Yenxji
Well-known member
I have found a post that was $250 USD? Why is it increased to $350 USD? What is the reason?
Branding Removal for 350 USD is really expensive
- Thread starter Yenxji
- Start date
Solution
It's actually kind of cheap. If it's too expensive for you it likely just means it's not for you. It's mostly for businesses, i.e. the kind of people who don't think twice about $350. And for those that want it, a one off cost of $350 is negligible.
It was increased mostly inline with other prices that increased at the time.
For Cloud customers it costs $360 per year.
It was increased mostly inline with other prices that increased at the time.
For Cloud customers it costs $360 per year.
Yenxji
Well-known member
Thanks for the reply! I understand it's for a business, Could you tell me what specific factors led to the increase as from $250 to $350 USD? Just curious about the reason
frm
Well-known member
I honestly don't think a business owes a public justification. It could've been as internal as, "Let's charge $100 more for this and if we see more than an X drop off of purchases, roll it back at a future date." And as Chris said, it's primarily for businesses that don't think twice. So, I suspect there's no business loss for this decision.
I personally got one myself, I think at $250, though. I just have to check if that renewal cost is slightly adjusted, as one with XFMG would, because I believed it was a one time payment. That would be my only complaint on the matter here at this price.
I still wouldn't hesitate getting it on multiple forums (which I did operating a 3rd party's forum for a while) that I see fit as it's an operational cost that can be "recovered" at the end of the tax year.
Dragonfruit
Well-known member
It’s rather pointless anyway, I’ve been to several Xenforo forums with footer information removed, I could still easily tell or figure out it’s Xenforo.
ENF
Well-known member
That's really not the point of removing the information. It's about creating a white-label or a clean looking product without other distractions or branding. The average user doesn't care which platform is powering the site, so it doesn't really matter if people can see what it is or not...
There's no reason for them to provide justification. It's a reasonable fee for businesses that want this feature. For sites operating as a real business, it just gets filed in with operating expenses.
Yenxji
Well-known member
I really appreciate everyone discussing this topic. To honestly and clearly state that I am not questioning as what the price is affordable for the business. Because I was asking for transparency about the pricing decision so what I believe is a reasonable question as a customer. If there are no explanations or if a real reason is not given, that's okay, so I just would like to understand the reasoning behind it better. Thank you, guys
As already stated, the price increase occurred inline with other price increases at the time.
It first increased from $250 to $300 in 2018, a 20% increase.
It then increased from $300 to $350 in 2023, a ~16% increase.
These increases roughly match the same percentage increase of our other prices at the time. As for why, it's because running a business is expensive and we need to remain profitable so we can continue to provide our products and services.
It first increased from $250 to $300 in 2018, a 20% increase.
It then increased from $300 to $350 in 2023, a ~16% increase.
These increases roughly match the same percentage increase of our other prices at the time. As for why, it's because running a business is expensive and we need to remain profitable so we can continue to provide our products and services.
Mr Lucky
Well-known member
Compared with inflation also it seems very reasonable
Suzanne O
Well-known member
And here i was thinking you guys got caught up in Trump's tariffs.
(that's for me)
Milen
Active member
Things are very simple! If it is expensive for you to buy a license or anything from XenForo LTD, then use: PHPbb, MyBB! And if I have to be honest (something that is not recommended in this community), read that in parentheses again! 
But before you buy anything from anywhere, you need to understand that technology, consumer demands, and so on are developing at almost the speed of light! Think very carefully! But as we say in our country "I don't know, brother, you know" 
But before you buy anything from anywhere, you need to understand that technology, consumer demands, and so on are developing at almost the speed of light! Think very carefully! But as we say in our country "I don't know, brother, you know"
Yenxji
Well-known member
Thank you for the explanation and appreciated!
ŽivaAkcija
Well-known member
this is like conversation between baldrick and blackadder
AjayJunkies
Well-known member
I always find conversations about pricing to be fascinating.
Some observations in no particular order:
1. Pricing is relative. What is expensive for one person is cheap for another. Factors like geography, personal income, personal spending, national currency etc. are all contextual to the person.
2. Legacy forums (and legacy forum customers) have a very skewed and outdated version of pricing from twenty years ago. We started with free options like phpBB and SMF, so the baseline view of how much forums should cost is, like, twenty years out of date.
3. Buying a $70 full-featured and mature mod blows my mine. Custom development from great developers is extremely expensive. I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on custom development, so getting a base suite like Xenforo with a robust marketplace of full-featured mods is incredible value.
4. Any medium to big board can easily spend hundreds to thousands of dollars per month. Something like a one-time $350 branding removal fee is nothing to these types of boards.
5. The business model of trying to cater to customers who want to complain about $50 renewals and $350 branding removal is tough. The reality is that the web has grown up, there is an explosion of cloud options to start online communities (Facebook Groups, Discord Groups, Amino Apps, MeWe, Slack, Whatapp, Telegram, list goes on and on), and the lower end of the market would genuinely be better served with these options.
I remember reading about a customer many years ago who complained on a popular forum admin site about how expensive it was to buy a forum license and that he couldn't feed his family. When in doubt, please feed your family - like, I know it's hard to prioritize, but you should always feed your family over starting a forum.
Some observations in no particular order:
1. Pricing is relative. What is expensive for one person is cheap for another. Factors like geography, personal income, personal spending, national currency etc. are all contextual to the person.
2. Legacy forums (and legacy forum customers) have a very skewed and outdated version of pricing from twenty years ago. We started with free options like phpBB and SMF, so the baseline view of how much forums should cost is, like, twenty years out of date.
3. Buying a $70 full-featured and mature mod blows my mine. Custom development from great developers is extremely expensive. I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on custom development, so getting a base suite like Xenforo with a robust marketplace of full-featured mods is incredible value.
4. Any medium to big board can easily spend hundreds to thousands of dollars per month. Something like a one-time $350 branding removal fee is nothing to these types of boards.
5. The business model of trying to cater to customers who want to complain about $50 renewals and $350 branding removal is tough. The reality is that the web has grown up, there is an explosion of cloud options to start online communities (Facebook Groups, Discord Groups, Amino Apps, MeWe, Slack, Whatapp, Telegram, list goes on and on), and the lower end of the market would genuinely be better served with these options.
I remember reading about a customer many years ago who complained on a popular forum admin site about how expensive it was to buy a forum license and that he couldn't feed his family. When in doubt, please feed your family - like, I know it's hard to prioritize, but you should always feed your family over starting a forum.
dunowat
Active member
Because 2.3.8 went smoothly for the upgrade, i went ahead and updated my license and because of this post got rid of the branding. I think they deserve to be paid for such a smooth transition for a large number of bug fixes and also want to encourage them to keep building quality software that is relatively stable when you update it.
It seems well worth the dollars if your forum generates revenue.
It seems well worth the dollars if your forum generates revenue.
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