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Really, really, struggling with premium


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Hello,

I am going to be very candid in this post, so please forgive me if I come across as a bit cranky.

About a year ago my girlfriend and I started looking for a note taking/checklist solution. We realized we had a lot of information that we wanted to share and collaborate on, as well, we wanted to share grocery lists to avoid purchasing multiple items.

My dad, being a very loyal Evernote user had been sending me Evernote stories and articles for quite some time, and my girlfriend had already dabbled in Evernote as well, so I decided to give it a try.

I downloaded the apps, installed the software and got to work. I spent some time creating recipes, and shopping lists, and adding in personal notes. It wasn't visually that appealing to me, but it was working. That is, until it actually tried using it in the real world.

I remember that day very vividly. I walked to the grocery store with the intention of picking up special items for a special dinner I was making for my girlfriend. I opened the app to find my list and was hit with the, "Only premium users can view offline content, enroll today!"

I was livid. Standing there in the store, not being able to access my note made me so upset. Having to go back later because if forgot some items was the icing on the cake. It was when I saw the $45/year price tag that I lost my mind. $45... a year....a year...just to view my notes in the grocery store?

It was then that I set out on a mission to find any alternative. That is when I came across Springpad.

It took some convincing, but my girlfriend accepted the alternative, and we started integrating it into our lives. Sure, it had its problems, but for the most part it worked great. Unfortunately, as many of you may know, Springpad has closed down, and they've sent many users over to Evernote.

So, here I am...again.

The problem is now, aside for perhaps OneNote, I am very limited in my options. My girlfriend, fully committed to EverNote after the great Springpad closure of 2014, has purchased a premium subscription. In addition, she also received 120 points from her carrier as a promo, and 30 from Evernote for some technical issue.

All the while I'm sitting here trying to justify the cost.

So, here is why I am writing today. I currently pay for Office 365, which gives me the premium version of OneNote. For that reason I would probably go with that solution, but I am now fighting my girlfriends choice. Based on the premium options available, it seems like the only feature I would find useful is the offline viewing.

I can't figure out what the additional collaboration does, or how it would help me. The additional space would be nice, but the likelihood of me using up the space I have now is pretty low (OneNote offers 5Gigs from what I understand), And don't care about most of the other features.

I'm hoping perhaps you guys can convince me why spending $45/y (the price of OS X, 1/2 of the entire office 365 suite, $37 more than Netflix, and the price of and new AAA game on steam) is worth it for me.

All that said, here is how I wished it worked.

I wish Evernote would allow me to choose feature I wanted/needed. Making me pay $45/year reminds me of how cable companies package a bunch of channels you don't want, in a bundle that costs way more than anyone really wants to pay. If should be able to just add on the offline feature, add some extra space, or upgrade the collaboration features (whatever that means).

I should also not have to pay yearly to view my content offline. I mean, it's not like that uses resources to save the data locally on my iPhone.

If I could choose to pay like $10/year for the features I need/want, this would be a no brainer.

Well, I hope someone can give me some perspective. Maybe I'm just not understanding the features, or maybe they don't even benefit me?

Here is what I want to be able to do.

1. Create notes and share them with my girlfriend

2. Edit her notes, and have her edit mine

3. Use checklists for shopping lists that are updated on her devices and mine

4. View my notes/information offline when traveling, or in bad service area

Thanks,

CLM

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Your GF has a premium account, she can share folders with you and give you edit permissions. Since you were last here, free users can also share a single folder with edit permissions.

 

Offline access is a premium feature. It always has been. If you need this functionality and don't want to pay $45 a year for the service then I'm afraid Evernote is not right for you. 

 

It really is as simple as that.

 

Providing a chinese menu of options adds overhead to development and billing and then we all end up paying more and probably having more problems.

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I'm not really sure that anyone can convince that something has value to you. I can tell you that $45/year (less than $4/month) seems like a very low price for what I get: unlimited storage, larger upload limits, priority OCR so that ability to search my handwritten notes almost immediately (this is a big one for me!), interoperability with services like ifttt.com. And, of course, the ability to view my notebooks offline (which I don't, in fact use that much). On a cell phone, unless I leave the country, it's very rare that I don't have a data connection. Some of these features are, in fact, part of the free service but, as I would like to see Evernote stay in business and not go under like Springpad, I'm more than happy to pay less than a price of a latte every month to help ensure that. 

 

I'm not sure how large my database is on the Evernote servers but, given what I put in it and the number of notes I have, I'm guessing it's huge. $45/year is half of what I pay for 100/gigs a year on Dropbox. Obviously, I see value in both. 

 

If you just want to share grocery lists, there are some programs for smartphones designed to do just that. If you have an iPhone, you may want to take a look at GroceryTrip which integrates with Evernote:

 

https://appcenter.evernote.com/app/grocerytrip/iphone

 

What I'd really like to know is how you only pay $8/year for Netflix. I pay $8/month! I want your deal! And Mac OS X? I don't believe Apple charges for upgrades anymore. They didn't for Mavericks. 

 

Best of luck. 

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Your GF has a premium account, she can share folders with you and give you edit permissions. Since you were last here, free users can also share a single folder with edit permissions.

Offline access is a premium feature. It always has been. If you need this functionality and don't want to pay $45 a year for the service then I'm afraid Evernote is not right for you.

It really is as simple as that.

Providing a chinese menu of options adds overhead to development and billing and then we all end up paying more and probably having more problems.

I think that is what she's been doing is giving me permissions. We have a bunch of recipes that I can edit. Maybe I'll let her just create all the notebooks and give me permissions, and I'll buy her a game or something. :)

The offline thing really, really bugs me. That seems like such a money grab, to be honest. I can't wrap my head around why this is a premium feature, opposed to just a normal part of the software. People have bad connections all the time, why does it make any sense to charge people $45/y so they can view their shopping lists if they lose reception in Costco? Makes no sense to me.

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I'm not really sure that anyone can convince that something has value to you. I can tell you that $45/year (less than $4/month) seems like a very low price for what I get: unlimited storage, larger upload limits, priority OCR so that ability to search my handwritten notes almost immediately (this is a big one for me!), interoperability with services like ifttt.com. And, of course, the ability to view my notebooks offline (which I don't, in fact use that much). On a cell phone, unless I leave the country, it's very rare that I don't have a data connection. Some of these features are, in fact, part of the free service but, as I would like to see Evernote stay in business and not go under like Springpad, I'm more than happy to pay less than a price of a latte every month to help ensure that. 

 

I'm not sure how large my database is on the Evernote servers but, given what I put in it and the number of notes I have, I'm guessing it's huge. $45/year is half of what I pay for 100/gigs a year on Dropbox. Obviously, I see value in both. 

 

If you just want to share grocery lists, there are some programs for smartphones designed to do just that. If you have an iPhone, you may want to take a look at GroceryTrip which integrates with Evernote:

 

https://appcenter.evernote.com/app/grocerytrip/iphone

 

What I'd really like to know is how you only pay $8/year for Netflix. I pay $8/month! I want your deal! And Mac OS X? I don't believe Apple charges for upgrades anymore. They didn't for Mavericks. 

 

Best of luck.

Oh, I have no issue paying for something that has value to me. I would gladly paid 45/y for Springpad because they offered all features, and won my loyalty. Had they cut me off from my data, limited my abilities to collaborate, or whatever, I probably would have moved on to something else.

This is just how I personally look at stuff these days. I pay for what I think has value, and support companies that I feel are doing what is best for me as a customer.

Anyway...that grocery list app looked great, but it's not available for android unfortunately, so my girlfriend couldn't use it.

I don't pay $8/y for Netflix, I pay $8/m, but I can watch hundreds of hours of movies and TV for that price. In comparison, for $3/m less I can view my notes offline the few times I lose service, or travel. OS X doesn't charge for upgrades, but when they release new versions of the OS, they are about $40. That is an entire OS for the yearly cost of EverNote premium.

My point was that it seems very mismatched. I was looking lever the Evernote updates in the last year, and I'm not entire sure how, with the giant user base they have, how they can justify that cost in comparison to some of the other software available. Like I said above, office 365 is $99/y and you get the entire suite (word, excel, PowerPoint, etc) as well as OneNote.

I'm going to plead my case for OneNote to my girlfriend since I'm already paying for it, but I just know she won't go for it....even though she has it installed. :/

I know I sound cheap here, but Evernote just hasn't won my loyalty enough to justify a yearly cost. One time cost of $45, sure, I would have went for that without issue and paid for major updates, but for basically one or two features I just can't commit. I could get Spotify, Pandora, Netflix, and VPN service to access them around the world, for basically the same price.

Oh well...maybe I'll just give it a try, and keep my eye out for something else. Maybe my carrier will give away 100+ points like they did for my girlfriend (by the way, they should allow people to share points...families would appreciate that). My girlfriend also suggested I cancel my account, and then she'll refer me, giving me a month of premium to try out.

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Your GF has a premium account, she can share folders with you and give you edit permissions. Since you were last here, free users can also share a single folder with edit permissions.

Offline access is a premium feature. It always has been. If you need this functionality and don't want to pay $45 a year for the service then I'm afraid Evernote is not right for you.

It really is as simple as that.

Providing a chinese menu of options adds overhead to development and billing and then we all end up paying more and probably having more problems.

I think that is what she's been doing is giving me permissions. We have a bunch of recipes that I can edit. Maybe I'll let her just create all the notebooks and give me permissions, and I'll buy her a game or something. :)

The offline thing really, really bugs me. That seems like such a money grab, to be honest. I can't wrap my head around why this is a premium feature, opposed to just a normal part of the software. People have bad connections all the time, why does it make any sense to charge people $45/y so they can view their shopping lists if they lose reception in Costco? Makes no sense to me.

 

 

What features would you charge for then? Evernote have to have an income or else they will go the way of Springpad. 

 

I like to support things that I find useful, I started paying for Evernote long before I needed any premium features because I understand that people have to eat and that for what I was getting $45 was really not a lot of money.

 

As Meg says, I'm not sure it's possible to convince someone to see value in something.

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What features would you charge for then? Evernote have to have an income or else they will go the way of Springpad. 

 

I like to support things that I find useful, I started paying for Evernote long before I needed any premium features because I understand that people have to eat and that for what I was getting $45 was really not a lot of money.

 

As Meg says, I'm not sure it's possible to convince someone to see value in something.

Well, I don't know Evernote that well yet, but from what I can tell, I think security, offline notes, and basic collaboration should be included by default. Then, I would charge for more space, business features, advanced collaboration, and any additional features that really dedicated users would use.

Then, I would have a "Support Evernote" link in the app, for all those who like the software and want to support it. I would have probably even been more inclined to pay had they gave me a few months full service to try, but "advance collaboration" is way to vague for me.

I like to support things that are useful, but also fair. I like supporting software companies that I feel are looking out for my user experience first and foremost, before making a profit. I will pay, but I have to feel like paying is something I want to do, because it makes me feel good, not something I feel I have to do because if I don't I can't take advantage of simple feature.

This year alone I have spent hundreds of dollars on software and services for my Mac/iPhone/iPad. From small programs like DocMod, to large ones like Office 365. I've purchased these because they allowed me to use the software, and then choose to support it. To me, Evernote's premium pricing model feels outdated. It feels like how software used to feel back in the early 2000's where nothing ever felt complete until you purchased the seemingly arbitrary premium features.

For someone who plays a lot of games, and buys a lot of media, I'm more used to the pay for what I need model, and support who I feel deserves it models.

What it comes down to for me is that Evernote has created a barrier to entry for me. There are basic features that are not available until I pay. Not once, but every year. That is a subscription, at a price vastly more than other subscriptions I pay for, with arguably huge amounts of comparative value.

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And there's the problem, you see offline as being basic. Evernote see it as a premium feature.

 

You can use Evernote for free forever - that's pretty amazing. But if you want the features that Evernote consider Premium then you have to pay.

 

This conversation seems to be going round in circles so good luck with whichever path you choose.

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And there's the problem, you see offline as being basic. Evernote see it as a premium feature.

 

You can use Evernote for free forever - that's pretty amazing. But if you want the features that Evernote consider Premium then you have to pay.

 

This conversation seems to be going round in circles so good luck with whichever path you choose.

His is the last post I can make for the day.....maybe this is a premium feature as well? :P

I understand they see it as a premium feature, but it really isn't. Offline mode is such a standard these days...in fact it is usually the default for most programs. Imagine if Google said that despite you having synced all your documents to your devices, we will lock you out of them because you haven't payed.

That just makes no logical sense. If anything the premium feature should be to access them online. Logically that makes sense.

I dunno......I just don't get it..who doesn't allow their users to access their own data offline? So I can't work on a note I already started on my laptop while on the plane? I can't review my business presentation because my cell can't get reception in the train tunnel? I can't look at my grocery list in costco because the concrete walls are too thick for a signal, even though I synced it before I left the house?

It makes no sense at all.

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I think you're going to see more subscription-based software than less, as the software world evolves, particularly with respect to cloud-based data. Dropbox is free to a point as well, but if you want more, then you gotta pay.

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Anyway...that grocery list app looked great, but it's not available for android unfortunately, so my girlfriend couldn't use it.

I don't pay $8/y for Netflix, I pay $8/m, but I can watch hundreds of hours of movies and TV for that price. In comparison, for $3/m less I can view my notes offline the few times I lose service, or travel. OS X doesn't charge for upgrades, but when they release new versions of the OS, they are about $40. That is an entire OS for the yearly cost of EverNote premium.

And this is why I don't think you can be convinced (or even want to be convinced. You said Evernote's $45 a year was $37 more than Netflix's $8 a month and therefore less of a value. Apples to oranges. Evernote is $45 a year compared to Netflix's $96 dollars a year but you can use many of Evernote's features for free. Can't say that about Netflix. Netflix costs almost twice as much but it has value to you so you'll cast it in a more favorable light. That's fine. You don't see value in Evernote and don't want to pay. That's fine, too. Those of us who do will still continue to subsidize your free account. ;-)

(And no, Apple doesn't charge for new versions of the Mac OS. Mavericks was free. It appears that Yosemite will also be.)

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Fine!

 

I just purchased the premium membership (only because I saw they have a good refund policy). 

 

Within 10 minutes of creating some new notes for my girlfriend and I to plan our summer, I started longing for the days of Springpad. 

 

I can't resize any images?

I can't choose which image is displayed as the thumbnail?

I don't have "contacts" that I can easily choose from and must manually type in my girlfriends email each time I share a new notebook? 

Why does the "card" view show all the info in the note?

Why are my tags suddenly disappearing after typing a bunch out?

Why can't I change the look/color of my notebooks so as I visually oriented person I can find them easier?

Why does the premium confirmation email tell me that I can turn off auto-renew, but I can't find it?

Why did Evernote automatically save my credit card details, and not give me a way to delete them?

Why can't I edit the text size/color on the iPad (must use Mac version to format)?

Why are tables not editable in terms of colour, weight, etc? Thems some bold table borders!

 

Grumble....

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Fine!

I just purchased the premium membership (only because I saw they have a good refund policy).

Within 10 minutes of creating some new notes for my girlfriend and I to plan our summer, I started longing for the days of Springpad.

I can't resize any images?

I can't choose which image is displayed as the thumbnail?

I don't have "contacts" that I can easily choose from and must manually type in my girlfriends email each time I share a new notebook?

Why does the "card" view show all the info in the note?

Why are my tags suddenly disappearing after typing a bunch out?

Why can't I change the look/color of my notebooks so as I visually oriented person I can find them easier?

Why does the premium confirmation email tell me that I can turn off auto-renew, but I can't find it?

Why did Evernote automatically save my credit card details, and not give me a way to delete them?

Why can't I edit the text size/color on the iPad (must use Mac version to format)?

Why are tables not editable in terms of colour, weight, etc? Thems some bold table borders!

Grumble....

To be fair, every one of those complaints could have been identified before paying for premium.
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The offline thing really, really bugs me. That seems like such a money grab, to be honest. I can't wrap my head around why this is a premium feature, opposed to just a normal part of the software. People have bad connections all the time, why does it make any sense to charge people $45/y so they can view their shopping lists if they lose reception in Costco? Makes no sense to me.

https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/12981-offline-synch-should-not-be-a-premium-feature/?p=62104

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