Tired of the constant pressure to "upgrade" to premium

[scaeva 7]

Just updated the iOS app. Had a bunch of things I didn't want shoved on me, and the only way to get rid of features I DO NOT WANT OR HAVE THE SLIGHTEST NEED FOR is to upgrade to premium and get even more things I neither want nor need. I've been using this app less and less, and this is about the last straw. I need a way to take and organize notes quickly, and Evernote used to be that. Now it's full of so many bells, whistles, and eye candy it's almost useless. That's bad enough, but the not so subtle, passive aggressive attempt to force me to pay more to get rid of things I neither need nor want is just about the last straw. Looking for an app that isn't motivated primarily by greed.

[buckethead 218]

2 minutes ago, scaeva said:

Looking for an app that isn't motivated primarily by greed.

Not sure I’d categorize the app as motivated by greed. It is not free to have folks wrote the app OR provide the service. How do you expect them to pay folks? Pay the bills the company has for providing the service. 
 

 

[Jean-Christophe 25]

15 hours ago, scaeva said:

Just updated the iOS app. Had a bunch of things I didn't want shoved on me, and the only way to get rid of features I DO NOT WANT OR HAVE THE SLIGHTEST NEED FOR is to upgrade to premium and get even more things I neither want nor need. I've been using this app less and less, and this is about the last straw. I need a way to take and organize notes quickly, and Evernote used to be that. Now it's full of so many bells, whistles, and eye candy it's almost useless. That's bad enough, but the not so subtle, passive aggressive attempt to force me to pay more to get rid of things I neither need nor want is just about the last straw. Looking for an app that isn't motivated primarily by greed.

So the answer is pretty easy. You need it, you upgrade. You do not need it, you uninstall.

[PinkElephant 8,100]

Who is on Basic owes the cost to run his account practically to the marketing department - because in the end Basic is a marketing tool.

So the deal is „not to pay, and tolerate a little nudging“. IMHO much better than other „free“ services that you pay with your privacy !

[scaeva 7]

I'm not on the Basic plan, I'm on the "Plus" plan, so they are making money on me. They constantly want more for what is, for me, essentially less functionality. Most of what they keep adding just gets in my way. The Plus plan was a way around that—they can add all the "new, improved" features to the Premium they want. But now they are forcing them on those with a Plus plan, and the only way to turn them off is to pay more. I learned from history that one does not pay the Danegeld.

[gazumped 11,663]

Evernote stopped accepting new Plus subscriptions some while ago but - as a courtesy to existing users - agreed to continue current plans. 

AFAIK there has always been a regular pressure to upgrade - I have a couple of Basic accounts for testing which get the offers - but I don't think there's been any recent overt increase.  Some new restrictions were introduced - the two-device limit for Basic forinstance - which suggests that Evernote is aiming to weed out any 'non-serious' users,  but are you saying that the pressures you see have gone up? 

Or are you frustrated because the new features don't add anything to your individual experience?

[scaeva 7]

41 minutes ago, gazumped said:

which suggests that Evernote is aiming to weed out any 'non-serious' users,  but are you saying that the pressures you see have gone up? 

Or are you frustrated because the new features don't add anything to your individual experience?

Yes, but especially with this last "upgrade." If I can find an alternative, Evernote has gotten the last of my money and support. If it's any consolation to those who are die-hard fans and supporters of the app, I have similar thoughts about Apple.

[PinkElephant 8,100]

In fact I don’t care. Who is still on Plus is with Plus for similar reasons as a Basic user is still on Basic: The plan exists and does what the user needs. Final point, no excuses needed.

I run a Basic account for testing. Yes I get some stuff as well on that account, reasons to upgrade, special offers from time to time, that sort of stuff.

Read it or erase it. Ignore it or hate it. Book it or skip it. Just accept it is part of the game, and if you have a serious problem with it, close your account and move elsewhere.

[SWSL 66]

On 6/24/2021 at 2:54 PM, gazumped said:

 AFAIK there has always been a regular pressure to upgrade - .... - but I don't think there's been any recent overt increase.  ....  but are you saying that the pressures you see have gone up? 

Or are you frustrated because the new features don't add anything to your individual experience?

I appreciate your engaging and open minded tone, Gazumped.   It's nice to see that not everybody who is an experienced premium user has a poor attitude.  

I am a long time Plus subscriber.  Every time I renew my subscription, I do, indeed feel that I am paying a fair price to support a useful service and I appreciate that when EN decided to eliminate our subscription level, that they left the option for us legacy subscribers.

I do resent someone with a higher need/income - perhaps a true business grade usage - acting as if, as a Plus user,  I'm no longer a valid participating client supporting this software.  My money and many others like me has been part of the yearly income EN used to build the business for the first decade. I have payed in hundreds of dollars over the years to EN.   If we had not been offered an affordable PLUS option back then, there may have never been enough paying user base to continue, who knows.  EN downplayed our role in their new business model's press release when they declared that move, but retaining that legacy option may have been as much to keep the ongoing paying user base income as high as possible while pushing for a higher price with new users. 

If they were so confident that they didn't need us, then I doubt they would have kept us!   I don't think the decision was based on altruism. 

Thanks EN for respecting us Plus users and continuing to support.

To address the two questions;

Yes the nagging to upgrade from Plus to Premium has increased.  The imposition of a new "home"  page we have to click through to get to our notes and one that we can't manage in anyway without upgrading is an additional pressure.  No doubt strategic.

And no, as far as I can tell so far, V10 does not add anything to my experience. It only removes and downgrades - as far as I can tell, but I'm keeping an eye on it to see.     I have personally been fine with EN for years and seen no new features that I wished for nor would pay to get.  It was all there long ago when I signed on.  The rest are bells and whistles - to me.   But I can see how such things might help attract new customers and increase the value to businesses and power users. 

Really, it's the same as all the MS suite stuff.  Excel and Word were fully functional tools many many iterations back.  But they have to keep doing something, right?  Today's business models don't allow for simply perfecting a good tool and selling the same thing for years.  It's like that everywhere. 

But I'll add my input in the ways that I can because what we say and pay for as consumers does matter.  It's not "love it or leave it"  but an ongoing feedback loop.  Both positive and negative feedback matter.