We all have the option of waiting for a new version to come out and then seeing what has been added.
This is the way most non subscription software works. You don’t pay in advance, you pay if you want the upgrade and you get minor fixes/changes for a year.
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No, that doesn’t answer the question. When I first bought them, it was with the guarantee that Lifetime updates. That also applied with their other products. Just because TL has decided to give that contract the flick, doesn’t mean we all suddenly forget that is what our money paid for. You can’t sell a perpetual license with upgrades to consumers, than yoink it away because it you have decided to create a new business model. I paid for software with a perpetual license, and lifetime upgrades.
And if others think that a promise, verbal or textual, isn’t a viable legal contract, think again. And I really can’t believe how many people are just bowing their heads and taking this.
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That lifetime upgrade doesn’t mean much if the product is no longer supported. That business model forces Topaz to create new products (which is sometimes good) while dropping support for older ones. They did upgrade some older products with free AI products. Though the goal of these was the same the software was completely different. I just realize that they need to stay in business so the model must change. We were getting buggy products that need more work and I want them to concentrate on that. Maybe the upgrade prices are high, it depends on what they come up with but time and possible discounts will tell. Do you want a lifetime upgrade on a unsupported product or a pay for upgrades if you need it model?
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I have SERIOUS trouble with your letter and your plan. You are simply planing to unilaterally break, violate, and negate the contract you made with everyone who has bought your products to date. You talk about “linking arms” but that is just another way of saying “bend over” and take it in the ____!
If you only made your new policy applicable to new buyers, it might make sense. But you made a promise to me and everyone else who helped you personally make lots of money. Now you don’t like your promise and you plan to break it.
I expect there to be some significant lawsuits over this, and I for one will no longer be singing the praises of Topaz being a great company to work with!
I also expect that your planned alternative is to orphan and abandon all products you offered free upgrades for life on.
In ANY case, you win and your customers LOOSE!!!
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See the first post in the thread from the CEO:
Make no mistake about it: this situation was 100% our fault. We were not thoughtful enough about aligning our pricing structure with continuous improvement of our products. Since realizing this, we took some major steps to improve in 2019:
- Consolidated all of our offerings into a single product per category (noise reduction, sharpening, effect creation, etc.)
- Massively shifted our internal goals to prioritize improving existing products over releasing new ones
- Stopped advertising free upgrades as a policy
It doesn’t change the facts.
Made a promise - a contract with buyers.
Intend to break the contract.
I want out of some of the contracts I have made!
This is just like the folks that expect someone else to pay their college debt.
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Breach of contract…
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That is true on the front end. After that, you have no idea what, if anything, meaningful will be developed during the 12 month period. I would prefer paid major version/free minor version - bug fix instead of the time limit. Regardless, “a deal is a deal” and should be grandfathered. Topaz is breaking the deal and that is not cool.
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Same here I used the free trial as a test and besides not using tensor core (and lacking options) which is a shame it was great. I was considering upgrading for the full version, but this makes me rethink if I should. Since it wasn’t mentioned here, I think Video Enhance AI will be at least for more than 1 year? 5 years garanteed would be great, or at least 3, considering Topaz would release one major update every year and things such as tensor core compatibility and even the hardware itself (I’m looking at you, NVIDIA’s Ampère) will improve in the next few years.
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My thoughts on this:
I totally get that continued development needs money coming in. So I totally get it that free upgrades to everything cannot go on indefinitely. A company that goes out of business provides no more value than not having any upgrades. Free upgrades would mean a company is constantly growing the customer base and product base. Tougher act the longer the term this goes on.
Buying software gives the consumer good security (less risk) in always being able to use the software, or at least long term until the operating system becomes obsolete. The tough middle ground to strike has got to be maturing a product enough to be reasonably fully functional for each “purchase” point. Then make reasonably big improvements and let users upgrade or not based on their finances, need and new features. This leads to less security (more risk) for the company.
Renting software seems like a bad idea just because the software could go away if the company goes away or raises the price too high. Thus providing the least security for the user but most security for the company.
I guess my choice is for buying reasonably mature software and then letting me choose upgrades if I feel I the price vs. benefit is there or the operating systems goes obsolete.
In the end, I support Topaz’s decision. Just would like to get slightly more mature versions of their products as the upgrades start to cost.
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AiDon, Since no one from corporate/development reads these numerous complaints on this forum. where can users contact them?
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Eric has replied many times and also Emily from support in this thread. Should you need other questions answered just raise a support request at the main website or post the question here.
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Makes sense. Almost every software company charges for version upgrades. You can’t run a business on good will!
I recently purchased Mask AI only because Topaz is no longer updating Remask 5. That is the only reason I purchased it as I do not like the new interface nor do I think Mask AI does as good a job as the older program I have been using since it was Remask 3. Now I find that after a year upgrades will no longer be free…which has been promised since I purchased my first Topaz product years ago. Also I never received an email from Topaz concerning this change of policy either before or after my recent purchase.
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Considering how well the rollout of Topaz2 went (not) and the fact I had purchased lifetime upgrades that are now being reneged on, my good news is that I’m going to save my fixed income self some money and move on.
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Ive been looking around too. There are some really good competitive products out there.
Stay here for $100 a year for what I already bought… Enjoy the photoshop way. Not for me.
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I tend to agree with aienhancer that other companies usually charge for upgrades. I already get paid upgrades (when they release something useful in a new version) with other software. However I think the thing the ‘grandfathers’ among us have a problem with is that this was never the original deal as it is with those other companies.
If Topaz had changed their policy for newcomers, and truly new programs, we wouldn’t have had a problem.
I think Eric, in replies above, denies there was a ‘contract’ and says it was just a ‘promise’. I respect a ‘promise’ by a business as something more concrete and so do others. At the very least it suggests ‘false and misleading advertising’, which in my country is against the law.
If they were offering something ‘in goodwill’ and now are short of cash, perhaps they have learned that presenting lifetime upgrades isn’t a marketing edge that is sustainable. However to go back on existing agreements is something different.
I have opened a ticket for a refund of my AIs as Eric offered.
He has laid out where he is going, and seeking a refund is my personal decision in response as this doesn’t work for me.
I am sad as I gave Topaz a level of trust, respect and loyalty that is now in question. I also prefer the old products, which have all been pronounced ‘legacy’ with no support. ReStyle, which I use a lot, doesn’t even have a new version. I will just have to wait till tech moves along and they no longer work. By that time I am likely to have found alternatives out there with other companies.
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He has asked us to trust Topaz going forward… after admitting the company makes poor business decisions, can reverse decisions at any point, and isn’t as respectful to customers as the claimed. Despite all the spin this is what it strips down to.
Topaz isn’t a charity we support by donation, nor is it a football club with us as supporters. So we don’t have a reason to dig deep and get behind them in this. I also don’t have a reason to keep abreast of new Topaz products as I now carry experience of shoddy buggy releases and a company who penalises customers for their unwise, out of touch business decisions.
Exactly. Well said
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I agree with you on this. This is normal industry practice and is a better model.
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