The checkout experience in PL is just standard Paddle checkout, so I imagine the feedback about charging after the free trial applies to everyone who uses Paddle?
I tend to think the Paddle checkout flow is clear enough on how their free trial period works, and I don't recall anyone else taking issue with that in the past.
But if the sentiment is shared that Paddle's checkout copy needs improvement, I can certainly pass that along to the Paddle team.
Was the OP here talking about Premium or Pro though? b/c I'm still wondering where that $592 came from.
Why does this cost so much and why don't you offer a monthly subscription.
If you just add a 10$ a month option most people will just shrug it off even if they never touch the site again. But you start at 108 for the year. That's charge back territory.
If I just forget about this after the free trial but see a 108$ mystery charge I'm asking questions.
I'm a lifetime user that bought back on the first HN announcement.
It has been worth every dollar! They added custom taxes with auto import for various countries and they have been clearing out suggestions over the years.
I'm very proud of this HN solo founder. Borderline jealous that they were able to have the discipline and commitment to continue doing this.
Funny enough, "pricing too low" is still a common piece of feedback I get as well.
I wonder if the fact that there are now voices on both sides could indicate that it's finally in the right territory. Or perhaps that there should be additional tiers. Just not sure how best to carve up the feature set in that latter case.
My friends love giving this "value" based on need and benefit example.
The obvious counter example is water. We need it to survive, often. Yet it's basically free. So don't tell me you can just charge based on how important and useful something is.
That's an unfair extreme; there are huge ethical issues attached to the core basics needed for survival. A personal financial simulator has none of those.
(Also, water is definitely not free unless you’re literally collecting rain or going down to the river yourself. And even that has costs associated with it.)
Water is basically free. The cost is basically the cost to transport, stock, and process your sale. You can get water for $1 at a gas station, which means they are charging you basically zero markup for the fact that it is a life saving high value product.
I have tons of friends that tell me to price my saas through the roof because "look at the value!!!" ignoring that there are alternatives to it that are basically free, like a piece of paper.
> The checkout experience in PL is just standard Paddle checkout, so I imagine the feedback about charging after the free trial applies to everyone who uses Paddle?
Yup. It's a manipulative dark pattern. It makes the path of least resistance automatic spending of money rather than making a decision.
Paddle literally just nabbed me for a $40 subscription for another app just a few days ago. I am attempting to get it cancelled through their support, I never even got an email warning me of it at all. If they don't agree to cancel, considering I haven't even launched said app in months, I will dispute it w/ my CC. Madness.
Update: Paddle support got back to me in 24-hours and their emailed link cancelled the payment and put me in touch with an AI that instantly resolved the situation and knew what I was talking about. I was impressed.
Hmm which OP do you mean? I was referring to karaterobot's original/top-level comment, where afaik they didn't specify.
From context though, it sounds to me like maybe they meant to look at the trial for Premium (i.e. personal use) but accidentally started checkout for the Pro version. I wonder if just hopping into the free sandbox might have been a better fit for what they wanted to do.
Anyway, if others find Paddle's free trial / checkout copy problematic, or have other changes to recommend, just let me know.
> the trial for Premium (i.e. personal use) but accidentally started checkout for the Pro version
It doesn't seem very clear on the pricing page that Pro is for professionals; this is mentioned in the copy, but deemphasized there (smaller, low contrast type between black-on-white title and feature bullets). Until I read the passage I quoted I did not realize there was such a distinction, and it wasn't till I went back and looked hard that I spotted the copy that clarified it.
You already have a "For Advisors" page on the site. If Paddle makes it straightforward, perhaps consider listing the Pro plan there and just Basic and Premium on the main plan page, or something like that, and have some sort of secondary CTA (eg "Looking for personal/advisor plans?") on both, to help redirect folks who end up in the wrong place.
Or something like that, anyway - I think the root cause here is that you're addressing two separate markets that have separate sets of concerns and cost expectations, but aren't always being intentional and specific about which of those markets you're addressing at any one time. Due to this you're inadvertently violating one market's expectations with another market's offer, in a way that isn't deliberately shady but shares enough commonality with a pattern that is shady that it takes care to distinguish what's actually going on.
edit: You might also and more simply consider renaming the "Pro" plan; that word doesn't mean very much these days. If it was called something like "Advisor", I doubt anyone would've turned a hair at the price; a name like that does much more to help me as a potential customer understand whether or not this plan is meant for me.
Ah yes it was a different person who pointed out Pro. Dunno what karaterobot clicked but judging by the number it was probably pro.
Paddle looks pretty normal to me but I think some people find that norm offensive. "Free trial then we auto charge you" definitely feels a bit dark compared to, say, "Free trial then we put you back on basic". I think that would be good for Paddle to consider.
I tend to think the Paddle checkout flow is clear enough on how their free trial period works, and I don't recall anyone else taking issue with that in the past.
But if the sentiment is shared that Paddle's checkout copy needs improvement, I can certainly pass that along to the Paddle team.
Was the OP here talking about Premium or Pro though? b/c I'm still wondering where that $592 came from.