Reefbreeder Paywall Feature good or bad?

[jt0117]

Please pass along your vote on the new reefbreeder Paywall software feature.

 

[Troylee]

Can we add “who cares” to the poll lol.

 

[Marco_99]

Can we add “who cares” to the poll lol.

You cared enough to come here and reply. You must care more than you think lol

 

[BriDroid]

I’ll stick with Luca and his Helix bars. I’ve got a Reef Crest coming any day now!

 

[Mmbra]

Reefbreeders is dead t me after putting integrated light features behind a subscription paywall.

 

[SpyC]

So, they didn’t want to support the old app and forced people to a new one then added a paywall for features their fixtures are capable of? Seems like a planned obsoletism to maximize profits with an excuse

 

[Troylee]

You cared enough to come here and reply. You must care more than you think lol

Honestly I could care less! Lol. I own 10 of their light fixtures. I don’t think it was a good idea on their part but it really doesn’t bother me as I don’t need or want any of those features. I’m fine with the basic app.. I mean I still run halides “on, off” that’s what grows corals! Playing with things just stunts growth.

 

[exnisstech]

I'm not planning on paying for anything because I'm already running their lights on 3 tanks and they do what I need as is. Lights are set and forget for me similar to flow once it's dialed in why make changes.

 

[Lousybreed]

I’ll stick with Luca and his Helix bars. I’ve got a Reef Crest coming any day now!

Thank you!!

 

[tharbin]

I have been avoiding this poll because I have a hard time answering it.

I think I understand what Reef Breeders is trying to accomplish and they need a way to fund the development. Raising the price of the fixtures to accomplish that would be a competitive disadvantage.

I am happy with the fixtures I bought and their pricing. I think the new features they are adding to the new fixtures make them an even better bargain.

I have no problem with the general concept of purchasing additional, software-based, add-ons if they fulfill some niche that I would like to pursue with my lights.

I do however, balk at the idea of a subscription to get those add-ons. I want to buy the add-ons one-time. I also will not, even if I need the features, do an in-app purchase. I will never do an in-app purchase or even an app store purchase. I also don't want to encourage other companies to pursue the concept of subscriptions so I would not buy a subscription even from a company I trust because it could encourage other companies to follow suit.

We commonly buy add-ons, modifications, or improvements to our reefing gear. This should be no different. Put the add-on in the Meridian section of the website as an accessory. Buy it online and have it added to your account. Simple, clean and not a subscription.

--edit--
In case Reef Breeders checks in. You should add the 1/2" T-Bolts to the Meridian section. They are pretty much required if you make a custom mount for your Meridian and going to the Photon page is not immediately obvious.

 

[areefer01]

I have been avoiding this poll because I have a hard time answering it.

I think I understand what Reef Breeders is trying to accomplish and they need a way to fund the development. Raising the price of the fixtures to accomplish that would be a competitive disadvantage.

I am happy with the fixtures I bought and their pricing. I think the new features they are adding to the new fixtures make them an even better bargain.

I have no problem with the general concept of purchasing additional, software-based, add-ons if they fulfill some niche that I would like to pursue with my lights.

I do however, balk at the idea of a subscription to get those add-ons. I want to buy the add-ons one-time. I also will not, even if I need the features, do an in-app purchase. I will never do an in-app purchase or even an app store purchase. I also don't want to encourage other companies to pursue the concept of subscriptions so I would not buy a subscription even from a company I trust because it could encourage other companies to follow suit.

We commonly buy add-ons, modifications, or improvements to our reefing gear. This should be no different. Put the add-on in the Meridian section of the website as an accessory. Buy it online and have it added to your account. Simple, clean and not a subscription.

--edit--
In case Reef Breeders checks in. You should add the 1/2" T-Bolts to the Meridian section. They are pretty much required if you make a custom mount for your Meridian and going to the Photon page is not immediately obvious.

Let us have a serious discussion about it and not just a vote. I do not own the lights so curious if my vote counts in the grand scheme of things. I guess maybe a tiny bit because I'm in the middle of an upgrade and my current lights are no longer manufactured (Neptune SKYs) so technically this could be considered. So I voted no.

Why? Because I don't see the return on investment. Let me explain.

Auto manufactures. Build one car, truck, add in a couple of trim options, and then offer subscription packages to enable features. Features such as downloadable maps, GPS, heated seats, cooled seats, and say self driving. In each of these cases the base car or truck is purchased and the buyer opts for what they want. The auto manufacture saves time, and money, by limiting multiple trim packages, etc. Win, win. And if when the original purchaser sells the vehicle there is no, or less, down sell or loss because the car or truck has it and the buyer again opts what they want.

Bob in Arizona will probably want cooling on the seats. They probably do not want heated seats. On the other hand Scotty in Montana may want both. Jose the commuter may want assisted driving. Sally does not because she only logs 1,000 miles a year due to working at home...

I can see the reason, and value add, by the auto manufacture. I don't see it with these lights and/or the app.

There you have it. I do have more thoughts on the subject that are leaning a bit more negative but I don't think it will add any value. So there you have it. Why I voted the way "I" did.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

I dont have anything to add that hasnt already been said in this thread and the Meridian thread, EXCEPT.....

LOL at us being able to see who voted for each catergory and seeing that the only "yes" vote is from Reef Breeders.

 

[Zuluuz]

 

[Marco_99]

I have been avoiding this poll because I have a hard time answering it.

I think I understand what Reef Breeders is trying to accomplish and they need a way to fund the development. Raising the price of the fixtures to accomplish that would be a competitive disadvantage.

I am happy with the fixtures I bought and their pricing. I think the new features they are adding to the new fixtures make them an even better bargain.

I have no problem with the general concept of purchasing additional, software-based, add-ons if they fulfill some niche that I would like to pursue with my lights.

I do however, balk at the idea of a subscription to get those add-ons. I want to buy the add-ons one-time. I also will not, even if I need the features, do an in-app purchase. I will never do an in-app purchase or even an app store purchase. I also don't want to encourage other companies to pursue the concept of subscriptions so I would not buy a subscription even from a company I trust because it could encourage other companies to follow suit.

We commonly buy add-ons, modifications, or improvements to our reefing gear. This should be no different. Put the add-on in the Meridian section of the website as an accessory. Buy it online and have it added to your account. Simple, clean and not a subscription.

--edit--
In case Reef Breeders checks in. You should add the 1/2" T-Bolts to the Meridian section. They are pretty much required if you make a custom mount for your Meridian and going to the Photon page is not immediately obvious.

It’s pretty simple, you just bump the general price of your product up and you give everybody the full function of the light that it’s capable of. Your product will speak for itself and your customers will sell your product for you. You’ll sell far more units and retain your customers through different products.

Overcomplicating your product and having all these pay scales, subscriptions, hardware add-ons, all that garbage is just going to detour people from wanting to deal with your product, it’s complicated and confusing. No one understands it, even some of the people that are buying the lights right now don’t even understand what they get or what features are enabled or going to be added. Either that or come out with a dual tier product one that offers all the bells and whistles and one that does your basic entry functions and have two different price points.

 

[me & my baby]

This is taking it to far . Your selling a light at a premium price that is still just an evergrow with a different . You are locking features so the customer has to pay a subscription to use the feature that the light is already capable of doing . This is truly Bull Crap , this is why I don’t like all this new equipment coming out that is app controlled. Once you start excepting this as a new normal they have you . Just like BMW charging a subscription to use the heated seats in the car you just bought .

 

[Reefering1]

Imagine having to pay a subscription to use the dosing pump you payed more than a few hundred for..

What if Neptune did this with their controllers...

Maybe they just have a fee every time you want to make a change in programming.

What happens to the equipment if you terminate your subscription?

 

[slingfox]

This type of “premium subscription” program sets a terrible precedent for the reefing hobby. I hope the subscription program is a complete failure otherwise we risk other reefing equipment manufacturers adopting this kind of pricing strategy.

 

[VintageReefer]

It’s pretty simple, you just bump the general price of your product up and you give everybody the full function of the light that it’s capable of.

No thank you. I don’t want the premium features and I don’t want them built into my base price if I have a choice

Your selling a light at a premium price that is still just an evergrow with a different .

It is not an evergrow. There is no equal light on the market in any country. The meridian is a 100% original light designed and built by reefbreeders

What happens to the equipment if you terminate your subscription?

Nothing. We have all the features that always were there

Subscription is really just designed to try the new features for a small cost. It’s a rental fee lol 10$ a month to unlock for up to 3 lights. The other option is a one time fee of $200 to unlock premium for life, and if you sell your light and get another one down the line, you still will have premium unlocked. I think the price is high, so I’m glad it’s offered as optional instead of inflating the lights price

Btw this is what premium unlocks

Everything else is free, always has been and always will be. Including location based lunar schedule.

They aren’t charging for every new feature also. They recently added the intensity slider, which was going to be a premium bundled item, and they decided to publish it for free instead. They also are upgrading all new sold meridians to include Bluetooth control for free, and no cost increase. There are other items being added in the near future with cost increase as well. Stay tuned

 

[slingfox]

No thank you. I don’t want the premium features and I don’t want them built into my base price if I have a choice


It is not an evergrow. There is no equal light on the market in any country. The meridian is a 100% original light designed and built by reefbreeders


Nothing. We have all the features that always were there

Subscription is really just designed to try the new features for a small cost. It’s a rental fee lol 10$ a month to unlock for up to 3 lights. The other option is a one time fee of $200 to unlock premium for life, and if you sell your light and get another one down the line, you still will have premium unlocked. I think the price is high, so I’m glad it’s offered as optional instead of inflating the lights price

Btw this is what premium unlocks

Everything else is free, always has been and always will be. Including location based lunar schedule.

They aren’t charging for every new feature also. They recently added the intensity slider, which was going to be a premium bundled item, and they decided to publish it for free instead. They also are upgrading all new sold meridians to include Bluetooth control for free, and no cost increase. There are other items being added in the near future with cost increase as well. Stay tuned

Looks like a complete ripoff. Many of those features are offered for free on other lights—including my Chinese black boxes on my QT tank. $10 a month to change the location? $120 a year to access a basic acclimation feature? That is absolute absurdity

 

[13rodo]

First I have zero skin in this game…

Philosophically I wholeheartedly disagree with using software switches to disable otherwise perfectly functional hardware. Like a car that requires a subscription for seat warmers (cough BMW) is out of control. If someone pays for a piece of hardware, all of the included components should function.

This seems more like a software switch for software, however. I don’t like it still, but it’s more palatable because most consumers expect constant software updates in today’s world. The idea of a one time purchase I thought was a good middle ground.

Regardless, once one starts this subscription garbage it’s a slippery slope. Where does it end?