought I would check that LR 5 was on my plan so I could get the update through CC, but it isn't listed in the Creative Cloud app. So, off to the Adobe site and the "Creative Cloud plan for Photoshop customers £8.78 a month incl. Lightroom" has been removed as a listed plan.

So off to My Adobe account to check my subscription and it is still listed as "Photoshop Photography Program (For CS3+ customers)" so it hasn't changed back - but I have no idea of what is included with this plan as it seems LR isn't.

So, I expect this is some internal communication muck up and I expect I need to give the nice customer services people a call and find out what is happening.  Unless anyone knows what is going on?

Phil

We are in the process of rolling things out, so you might see some odd stuff for a bit. We will have an announcement once things are completed (very soon).

Sorry about any confusion.

mike chambers

mesh@adobe.com

[PBC]

Thanks Mike - I am sure it is just gremlins.

Chatting to support at the moment via the Chat Window - and I am sure this is just some AI response system; the answers seem very general and not really relating to the questions I am asking - getting no where quick :-)

Phil

[jeremyrh]

The points raised about price guarantees (in particular, the fact that they're not being guaranteed forever in the new plan) are well taken.  Unfortunately, I don't have a good answer for you on that.  Adobe is basically saying, "We intend to keep the price at 9.99/mo for the foreseeable future, but we're not guaranteeing it'll remain at that price forever."   

So - maybe I'm not too smart but I don't understand - what is the incentive to subscribe before 31 Dec, if the price will be kept the same after that? And if the plan is to raise the price on Jan 1 2014, then having subscribed at 9.99 for one year, I will be stiffed for the new price in year 2. Something doesn't add up :-(

[jrp]

I think that what they are saying is the if you sign up before Dec, they will let you in for $10, which they have no present plans to change, for people signed up before Dec.

After Dec, anything could happen, but the implication seems to be that new subscribers will go back to $20 or whatever the price was before all these introductory offers came along (perhaps with a 50% teaser discount for the first year only).  Those on the $10 plan will be entitled to remain on the $10 plan unless Adobe changes its mind at some future point.

Just like the banking, cable, or telecoms industries, the incentive for Adobe is to maximise the number of subscribers by giving new subscribers low introductory entry rates while denying those rates to existing subscribers.  So you'll get a good rate on your savings account for a year, after which it will plummet.  If you don't put your money into a new account, as many people won't be bothered to do, you'll lose out -- inertia selling.

[PBC]

I think (only my thinking) on this is that prior to end of the year, people will get it for $9.99 a month.  Afterwards it will be a higher plan price, say $20 as JRP suggests (just a guess).  What then may happen is say Adobe decide to increase the cost - say due to inflation, different profit targets or whatever - by say 2%, the $9.99 people will get a 2% lift on their $9.99 price where the $20 people will get a 2% lift on their $20.

So the price wont stay at $9.99 but the upgraders will keep their benefit from upgrading. So the price remains the same for them and not a move to the full price as the plans before were doing.

But this is just my thoughts on how it might be - so may be way out of what really happens :-)

Anyway, I now seem to be on the new plan and I managed to get my LR 5.2 downloaded last night, so my single-app plan has been upgraded automatically.

Phil

[TylerB]

I freely confess I need to carefully watch my costs and overhead, when the subscription model was first rolled out I could not justify it unless economical environment in the arts in my community begins to change. We do hope, absorbing things like this used to be a no brainer. Now any updating of anything here is a very considered decision.
This new price option is something viable for me.. but now the surrounding questions arise- will the regularly evolving and updating software I am subscribing to require regular  or unpredictable OS and therefore possible hardware upgrades as well? The last several years with the Mac and all software involved has not been terribly fun... Quickbooks.. to name just one example...

[Damon Lynch]

will the regularly evolving and updating software I am subscribing to require regular  or unpredictable OS and therefore possible hardware upgrades as well?

Exactly. You give up control and they get a steady, predictable source of revenue. It may work out very well for you, it may not.

[TylerB]

well I wasn't complaining as much as pondering out loud.. surely being forced into unpredicted OS and/or hardware upgrades is an issue. So I'm wondering about the true danger of that, and what options may exist. For example- keep the subscription open but don't go to the latest version until ready, if possible? Etc..
Tyler

[Rick Popham]

well I wasn't complaining as much as pondering out loud.. surely being forced into unpredicted OS and/or hardware upgrades is an issue. So I'm wondering about the true danger of that, and what options may exist. For example- keep the subscription open but don't go to the latest version until ready, if possible? Etc..
Tyler

Supposedly you don't have to install the updates as they come out, so you won't be pushed into upgrading your computer or your OS.  You can stay with what works with your current hardware.  Of course, you still have to pay them every month whether you accept the updates or not.