Service Select Increase is Crazy - Not Impressed

[Kevin McAllister]

Hello,

 

Last week I had a random call from someone introducing themselves as my new Service Select Account Representative. Today I received advanced notice that my Service Select costs were increasing $580 over last year, an 80% increase from one year to the next. I must say I'm in shock. I've been a Vectorworks user for 30 years and a long time Service Select subscriber and I've never had a cost increase like this. I understand the need to raise prices over time but this seems very excessive, especially given the current financial climate.

 

The irony that I'm still using VW2023 because of the inflexible mode bar update is not lost on me.

 

Kevin

 

[Tom W.]

Have they given you an explanation for this? My VSS has gone up this year but only by 8.63% which seems reasonable given the previous year it only went up by 0.72% + the year before that by 0%. We will have to see what happens next year... It was indicated to me on the phone that the larger increase this year was a periodic correction to bring it in line with inflation rather than demonstrating a new trend... 🤷‍♂️

[zoomer]

Mine went up 25% two years ago.

One year before the Subscription only announcement.

 

But that is controlled in Germany.

A few others said they also increasings but faaaaar less than 25%.

I think this is CAD-like pretty intransparent and I think every one pays

its own individual price and individual fee increase or not.

 

But generally I think finally VW want's 100% subscriptions and that can

only work by making these continuing VSS/perpetual contracts conditions

lesser attractive than Subscriptions.

[leecalisti]

@zoomer I hear you, as I've had a SS perpetual license since 2010 or whenever they started them.   Mine went up from $550 or so to $750 or so - I don't like it. What are my options? Monthly subscription - $150/month? Check Revit, and you might as well hand them your bank balance.  The subscription mode is where all software companies are or are headed. What I can never do is let my SS perpetual license lapse. That would be tragic.

Remember the old days when one could buy the CDs and stop there if you wanted (barring needing updates)? I'm dating myself.

[Archistyles]

I received a notice yesterday .

They are increasing my SS fee by more than 50% !!!

I find it exceesive and was expecting a more incremental increase. 

 

[Archistyles]

@leecalisti Thumbs down to me or to Vectorworks ? hhh

[leecalisti]

@Archistyles - Oh no, sorry - thumbs down to Vectorworks. I'm so sorry that happened to you. It's hard to know how like or dislike buttons translate.

 

A few years ago my VW SS membership went up twice. However, it is now about 50% more than it had been for years. What's frustrating is there is no reasonable other option. Rarely do Revit users say good things and that program is harder to learn or use (I presume) than Vectorworks - and it costs much more than VW.

[Alex Hughes]

My 2c but I thought I’d share… I know that the price increase is a shock but I’ve long thought that Vectorworks could cost more given all it does. I figure they are simply adjusting their price to catch up with that. Since I’m not going to stop using Vectorworks I just look at it that I’ve been getting a discount up till now.

I’ve sat in on a Revit demo at a colleague’s office (where Vectorworks is being used but some people have said they should look at switching) and I was surprised to find out how little it did in comparison to Vectorworks. People asked lots of questions along the lines of “how do you do this?” and the Revit demo’er regularly had to say it couldn’t or described confusing ways to get simple (for Vectorworks) tasks done. After hearing all the Revit hype I was honestly amazed.

[Jeff Prince]

12 hours ago, Alex Hughes said:

I was surprised to find out how little it did in comparison to Vectorworks

Not to disparage vectorworks, but it sounds like you had a rookie doing the Revit demo.

[Alex Hughes]

16 hours ago, Jeff Prince said:

Not to disparage vectorworks, but it sounds like you had a rookie doing the Revit demo.

Quite the contrary actually. This person knew Revit well. They were able to explain what Revit could do. I respect that they were also honest enough to admit when Revit was not well suited to the tasks they were being asked about, which were a number of design related tasks and processes.

[zoomer]

My experience with CAD/BIM Software is that you have to watch the overall package

and get used to it. In all presentations or training I had in the past, all questions about

a certain special workflow ("how you do this") were absolutely discouraging.

 

I need about up to 3 years to really get confident in a CAD/BIM/3D Software.

There are always familiar workflow details where you wonder how bad that could

be implemented in that specific Software. And that is true.

It is just that none of them has it all and once used to one Software you will get your

job done to 80%. In any of them.

 

Overall, embarrassing workflow details will hurt 80% less when you are just get

used to it and by muscle memory. While perfect workflows will only get 20%

more satisfaction vs a bad but used workflow.

 

The only option to really judge a Software is to only use one software and never

look at anything else. I personally can't avoid that mistake and always work with

and look at 2-3 Apps for each 3D/CAD/BIM/VIZ segment.

That makes me getting annoyed by all of them constantly.

I miss the perfect Selection, Model and Object Organization of Modo, or C4D's

CAD Exchange and Take Manager in all other 3D Apps, or Bricscad's Direct Modeling,

Structural Manager, BIM and AI capabilities - while hating all its Autocad behavior, .....

 

If someone finds a Software the exceptionally fits his needs better than all others,

go for it. I haven't found it so far.

Edited February 12 by zoomer

[Jeff Prince]

1 hour ago, Alex Hughes said:

Quite the contrary actually. This person knew Revit well. They were able to explain what Revit could do. I respect that they were also honest enough to admit when Revit was not well suited to the tasks they were being asked about, which were a number of design related tasks and processes.

 

So what were these important workflows that Vectorworks does better than Revit?

Stacked wall components?  Parametric assemblies?  Roofs?

[line-weight]

On 1/15/2024 at 6:58 PM, leecalisti said:

@zoomer I hear you, as I've had a SS perpetual license since 2010 or whenever they started them.   Mine went up from $550 or so to $750 or so - I don't like it.

 

Sounds like they have been giving you a better deal than us here in the UK - they want £702 this year (about an 8% increase on last year).

 

£702 is $886 if google is to be believed.

 

I'd prefer they reduced our fee to yours, rather than increasing yours to match ours, of course.

 

Perhaps my comparison of costs is not actually like for like, because of tax or something.

[leecalisti]

It seems we're getting off course regarding VW vs Revit vs others. As others have stated, pick what you like, as someone will always root for one over the other. I like VW, but I've never used Revit. My experience with others using it doesn't tempt me at all.

My point in this conversation is that it's hard to absorb added fees of 30% to 50%. We prefer the 5% per year and fool me.

 

Does the higher SS fee for VW sway me to look elsewhere? Never - not interested. 

 

We're just complaining to complain in my book, and that's what forums are for, right?

[rDesign]

On 2/7/2024 at 1:10 PM, leecalisti said:

Oh no, sorry - thumbs down to Vectorworks. I'm so sorry that happened to you. It's hard to know how like or dislike buttons translate.

FYI - You can remove a ‘thumbs-down’ reaction on someone’s post that you later regret by clicking on the little black circle with an ‘X’ next to your reaction’. It will remove the reaction. 

[rDesign]

1 hour ago, leecalisti said:

My point in this conversation is that it's hard to absorb added fees of 30% to 50%. We prefer the 5% per year and fool me.

As a user holding off on yet to use Vw2024 for billable work — partially due to the number of new bugs introduced in Vw2024, not to mention the number of still unresolved old bugs — it is hard to stomach this annual percent increase of ~50%.
 

Where is the added $$$ going? If you spend any amount of time on the user forums and read users’ posts about their experience with Vw2024, it doesn’t feel like it’s going towards quality control.

[BartHays]

3 hours ago, rDesign said:

As a user holding off on yet to use Vw2024 for billable work — partially due to the number of new bugs introduced in Vw2024, not to mention the number of still unresolved old bugs — it is hard to stomach this annual percent increase of ~50%.
 

Where is the added $$$ going? If you spend any amount of time on the user forums and read users’ posts about their experience with Vw2024, it doesn’t feel like it’s going towards quality control.

Just wait until VW 2025, that is where all the added revenue is going, I hear Taylor Swift will be endorsing it.  😜

[Tom W.]

7 hours ago, line-weight said:

 

Sounds like they have been giving you a better deal than us here in the UK - they want £702 this year (about an 8% increase on last year).

 

£702 is $886 if google is to be believed.

 

I'd prefer they reduced our fee to yours, rather than increasing yours to match ours, of course.

 

Perhaps my comparison of costs is not actually like for like, because of tax or something.

 

Do you have Architect or Design Suite? Mine went up from £834 inc VAT last year to £906 inc VAT this year... This was after it being pretty much flat the previous three years. Seems like everyone is paying something different. 

[line-weight]

3 hours ago, Tom W. said:

 

Do you have Architect or Design Suite? Mine went up from £834 inc VAT last year to £906 inc VAT this year... This was after it being pretty much flat the previous three years. Seems like everyone is paying something different. 

 

Architect. The £702 is including VAT.

Price was £648 (including VAT) in 2022 and 2023. Previous to that, it varied quite a bit because I didn't always renew annually so it depended on various offers.

 

Of course what we "get" for the price now, since the new model came in, is a different thing because it doesn't really have any resale value, and there's no option to say "no thanks at the moment" when it's renewal time unless you want costs to go up substantially thereafter.

 

 

[zoomer]

4 hours ago, Tom W. said:

Seems like everyone is paying something different.

 

Something I don't really like.

Or that every arbitrary day someone seems to win the VSS fee increase lottery.

[Jeff Prince]

16 hours ago, Alex Hughes said:

My 2c but I thought I’d share… I know that the price increase is a shock but I’ve long thought that Vectorworks could cost more given all it does. I figure they are simply adjusting their price to catch up with that. Since I’m not going to stop using Vectorworks I just look at it that I’ve been getting a discount up till now.

I’ve sat in on a Revit demo at a colleague’s office (where Vectorworks is being used but some people have said they should look at switching) and I was surprised to find out how little it did in comparison to Vectorworks. People asked lots of questions along the lines of “how do you do this?” and the Revit demo’er regularly had to say it couldn’t or described confusing ways to get simple (for Vectorworks) tasks done. After hearing all the Revit hype I was honestly amazed.

 

Alex,

Why are you marking my post as inappropriate.  I’m asking you a legitimate question based on the comment you made.  This is the behavior of a hired schill.

Edited February 13 by Jeff Prince

[line-weight]

Yes, it seemed a reasonable question to ask.

[Ross Harris]

Yep a totally reasonable question. All software has it's pros and cons... Now that we've got Revit (after an 8 year sabbatical) it gives a refreshing perspective give on things generally. Both do exceptional things.

The unfortunate side effect of raising prices is that it becomes within distance of the competition, you naturally start looking at the alternatives and what they can offer. 

[mjm]

My general feeling about being held hostage by every software vendor's* subscription model is that retirement can't come soon enough.

My day is not made replete by having to negotiate with this or name-your-software on it's inevitably shifting terms (crashes, pricing, bugs, workarounds, crashes, etc), in order to achieve some semblance of productivity. 

 

* this is a rant about the subscription model in general, and my sense of not getting what I'm paying for.

 

 

* I once overheard one ballerina say to another 'well, better than bad…'

 

Edited February 13 by mjm
corrected word usage

[Kevin McAllister]

Looping back since I wrote the original post. My concern is not about overall cost or value. I feel Vectorworks is a great value and generally the cost is not out of line with what it provides or in comparison to other software. My concern was directly about a sudden large increase rather than something incremental or with a lot of notice. Many theatre practitioners here are one person shops and budgeting is tight.

 

Kevin