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Bitcoin payment for premium


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  • Level 5*
Posted

Evernote don't discuss their roadmap, I'd guess the answer is no though. History suggests that Evernote likes to keep billing simple in order to minimise cost and to make it easy for users to understand. Adding a new payment type that is used by a tiny proportion of it's user base seems very unlikely.

Posted

Evernote don't discuss their roadmap, I'd guess the answer is no though. History suggests that Evernote likes to keep billing simple in order to minimise cost and to make it easy for users to understand. Adding a new payment type that is used by a tiny proportion of it's user base seems very unlikely.

 

I pay for my VPN, webhosting and seedbox using Bitcoin, and the billing is simple using a payment intermediary such as Bitpay or MtGox. 

 

I'm also pretty sure its cheaper than using PayPal or credit cards!

 

Hopefully they will implement Bitcoin payments in the coming months as Bitcoin is rapidly gaining traction among the tech savvy. 

  • 2 months later...
  • Level 5*
Posted

Exploding is never a good term to apply to a currency. And the fact that you might become User 50,000,001 is about as exciting as you might expect. Is there something else you like about Evernote other than the currencies it accepts for subscriptions?

Posted

I've been using Evernote day after day for longer than 3 years now, but thank you for suggesting I'm a spammer. It's simple: I have Bitcoins, I want to spend them, and I like evernote. Pretty sure I'm not the only one in this situation.

I don't know why you think Gaz suggested you are a spammer. I see nothing wrong with his post.

And as Metrodon already pointed out above, Evernote does not discuss their roadmap.

  • Level 5*
Posted

There's surely nothing wrong in expressing a suggestion of something one would like to see, even if Evernote has no desire to discuss it publically.

Correct. And there's nothing wrong with another user expressing an opinion on your suggestion. And nobody called you a "spammer".
Posted

Please do not take my comment here as an Evernote official comment on Bitcoins one way or the other. I am simply posting a *personal* commentary. I am not posting a company endorsement one way or the other.

 

Me, Heather, random human, thinks that Bitcoins are a very volatile, new technology right now in its infancy and is more in the realm of stock market speculation than a viable payment scheme. With the shutdown of Instawallet and the affect of DDoS on Mt.Gox on the overall prices, its just not feasible right now.

 

That is not to say that if you're in a country where your overall currency is a worse bet than Bitcoin that you aren't better off trying something else. But me, Heather, random human, kinda believes that you might be better off with something non-virtual at this point. Like a commodity.

  • Level 5*
Posted

Please do not take my comment here as an Evernote official comment on Bitcoins one way or the other. I am simply posting a *personal* commentary. I am not posting a company endorsement one way or the other.

 

Me, Heather, random human, thinks that Bitcoins are a very volatile, new technology right now in its infancy and is more in the realm of stock market speculation than a viable payment scheme. With the shutdown of Instawallet and the affect of DDoS on Mt.Gox on the overall prices, its just not feasible right now.

 

That is not to say that if you're in a country where your overall currency is a worse bet than Bitcoin that you aren't better off trying something else. But me, Heather, random human, kinda believes that you might be better off with something non-virtual at this point. Like a commodity.

Personally, I think Bitcoin is a fascinating phenomenon, and I closely follow all of the news on it. However, I don't think it is yet equivalent to traditional currencies, and as a business, I would be very leary of taking Bitcoin payments, because the volatility would make you vulnerable, not to mention, less able to convert the Bitcoins to cash for salaries and whatnot.

Some volatility is a sign of maturity in the currency, though, and I think Bitcoin is definitely on a good track. I'm not so sure I want Evernote (a company I depend on for my notes) to jump on the bleeding edge of this particular technology.

These are just my amateur, non-Evernote affiliated thoughts on it as well.

  • Level 5*
Posted

I'm impressed by the scope of this discussion,  though my initial comment was only meant to be mildly satirical about the OP's implied attitude - I wouldn't exactly hold off buying a holiday unless they'd take my payment in Ningis.  Or say that I'd buy if they did.  If I liked what was on offer,  I'd pay in whatever currency the seller used.  There was no intention on my part to imply spamming - and I'm guilty of doing exactly similar things in promoting Evernote anyway.  Pot - kettle - no comment.

 

I do think that Bitcoin is a viable currency - there's still places where you can have a good time with cowrie shells.  Electronic money isn't even unusual.  However Evernote has no way to pay its support network with Bitcoin.  Staff tend to be a bit conservative that way - they need to buy milk and bread,  and no supermarkets are taking Bitcoin that I'm aware of.  The net result is that Bitcoin is a viable currency,  but only amongst those who are willing and able to accept it.  In the real commercial world it ain't gonna happen for a while yet.

 

The problem with maturity is you can only acquire it through the passage of time.

Posted

Evernote should accept bitcoin for the same reasons WordPress did:  Paypal blocks over 60 countries, and only a small number of the world's population has access to credit cards.  Evernote can expand their potential customer base by quite a lot by accepting bitcoin.  There is no reason that someone in Kenya or Haiti should be prevented from buying Evernote services.  Wordpress is totally unaffected by the exchange rate of bitcoin, because their payment processor BitPay instantly converts it into dollars.  Here is their blog entry about why they decided to accept it:

 

http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/pay-another-way-bitcoin/

Posted

Evernote should accept bitcoin for the same reasons WordPress did:

There's no 'should' or 'should not' involved. It's their company & their choice. Just like some companies accept Master Card & Visa but not American Express. I agree with Gaz that it's silly to not buy a premium account simply b/c a particular payment form is not accepted. But that's your choice as a customer.

  • Level 5*
Posted

Evernote should accept bitcoin for the same reasons WordPress did:  Paypal blocks over 60 countries, and only a small number of the world's population has access to credit cards.  Evernote can expand their potential customer base by quite a lot by accepting bitcoin.  There is no reason that someone in Kenya or Haiti should be prevented from buying Evernote services.  Wordpress is totally unaffected by the exchange rate of bitcoin, because their payment processor BitPay instantly converts it into dollars.  Here is their blog entry about why they decided to accept it:

 

http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/pay-another-way-bitcoin/

 

Like I said, it is an interesting experiment that I am following, but it is also the bleeding edge. A lot of blood will be spilled before this becomes mainstream. BitPay is one of the more recent competitors in this space, and as a startup it shows promise, but if I recall correctly, it doesn't handle all that much money yet.

 

It's cool that WordPress is willing to give it a try, but I'd prefer to see Evernote wait and see what happens. It's a valiant goal to get people in countries with restricted access to payment methods into the mix. I understand, though, if Evernote is unwilling to risk their business on a risky payment method. Evernote is still available in every country, but maybe because of payment problems, just the Premium is inaccessible. This doesn't mean they cannot expand their customer base into those countries.

 

Billing sounds simple enough, but from my relatively limited experience with it, nothing is as simple as it seems. And, any snafu in the system causes troubles for not only users, but it threatens the revenue pipeline for the business as well. I'm cool with them taking their time.

  • Level 5*
Posted

Given what's been said, it seems to be very unlikely in the near future.

  • Level 5*
Posted

I wouldn't call the current options all that risky; yes, services like BitPay are not the size of PayPal, but considering that 1) money is instantly converted to USD and transferred 2) there are no chargebacks 3) the fees are extremely low, lower than those of processing credit card or paypal payments 4) it does not cannibalize other payment options, and 5) it could give Evernote extra exposure to the public — frankly, I don't see much downside of accepting Bitcoins. Or at very least of giving it a test trial and see how it goes.

Maybe no harm, but I'd personally rather see Evernote invest their resources elsewhere. Offering payment by paypal and major credit cards is pretty standard. And, they already have exposure in every (?) country because it is a free app. The extreme currency volatility alone would seem to discourage use of Bitcoin; in minutes it can lose a lot of value -- the cost of a Premium subscription could conceivably be lost while it is in the shopping cart.

Perhaps, if there is going to be a trial, we ought to see how a year of bitcoin works out for WordPress. Evernote doesn't have to bear the costs of working on the bleeding edge this way.

  • Level 5*
Posted

Given what's been said, it seems to be very unlikely in the near future.

 

Well, don't be so pessimistic, saying "most likely no" is easy, but Evernote has yet to talk officially about their stance towards Bitcoin.

 

There is a difference between realism and pessimism. Heather may have posted her own opinion (and made it very clear that it's her opinion and not evernote's), but I would imagine that Heather is absolutely one of the people who would be involved in deciding whether accepting bitcoin is a good strategy.

 

Anyway, if you like the Evernote service, then pay for it, if you don't then don't.

  • Level 5*
Posted
Anyway, if you like the Evernote service, then pay for it, if you don't then don't.

 

Yup - exactly my point a few posts ago.

  • Level 5*
Posted

Well, I think the OP's point was that some people might want to pay for Evernote, but they cannot, and Bitcoin would be a solution. Maybe the OP or a family member is in that boat.

At any rate, I doubt Evernote will ever come out and talk about their plans for billing. From my perspective, I think right now they are a startup that just took on a huge new role as a business platform (with business billing), I'd say they are probably pretty busy with what they've got, and experimenting with bleeding edge billing is probably not the best use of resources.

  • 5 weeks later...
Posted

How do you know they haven't? Perhaps they did and decided it was not a good financial move.

  • 2 months later...
  • Level 5
Posted

Absolutely not. Accepting Bitcoin would be a risky financial move. All it will take is for one major country to ban Bitcoins and make them illegal. Then the whole house of cards could collapse.  (And no I don't consider Thailand a major country.)

 

Just Google "Bitcoin risk" and see all the articles.

 

Evernote should stick with the tried and true methods of payment.

  • 9 months later...
Posted

Evernote should accept bitcoin for the same reasons WordPress did:  Paypal blocks over 60 countries, and only a small number of the world's population has access to credit cards.  Evernote can expand their potential customer base by quite a lot by accepting bitcoin.  There is no reason that someone in Kenya or Haiti should be prevented from buying Evernote services.  Wordpress is totally unaffected by the exchange rate of bitcoin, because their payment processor BitPay instantly converts it into dollars.  Here is their blog entry about why they decided to accept it:

 

http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/pay-another-way-bitcoin/

One year later, there are now companies with 25x the valuation of evernote accepting bitcoin.  Integrating Bitcoin payments seems to be extremely easy, generates free publicity, and is great for new user acquisition.

  • Level 5*
Posted

It's Evernote's management decision whether they want to add new payment methods.  They carry out their own customer surveys from time to time and presumably these still don't show that the cost of adding a new method would be justified by any revenue gain or publicity.

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