Hello all,
From time to time we get questions about our update policy, so I wanted to post here to clarify how updates to Scrivener (and Scapple) work. Although there are no major paid updates planned for the desktop versions in the immediate future (at time of writing), I figure it’s best to have all of this laid out long before there are any major updates that have upgrade fees associated with them, so that everyone knows what to expect. (Not that there should be any great surprises here.)
[size=150]Updates for Customers Buying Direct Or Through Authorised Retailers Excluding the App Store[/size]
If you purchased directly from our own store, or from one of the resellers that redirect to our store, such as Amazon (and at the time of writing, every other retailer except for the Mac App Store), this is how updates work:
-
All minor updates are free.
Minor updates are updates that don’t involve a major version number change. For instance, 2.1 to 2.3, 2.3 to 2.8, 1.7.1 to 1.9.3 - all of these are counted as minor updates. Such updates usually consist of a combination of bug-fixes and feature refinements. -
All major updates are offered at a discount.
Major updates are those that involve a major version number change - 1.x to 2.x, 2.x to 3.x and so on. Such updated versions of the software consist of major new features and UI overhauls, and because of the huge amount of work involved (not only with the code but also with graphics and documentation rewriting), are always paid updates.
We don’t charge you full price even for paid updates, though. Our policy is this:
- If you purchased the software at any time during the three months prior to the upgrade release date, you get the update for free.
- If you purchased the previous version of the software earlier than that, you receive a major discount on the regular price. I can’t give a set discount here, as the decision on that is made as we come to release a new version, but as an example, Scrivener 2.0 on the Mac is $45, but costs only $25 to registered users of version 1.x.
When we release a major update, we make an “Upgrade” page available (linked from the main product page). To get the reduced pricing, you enter the email with which you purchased the prior version of Scrivener, and you will then automatically get taken to the store with the discount applied. (If you have changed email addresses since then, email us and we can sort it out for you.)
[size=150]Updates for Mac Customers Buying from the Mac App Store[/size]
(Windows users don’t need to read this section, as this only applies to our Mac App Store customers.)
If you purchased Scrivener or Scapple from the Mac App Store, this is how updates work:
-
All minor updates are free.
Minor updates are updates that don’t involve a major version number change. For instance, 2.1 to 2.3, 2.3 to 2.8 - all of these are counted as minor updates. Such updates usually consist of a combination of bug-fixes and feature refinements. -
All major updates are paid updates.
Major updates are those that involve a major version number change - 1.x to 2.x, 2.x to 3.x and so on. Such updated versions of the software consist of major new features and UI overhauls, and because of the huge amount of work involved (not only with the code but also with graphics and documentation rewriting), are always paid updates.
Unfortunately, we are not able to offer Mac App Store users discounted upgrade pricing, or free updates to those who purchased three months prior to release or after. We wish we could, but this is not an option the Mac App Store makes available to us or our customers. When you purchase from the Mac App Store, all your details are kept by Apple and are never passed on to us, so we have no record of your purchase. And the Mac App Store does not support upgrade pricing or even discount coupons at all. We have been hoping that Apple would add these features, but three years in it doesn’t look as though this is ever going to happen. Having to pay full price for new versions of software is therefore just par for the course when purchasing from the App Store, presumably because Apple has never been much for upgrade pricing.
What we will do, however, when it comes time for a paid update of Scrivener, is try to find some way of offering Mac App Store users the same discount if they want to move to using the version on our site, perhaps by sending us some form of proof of purchase for the MAS version.
And Finally…
Finally, I would like to stress that we don’t charge for updates very regularly. Scrivener 1.0 on the Mac was released in January 2007, and Scrivener 2.0 was released in November 2010. Scrivener 1.0 for Windows was released in November 2011. There have thus so far been over three years of free updates to Scrivener 2.x on the Mac and over two years of free updates to Scrivener 1.x on Windows - and there are still more free updates to come. As a software company selling a niche product, though, we do have to charge for updates from time to time, in order to continue making Scrivener and Scapple the best they can be.
All the best,
Keith