Reefbreeder Paywall Feature good or bad?

[VintageReefer]

Sometimes your replies appear completely reflexive and read just like a bots would... Like AI auto writing a RB supportive reply to anything anyone says. I didn't even say anything about acclimation mode...

Criticism noted.

My comment is on topic for the threads purpose. Attempting to steer it back on track instead of making me the focus.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

If you want it you can pay to have it unlocked. If you think it’s too much, or shouldn’t have a cost, or don’t need it, then don’t buy it. Very simple. And it’s the only feature with a cost. Everything else is free

This is exactly how I feel about anything that is offered within the free market. I may not like something or how it’s priced but I still have the choice to purchase or not,

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I might have said this earlier, but I'll state it again. I live by the "don't like it, don't buy it policy". No one is forcing you to pay for something you don't like or forcing you to buy from a company you may not like. If you don't like a company? Don't buy from them. Like a company but don't like something they are offering? Don't buy the product that is on offer.

 

[VintageReefer]

Sometimes your replies appear completely reflexive and read just like a bots would... Like AI auto writing a RB supportive reply to anything anyone says. I didn't even say anything about acclimation mode...

And if you think you are the first to accuse me of being an AI, you are not! That’s just my personality / writing style

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/would-you-agree-these-are-melting-dieing.1113309/post-13610250

 

[TelegrahamTested LLC]

I may not like something or how it’s priced but I still have the choice to purchase or not,

Agreed, we have choices, and this thread is about people using them.

In a free market, buyers have two tools: where they spend their money and what they say publicly about how products are designed, priced, and supported. The second one is how the first one works. Wannabe buyers read threads like this before they spend A LOT of money on lights, and manufacturers read them to see what customers will put up with. When the aggregation of 160+ posts suggests that we, the reefers, “don’t want subscription unlocks in reef hardware,” that’s the free market working as it should.

Choice also depends on information. In this thread, someone paid A LOT of money for a light, they installed the fixture, and they found out weeks later that features they’d been told were coming had a price attached. Or maybe the buyer misunderstood, but it still shines a light on the fact that the information the manufacturer provided may not have been complete. It’s exactly the kind of thing a public discussion like this is supposed to bring out.

So yes: buy the light and decide if the extras are worth it. That’s one choice. Or buy a light that does as much or more for less. Either way, pointing out questionable engineering or business decisions is valuable. It’s how the next buyer makes a better choice, and how the next manufacturer decides not to try the same thing.

 

[areefer01]

Another way to look at it is that they are setting a precedent. In short they think they are pioneering a new business model and this is the test case to see if consumers are willing to pay for it.

Being championed as a don't like it don't pay for it or I never use it in my 25 years of reefing is a mischaracterization in my opinion.

 

[BryanM]

I think the biggest reason this is an issue is that it changed. I still don't understand how people don't realize that there's costs involved in creating new features. If they were to modify original core features when I first bought the light and put those behind a paywall I'd be furious, but that's not what happened.

 

[areefer01]

I still don't understand how people don't realize that there's costs involved in creating new features.

And yet it is a standard offering for many other brands...

 

[BryanM]

And yet it is a standard offering for many other brands...

Thats fine, go with them. These features were not standard when the Meridian was introduced.

I still feel it is reasonable to charge for new features... I will also admit that I am not surprised at the backlash, but I am surprised people don't seem to realize the cost of creating new features.

 

[Reefering1]

Thats fine, go with them. These features were not standard when the Meridian was introduced.

I still feel it is reasonable to charge for new features... I will also admit that I am not surprised at the backlash, but I am surprised people don't seem to realize the cost of creating new features.

Your phone updates adds features without ongoing costs..

 

[BryanM]

Your phone updates adds features without ongoing costs..

So does my apple tv, my hydros collective, and the list goes on and on and on.

We will have to agree to disagree, as I doubt either of us will change our view on this.

 

[Reefering1]

So does my apple tv, my hydros collective, and the list goes on and on and on.

We will have to agree to disagree, as I doubt either of us will change our view on this.

Kinda seems like we agree on the fact that updates are normally free and add features...
We disagree in opinion of whether there should be a fee to "unlock" such a basic feature.
Many are very concerned of the Slippery slope of paywalling features that the hardware you own is already capable of.

My question to you is, Would you be okay with not being able to change settings of the light without a subscription?

 

[areefer01]

These features were not standard when the Meridian was introduced.

Then don't implement it. That or earn bonus/kudo/cookies/karma and add it later. Earn customer loyalty.

I still feel it is reasonable to charge for new features... I will also admit that I am not surprised at the backlash, but I am surprised people don't seem to realize the cost of creating new features.

Features are not free, we all know it. It is just masked in the overall price just as free shipping is.

But to your point about not using them or use others of course, there are other options out there. We all hobby differently.

 

[VintageReefer]

My question to you is, Would you be okay with not being able to change settings of the light without a subscription?

I wouldn’t be ok with that. But that’s not the case here

 

[Reefering1]

I wouldn’t be ok with that. But that’s not the case here

I agree, just seems that situation may be at the bottom of that slippery slope. (That's my concern anyway)

 

[BryanM]

I agree, just seems that situation may be at the bottom of that slippery slope. (That's my concern anyway)

If they did this I'd drop them like I did redsea.

 

[Biff0rz]

Coming back to my original point in this thread: I don’t support putting features that should be included with the light behind a separate paywall. Whether it’s a subscription or a “lifetime” fee doesn’t change the principle.

I was a ReefBreeders fanboy for YEARS. I own four Photons and was planning on four Meridians for my new 560 build. I bought another brand instead, specifically because of this decision. So when I said this would cost you loyal customers, I meant it.

Since then, I’ve used AI to rewrite the app and add the features I wanted myself, without paying for Premium. No, I won’t be sharing it. But it illustrates how quickly things are changing. Charging to unlock functionality becomes a much harder sell when customers can increasingly build it themselves.

Software development costs money (but that too is QUICKLT changing - agentic teams changes calculus in this thread). My argument was always to build that cost into the product and give people a reason to keep buying and recommending your lights. This approach did the opposite for me. That cost is also no longer justified. I re-wrote their app for $0 - just my normal AI subscription fee covered it.

RB needs to rethink its business model, and quickly. I don’t see this path holding up as the tools available to customers keep improving. :)

 

[Marco_99]

Oh boy, who dug up this thread again lol??