machines23 wrote:Peter_IK wrote:Please see my message above. Loyal customers will surely have enough JamPoints in their account to make the upgrade $70 which is a steal. We have a constant loyalty program which rewards loyal customers and we're allowing 30% off of a release that's already 1/3 off.
Any more loyalty bonuses and we'd be giving it away.
Not at all. Most companies don't bother with Jam points and other awkward reward systems.
You own Guitar Rig? there's a 60%+ discount for upgrading. if there's an initial sale it's never the same price for a current user as a new customer, and there's no punishment for not owning the earlier version longer or using your "points" for purchasing something else previously etc. No punishment for purchasing on sale or from another end user etc.
Effectively if you give no discount to end users for these reasons why ever be fooled that any sale from IK is worth purchasing if IK is just going to use that against you when an upgrade comes along?
I think some users do not realize tha AT 4 really is! WIth the custom shop IKM moved away from the traditional upgrade everything to the next version or be left behind model.
AT4 should not be viewed as an "Upgrade" but as an all new package with different models than those of AT3. WIth the custom shop, you have individual amps/effects, mics, etc, and You have collections like Mesa Boogie, Orange, Fender, etc. AT3 is just the largest collection.
When AT3 came out, it cost a lot more than 99 USD and it included all the AT2, Metal, and JH models together with all new models. in that case an upgrade price fro existing users mad made sense.
If You are a new user and buy AT4, You "only" get the new based on Marshall models, acoustic simulator, looper, 3 mics, and other announced features, but you don't get the models from the rest of the collections.
As an existing user, if you "upgrade" to AT4 You take with you everything than you have previously purchased. From my point of view this is a much better option than the old upgrade model. As far as I'm concerned the new models and FX loop alone are more than worth the intro price of AT4
Taking this into account, I hope that you can see that the old upgrade model is just not applicable anymore. I wouldn't be surprised to see the new models and features be added to the custom shop for individual purchase in the near future