Too much trouble ordering

After seeing and reading great reviews for AI Clear, I decided to download the 30-day trial for it, using it in Studio of course. But no matter what I tried, the trial version was unavailable. Instead, Topaz kept sending me to the order form. But after seeing enough videos on the program I decided to go ahead and buy it anyway.
Jim Nix and others gave me discounts of 10% to 15% with no expiration date, but when I attempted to apply any of them, Topaz refused to honor the coupons. Frustrated, I gave up on AI Clear.
But this was hardly my first problem with Topaz. I had wanted to try the 30-day trial of Gigapixel, but no matter how many times I tried to download it, Topaz kept sending me Sharpen AI’s 30-day trial. Interestingly, a few days after Sharpen’s 30-day trial had expired I was allowed to download the Gigapixel trial, so maybe Topaz only allows one 30-day trial at a time.
I had decided to purchase Sharpen on the last day that the intro offer was in effect, but Topaz’s computers went bonkers and refused to accept my credit card. And I had one day to test Gigapixel while it was still on sale, being given no notice that it was the last day before that intro offer expired.
Naturally I sent a number of emails to Topaz detailing my problems, but I knew in advance that that would be a complete waste of time. The good news, I’ve been told, is that Topaz periodically has sales on its products, and the only thing to do is check their site every week. That makes more sense than spending up to a hundred extra dollars for products the company prevented me from buying in the first place.

A post was split to a new topic: Topaz Labs email support

Firstly there is no download for AI Clear, it comes as a pre-loaded Adjustment in Topaz Studio where you can get a 30 day trial by clicking on the ‘Try Pro’ link at the bottom of the Adjustment.

I see nothing on his website to indicate he has any special discounts, the only links are to Topaz Studio (which ends up on the GigaPixel AI page and to the Complete collection which is no longer a product.

Go to Gigapixel AI , click on Download Trial and enter your email address and a link will be sent to you.

There was a lot of traffic on the intro offer for Sharpen AI and there were problems with processing payment on that weekend. But there are other times during the year where other special offers will go out. The best places to see the offers are on the Topaz Labs web site, and the various Facebook groups such as Topaz Studio where all specials will be mentioned and then there are application specific groups such as Sharpen AI, JPEG to RAW etc., etc.

Firstly there is no download for AI Clear, it comes as a pre-loaded Adjustment in Topaz Studio where you can get a 30 day trial by clicking on the ‘Try Pro’ link at the bottom of the Adjustment.

I know there is no download for AI Clear. It is indeed a pre-loaded filter in Studio. But unless you know of some magic formula, it is absolutely impossible to get a 30-day tryout for Clear. Whether I press on the ‘try pro’ button when I expand Clear, or press on the Pro purchase button at the very bottom of Studio, the program takes me either to the Studio download area, which I’ve done at least five times, or to the order form.
When I go to the Clear ad on your site I can scroll down to the bottom where it says I can get a free 30-day trial of the program. But when I check the box it takes me straight to the Studio download area. I download Studio, which automatically replaces the previous Studio download, and the Clear adjustment is right back to where it was to begin with. There is no 30-day full-use trial. Now, if you can show me, step-by-step, exactly what I’m supposed to do I would appreciate it. But at this point, I think something may have changed on your site and you may be unaware of it.

Jim Nix and others gave me discounts of 10% to 15% with no expiration date, but when I attempted to apply any of them, Topaz refused to honor the coupons.

plugsandpixels.com gives a 15% discount for AI Clear, and the offer isn’t dated. I applied that discount and the price for Clear was about $51. But when I tried to pay for the software, Topaz inexplicably voided the sale. Whenever Jim Nix produces a YouTube video for any product, he always gives a 10% discount for the product, and the business he generates for the company allows him a kickback that helps him to make a living. He gave Clear a very high recommendation. When I typed in ‘Jim Nix’ in the coupon area of the Clear order form it automatically gave me a 10% discount. I was surprised, though, that Topaz cancelled the order.

But this was hardly my first problem with Topaz. I had wanted to try the 30-day trial of Gigapixel, but no matter how many times I tried to download it, Topaz kept sending me Sharpen AI’s 30-day trial.

I was finally able to download Gigapixel, but for a number of days your site wouldn’t allow me to. For some strange reason it kept sending me Sharpen AI. At any rate my initial test with Gigapixel led me to believe that this is by far the best program for enlarging crops, which I do for creating montages. Unfortunately, the very next day after I downloaded the trial version the sale price expired. It was supposed to expire on the 5th of April, but didn’t, so I thought I might have a few more days to try out the program.

There was a lot of traffic on the intro offer for Sharpen AI and there were problems with processing payment on that weekend. But there are other times during the year where other special offers will go out. The best places to see the offers are on the Topaz Labs web site, and the various Facebook groups such as Topaz Studio where all specials will be mentioned and then there are application specific groups such as Sharpen AI, JPEG to RAW etc., etc.

I certainly hope so. Had it not been for one problem after another, it’s quite possible that I would have purchased all three software programs at a savings of perhaps as much as $50. The only thing I can do is check these various sites every week to see what may be offered. But I’m going to guess at this point that the Black Friday weekend may see a repeat of your intro offers.

P.S. – There is a guy named Logan who emailed me tonight with this: “Can you tell me your secret to even getting Topaz to reply to an email? I’ve been trying to get a reply to multiple support tickets for over two weeks now. Support is an absolute joke.” You know, it might not be a bad idea to give him some kind of response. He doesn’t sound like a happy camper.

–Alan

Can you post the download link here please.

What that means is that a trial has already been activated and the 30 days is over. The only option you have now is to open a support ticket and plead your case.

He has already been set up in his own thread … please remember we are not employees of Topaz simply users like yourself as this is a user to user forum. Sometimes, mainly on the beta forums, developer staff post here.

Can you post the download link here please.
As I indicated previously, Gigapixel has now downloaded into my system, and I am using it on a trial basis.

What that means is that a trial has already been activated and the 30 days is over. The only option you have now is to open a support ticket and plead your case.
And who knows but that you may be right. It is entirely possible that a long time ago I may have downloaded Clear on a trial basis, decided for some reason that it didn’t fit my purposes, and deleted it from my system. If so, that was rather stupid on my part. At any rate, today I will just buy the program, and that will be the end of that.

If I may, although you are not employees of Topaz, I am asking if you think the following suggestion for the company might have merit. If so, it is up to you if you wish to forward my suggestion to them. This will be fully private, and will not be shared with the forum members. It is easy for customers to make financial suggestions to companies, since they don’t have to pay any attention to the fiscal bottom line, but might the following have the potential to be profitable for Topaz, both in the short and long run…?

Knowing that many potential customers were unable to purchase Sharpen AI on the last day of its intro offer, because of a computer meltdown, if I was the CEO of Topaz I’d look closely at the merits of making the following offer to customers. I would send out emails to everyone in my data base, and advertise on my site, that for a two-week period only Sharpen AI would again be offered at its introductory price, after which it would return to its standard price for the foreseeable future.
But I would go farther than that. During the two-week sale, I would offer a bundle price of $140 for Sharpen AI and Gigapixel. (Gigapixel alone would not sell for less than its standard price.) And I would further offer the Super Bundle. For the two-week period I would offer Sharpen, Gigapixel and Clear for $190, a savings of $50. But I would emphasize that the sale would last for no more than two weeks, and when it was over, it was over.

I’m not going to die over this, but I will always be irritated that I tried to buy Sharpen at its intro price and the company’s computers prevented me from doing so, and I would imagine that a lot of other people are a bit upset over this as well. Buying during the two-week sale would not only return Topaz to their good graces, but allowing a Bundle and Super Bundle sale could make money for the company both now and in the future, thanks to peripheral sales.

If you think the above suggestion has any merit, please feel free to pass it along to Topaz. I have a feeling that your backing would have more emphasis than mine.

–Alan

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