Unannounced Price Change

Doug Witmer
Doug Witmer Member Posts: 31 ✭✭
edited November 2024 in English Forum

I was on the Logos web site last week comparing prices of base packages that would upgrade me to Logos 5. At that time the web site was offering me 35% off the Portfolio package which made my price approximately $3200. This week the same web page is offering me a 25% discount and my price is approximately $3400.

I called and talked to a salesman who admitted that there had been an unannounced price change. He also said that he had no authority to negotiate the price.

Doug Witmer

 

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Comments

  • Ronald Quick
    Ronald Quick Member Posts: 2,983 ✭✭✭

    For me, I remember seeing 30% discount for portfolio and now it is 25%.

    I just upgraded to Silver 2 days ago - I don't remember the price being lower last week than what I paid.  Maybe the price change was for upper level packages.

  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,822

    Once you upgrade the percentage you can receive from future upgrades decreases. I don't recall the details but recall that fact.

    As to massive increases, I certainly would be surprised about that. Logos may have to adjust the pricing in small ways as items in a package increase or decrease in their individual pricing. I believe they try to keep that to a minimum but may be forced to do some adjusting to adjust to the market or to a publisher's requirements. We, of course, don't have that information.

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Erwin Stull, Sr.
    Erwin Stull, Sr. Member Posts: 2,793 ✭✭✭

    I've upgraded to Platinum when L5 was released. Shortly after, I looked at the upgrade page and listed there was 5% for Diamond and 10 % for Portfolio. Today it is 0% for the Diamond upgrade and still 10% for the Portfolio.

    I have no intention on upgrading to Diamond in the near future, so it has little effect on me.

     

  • Erwin Stull, Sr.
    Erwin Stull, Sr. Member Posts: 2,793 ✭✭✭

    Once you upgrade the percentage you can receive from future upgrades decreases. I don't recall the details but recall that fact.

    Maybe the Diamond upgrade for me dropped to 0% because I purchased a few titles that were discounted yesterday. Not sure, but for me, it doesn't matter much at this time because I'm already at my limit and can't handle anymore right now anyway. [:)]

     

  • Phil Gons (Logos)
    Phil Gons (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 3,802

    I was on the Logos web site last week comparing prices of base packages that would upgrade me to Logos 5. At that time the web site was offering me 35% off the Portfolio package which made my price approximately $3200. This week the same web page is offering me a 25% discount and my price is approximately $3400.

    I called and talked to a salesman who admitted that there had been an unannounced price change. He also said that he had no authority to negotiate the price.

    Doug Witmer

    Doug, we've never offered a 35% discount on Portfolio. For a brief while there was a 30% discount, which was removed last week.

    What the salesperson told you was true, but completely unrelated. In order to prepare Minimal Crossgrade and Core Datasets for launch, we had to make a few pricing changes that may have made single digit adjustments to some upgrade prices.

  • Erwin Stull, Sr.
    Erwin Stull, Sr. Member Posts: 2,793 ✭✭✭

    Phil;

    Since you are here. I'm curious. Can you explain the disappearance of the 5% upgrade to Diamond that was listed for me? Is it in fact due to the purchase of some resources yesterday?

    Thanks

     

  • Doug Witmer
    Doug Witmer Member Posts: 31 ✭✭

    I'm glad you brought up the topic of discount percentages. Last week when the discount was 35% (to the best of my recollection), computing that discount against the retail price produced a discounted price of approximately $3200, and this was the price the web page was offering me.

    This week it's a different story. The web page is offering me 25% off, but the $3400 price it's quoting is actually 31% off.

    Doug Witmer

  • Ward Walker
    Ward Walker Member Posts: 1,213 ✭✭✭

    Phil Gons said:

    ,,,. For a brief while there was a 30% discount, which was removed last week.

    ...

    [:(]  Wish I'd known the upgrade discounts were limited-time only.

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    Wish I'd known the upgrade discounts were limited-time only.

    It was only the 30% Portfolio discount that was reduced to 25%, I think. Everything else stayed the same AFAIK.

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,822

    Sad  Wish I'd known the upgrade discounts were limited-time only.

    They always are. You know that. But I understand. We aren't used to seeing one go away before the others, and not without some heads up.

    The early bird gets the worm proved true in this one case. (Not me, I'm not tempted by the Portfolio worm.)

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Dave Hooton
    Dave Hooton MVP Posts: 36,087

    Last week when the discount was 35% (to the best of my recollection), computing that discount against the retail price produced a discounted price of approximately $3200, and this was the price the web page was offering me.

    This week it's a different story. The web page is offering me 25% off, but the $3400 price it's quoting is actually 31% off.

    I agree with your arithmetic but there is one flaw. The percentage you quote applies to the full regular price (when you click Discount on the Upgrade page). The actual package discount appears at the top of the page and is applied to resources that are NEW to you  e.g. 15% off NEW resources = 35% off the regular price.

    Dave
    ===

    Windows 11 & Android 13

  • Doug Witmer
    Doug Witmer Member Posts: 31 ✭✭

    Hi Dave,

    I kinda understand what you're saying. When I click on the word "discount" on the upgrade page a bubble pops up saying that my discount is 31% (exactly what I had calculated). So then when Logos gives me credit for the books I already own, that credit would make the discount off the retail price seem that much larger.

    There's one thing I understand for sure. Last week my price for Portfolio was $3200, and this week it's $3400.

    Doug Witmer

  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,822

    this week it's $3400.

    That is a chunk of change. Unfortunately we don't know how long the upgrade pricing is going to go on, so how long it will stay at 'only' $3400 for you.

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Bill Moore
    Bill Moore Member Posts: 975 ✭✭✭

    I just returned to the house to find the minimal crossgrade live. When I saw the price ($135--I have L4 Platinum), I considered again the possibility of upgrading to L5 Platinum because that would include this $135 minimal crossgrade plus the other resources.

    This afternoon it was $484. Now it's $501. Perhaps it's only a $17 difference, but usually companies give you a date when the "early-bird" price of something is going to change. I am far from a Logos critic, but this is mildly irritating.

    Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,822

    This afternoon it was four hundred and eighty-something dollars. Now it's $501. Perhaps it's only a $14 or $15 difference, but usually companies give you a date when the "early-bird" price of something is going to change. I am far from a Logos critic, but this is mildly irritating.

    The difference was explained by Phil above as a repricing of some underlying resources which caused a number of packages to increase in price (all dependent on what you already owned). The discount percentage did not change, but the cost of the resources did.

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Bill Moore
    Bill Moore Member Posts: 975 ✭✭✭

    Mark--you're not supposed to quote me while I'm editing! [;)]

    Yes, I saw Phil's post, but I had it in my mind that the Gold was 15% off and the Platinum was 20% off prior to this evening. Now the Gold is not discounted at all and the Platinum is 15% off. I may be completely wrong about that. Regardless, I really cannot remember the price of something increasing during the introductory period without warning. To be fair, Logos has not said that discounts or prices were good till whenever. It just caught me off-guard. And, as I said, it's less than $20, but it is a little annoying.

    Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

  • Mathew Voth
    Mathew Voth Member Posts: 287 ✭✭

    As far as I remember only the biggest three, Platinum, Diamond, and Portfolio were discounted...

  • Phil Gons (Logos)
    Phil Gons (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 3,802

    Hi Dave,

    I kinda understand what you're saying. When I click on the word "discount" on the upgrade page a bubble pops up saying that my discount is 31% (exactly what I had calculated). So then when Logos gives me credit for the books I already own, that credit would make the discount off the retail price seem that much larger.

    There's one thing I understand for sure. Last week my price for Portfolio was $3200, and this week it's $3400.

    Doug Witmer

    Dave is on the right track. Your price is calculated this way: (regular price x ownership discount) x promotional discount = your price.

    The total discount appears when you hover over the word Discount. The badge discount is just the extra promotional discount that gets applied on top of your ownership discount.

    The ownership discount is permanent, but will change as (1) your buy more content in the destination package or as (2) we change prices for the individual items that make it up. Both of these affect the calculation of how much of the value of the destination package you own.

    The promotional discount is temporary—and for upgrades, tiered. It will change at the end of the launch promotion and could possibly change during the launch promotion as we respond to customer feedback, etc.

  • Alan
    Alan Member Posts: 177 ✭✭

    Once you upgrade the percentage you can receive from future upgrades decreases. I don't recall the details but recall that fact.

    The upgrade calculator definitively seems to be broken. It now correctly says that "You own Logos 5 Minimal Crossgrade" but it no longer seems to take into account my previously owned packages. As a result the upgrades to Bronze and above are significantly higher than they were before the Crossgrade purchase.

    Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

  • Phil Gons (Logos)
    Phil Gons (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 3,802

    Once you upgrade the percentage you can receive from future upgrades decreases. I don't recall the details but recall that fact.

    The upgrade calculator definitively seems to be broken. It now correctly says that "You own Logos 5 Minimal Crossgrade" but it no longer seems to take into account my previously owned packages. As a result the upgrades to Bronze and above are significantly higher than they were before the Crossgrade purchase.

    Alan, there are no known issues with the upgrade calculator. Everything should be working properly. If you just purchased MC, your upgrade prices should definitely be lower. Can you please provide more details about the prices you were seeing before and are seeing now? Thanks.

  • Bob Pritchett
    Bob Pritchett Member, Logos Employee Posts: 2,280

    but usually companies give you a date when the "early-bird" price of something is going to change.

    We had a mistake in the web site that was calculating prices incorrectly (always in the user's favor). These small changes ($17 is the largest I've seen, on $484) reflect what is the correct dynamic pricing. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

  • Bill Moore
    Bill Moore Member Posts: 975 ✭✭✭

    but usually companies give you a date when the "early-bird" price of something is going to change.

    We had a mistake in the web site that was calculating prices incorrectly (always in the user's favor). These small changes ($17 is the largest I've seen, on $484) reflect what is the correct dynamic pricing. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

    Thanks, Bob. I really appreciate the explanation.

    I was just looking at the Platinum package again and noticed (was it already there?) that hovering over a particular item informs me how many, if any, of a particular resource I already own. This is very helpful.

    Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

  • Phil Gons (Logos)
    Phil Gons (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 3,802

    I was just looking at the Platinum package again and noticed (was it already there?) that hovering over a particular item informs me how many, if any, of a particular resource I already own. This is very helpful.

    We just added the partial ownership indicator this afternoon. I'm glad it's helpful.

  • Phil Gons (Logos)
    Phil Gons (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 3,802

    usually companies give you a date when the "early-bird" price of something is going to change.

    We will, by the way, give advanced notice before the end of the promotional launch period.

  • Ward Walker
    Ward Walker Member Posts: 1,213 ✭✭✭

    Phil Gons said:

    usually companies give you a date when the "early-bird" price of something is going to change.

    We will, by the way, give advanced notice before the end of the promotional launch period.

    thanks; I will probably wait until 2013 to upgrade--hopefully the price doesn't rise again between now and then

  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,822

    I will probably wait until 2013 to upgrade--hopefully the price doesn't rise again between now and then

    I suspect quite a few folks would like to see the current incentives extend through January of next year. It would probably give Logos some better first quarter results, too, as some may have to put off upgrading if the incentives disappear by December 31. Just guessing on that though. Hope it is there for you and others who just can't do it now.

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Phil Gons (Logos)
    Phil Gons (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 3,802

    The upgrade calculator definitively seems to be broken. It now correctly says that "You own Logos 5 Minimal Crossgrade" but it no longer seems to take into account my previously owned packages. As a result the upgrades to Bronze and above are significantly higher than they were before the Crossgrade purchase.

    Alan, I think I know what's going on. We have a different set of discounts for moving from L4 (or earlier) to L5. The discounts for moving from one L5 package to another are lower. This was necessary to avoid a situation where it was actually cheaper to do in two steps what could have been done in one step. It looks like CD and MC are getting treated as Logos 5 base packages, which means you no longer qualify for the L4 to L5 promotional discounts. You're definitely getting your full ownership credit for your base package, all of your other purchases, and your new MC purchase. It's the change in promotional discounts that is making the difference. We're going to discuss this tomorrow morning and decide whether to treat a CD and MC owner the same way as we treat a Logos 5 base package owner.

  • Chris Elford
    Chris Elford Member Posts: 1,012 ✭✭✭

     Bob,

    My price for an upgrade from Scholar's Platinum went up by $21 from this afternoon (I've got the screenshot) till tonight, which is an increase of over 8% ($255 to $276) and it was even in my cart and still increased. I held off purchasing at the college because of our limited bandwidth and how long it would be downloading there and the impact of that on the rest of the staff and students. Feels a little unfair that this was done without warning. I'll have to cancel another pre-pub to stay within my budget/book allowance for this year.

    Just sounding off, I guess.

    Chris

  • Mike Binks
    Mike Binks MVP Posts: 7,458

    Hi Chris

    Humans can be more understanding than computers - why not ring in and explain your situation. There may be some wriggle room.

    tootle pip

    Mike

    Now tagging post-apocalyptic fiction as current affairs. Latest Logos, MacOS, iOS and iPadOS

  • Alan
    Alan Member Posts: 177 ✭✭

    Phil Gons said:

    Alan, I think I know what's going on. We have a different set of discounts for moving from L4 (or earlier) to L5. The discounts for moving from one L5 package to another are lower. This was necessary to avoid a situation where it was actually cheaper to do in two steps what could have been done in one step. It looks like CD and MC are getting treated as Logos 5 base packages, which means you no longer qualify for the L4 to L5 promotional discounts. You're definitely getting your full ownership credit for your base package, all of your other purchases, and your new MC purchase. It's the change in promotional discounts that is making the difference. We're going to discuss this tomorrow morning and decide whether to treat a CD and MC owner the same way as we treat a Logos 5 base package owner.

    Thanks Phil for the reply..

    By way of example of what is happening:

    Yesterday I was able to purchase Gold for about $800 (I can't remember the exact figure so rounding it off)

    After the Minimal Crossgrade purchase of $159 the cost for Gold is now $1079

    I would expect the Gold to now cost $640 (The original $800 less the $159)

     

    Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

  • Bill Moore
    Bill Moore Member Posts: 975 ✭✭✭

    Phil Gons said:

    usually companies give you a date when the "early-bird" price of something is going to change.

    We will, by the way, give advanced notice before the end of the promotional launch period.

    Thanks, Phil. The price adjusting thing, which I understand, surprised me and I was concerned that the discounts would disappear before I decided which direction to go..

    Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

  • Bill Moore
    Bill Moore Member Posts: 975 ✭✭✭

    Phil Gons said:

    usually companies give you a date when the "early-bird" price of something is going to change.

    We will, by the way, give advanced notice before the end of the promotional launch period.

    Thanks. That's good to know.

    Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

  • Bill Moore
    Bill Moore Member Posts: 975 ✭✭✭

    Just to add to the discussion--Logos is always quite fair about setting straight such issues. I cannot think of a company that I trust more. Stuff happens, but there is nothing nefarious about it.

    Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

  • Todd Hinton
    Todd Hinton Member Posts: 33 ✭✭

     

    Wrong!  It is more than that for me.  All these price increases, new features of the discount cculator, and confusion are really more that I can handle,  I expect more from Logos.  I am very disappointed and hate to see this kind of marketing magic.

    Todd

     

     

  • Bill Moore
    Bill Moore Member Posts: 975 ✭✭✭

     

    Wrong!  It is more than that for me.  All these price increases, new features of the discount cculator, and confusion are really more that I can handle,  I expect more from Logos.  I am very disappointed and hate to see this kind of marketing magic.

    Todd

    Have you talked with a sales rep, Todd? That's what I mean by their being quite fair and making things right. I've never been disappointed with such correspondence or phone conversation.

    Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

  • Todd Hinton
    Todd Hinton Member Posts: 33 ✭✭

    Not yet.  I am sure you are correct but I am sort of afraid to do so.  Why isn't the bottom line price what I find on the Logos upgrade page after all the improvments to the discount calculator? 

  • Bill Moore
    Bill Moore Member Posts: 975 ✭✭✭

    That is the bottom line price, but if there was a problem with the calculator, Logos will straighten it out. Someone saw what my problem was and contacted me. It wasn't but a few dollars, but I appreciate their initiative.

    Don't think twice about contacting them. At the very least, you will probably gain more clarity into what is going on.

    Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

  • Jack Caviness
    Jack Caviness MVP Posts: 13,586

    Why isn't the bottom line price what I find on the Logos upgrade page after all the improvments to the discount calculator? 

    No one has yet designed a computer—on a web page—that can replace the thought processes of a real human being [8-|] 

  • Chris Elford
    Chris Elford Member Posts: 1,012 ✭✭✭

    I want to update with respect to this issue. This afternoon I received a personal email from Santiago Galeano, Logos' Director of Sales, to let me know he'd seen my post and wanted to let me have the upgrade at the lower price, but had seen that I had already purchased the upgrade so wanted to give me a credit towards my next purchase. 

     

    I am very impressed with the core value of customer service he shows is well entrenched in Logos. I'd already bought. I didn't ask for compensation. He is very busy, I'm sure, but took time to notice my post, check my account and write me an email to make sure I am well cared for.

     

    That's way beyond anything I've ever experienced and just makes me glad to do business with Logos. They aren't perfect, but they are willing to go the extra mile/kilometer to be more than fair.

     

    Thanks to all the hard working folk at Logos.

     

    Chris

  • Bill Moore
    Bill Moore Member Posts: 975 ✭✭✭

    I want to update with respect to this issue. This afternoon I received a personal email from Santiago Galeano, Logos' Director of Sales, to let me know he'd seen my post and wanted to let me have the upgrade at the lower price, but had seen that I had already purchased the upgrade so wanted to give me a credit towards my next purchase. 

    I am very impressed with the core value of customer service he shows is well entrenched in Logos. I'd already bought. I didn't ask for compensation. He is very busy, I'm sure, but took time to notice my post, check my account and write me an email to make sure I am well cared for.

    That's way beyond anything I've ever experienced and just makes me glad to do business with Logos. They aren't perfect, but they are willing to go the extra mile/kilometer to be more than fair.

    Thanks to all the hard working folk at Logos.

    Chris

    Yes--that's the type of service I was talking about. Besides a great product, Logos is great customer service.

    Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Clinton, SC

  • Benjamin Ho
    Benjamin Ho Member Posts: 75 ✭✭✭

    I thought I would wait to see the price for MC before deciding about upgrading to L5 Platinum. Unfortunately, I wasn't as diligent to take a screenshot. There was no indication in the Forum posts that there would be a price adjustment when MC is released. It's not a big sum but it would certainly have been nice to have some forewarning.

  • NB.Mick
    NB.Mick MVP Posts: 16,174

    I want to update with respect to this issue. This afternoon I received a personal email from Santiago Galeano, Logos' Director of Sales, to let me know he'd seen my post and wanted to let me have the upgrade at the lower price, but had seen that I had already purchased the upgrade so wanted to give me a credit towards my next purchase. 

    I am very impressed with the core value of customer service he shows is well entrenched in Logos. I'd already bought. I didn't ask for compensation. He is very busy, I'm sure, but took time to notice my post, check my account and write me an email to make sure I am well cared for.

    That's way beyond anything I've ever experienced and just makes me glad to do business with Logos. They aren't perfect, but they are willing to go the extra mile/kilometer to be more than fair.

    Thanks Chris for sharing this!

    Have joy in the Lord! Smile

  • Dave M
    Dave M Member Posts: 67 ✭✭

    This is not a hardcore criticism but, as I stated on another thread, all of this back-and-forth about pricing and discounts and rollouts has created a consumer nightmare for Logos. It is almost impossible to sort through the weeds to determine what is going on.

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    Dave M said:

    This is not a hardcore criticism but, as I stated on another thread, all of this back-and-forth about pricing and discounts and rollouts has created a consumer nightmare for Logos. It is almost impossible to sort through the weeds to determine what is going on.

    I agree with this. Too many clarifications were needed after the event, and too much information was given on the forum instead of on the product pages. In fairness, Bob has apologised for this, but it's the one thing that Logos keep getting wrong, in my opinion.

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • Jack Caviness
    Jack Caviness MVP Posts: 13,586

    Too many clarifications were needed after the event, and too much information was given on the forum instead of on the product pages. In fairness, Bob has apologised for this, but it's the one thing that Logos keep getting wrong, in my opinion.

    Communication skills does not seem to be a strong point with Logos marketing 

  • Jason Saling
    Jason Saling Member Posts: 344 ✭✭

    I want to update with respect to this issue. This afternoon I received a personal email from Santiago Galeano, Logos' Director of Sales, to let me know he'd seen my post and wanted to let me have the upgrade at the lower price, but had seen that I had already purchased the upgrade so wanted to give me a credit towards my next purchase. 

    I didn't get quite as lucky. I was gone at a Men's Retreat for a few days, planning on upgrading to Logos 5 Platinum when I got back today, and then found out the price increased by $24. I called Logos thinking they would adjust it for me...but nope, said the current price is the lowest price they'll make available to me now. Sure took out my enthusiasm in getting it now. And am considering getting the Silver instead of the Platinum. Will contemplate for awhile.

    Jason Saling

  • Gary Butner, Th.D.
    Gary Butner, Th.D. Member Posts: 483 ✭✭

    I upgraded from Platinum to Portfolio a couple of weeks ago, and the discount was 30%. 

  • Ward Walker
    Ward Walker Member Posts: 1,213 ✭✭✭

    Phil Gons said:

    usually companies give you a date when the "early-bird" price of something is going to change.

    We will, by the way, give advanced notice before the end of the promotional launch period.

    thanks; I will probably wait until 2013 to upgrade--hopefully the price doesn't rise again between now and then

    OK, I caved and went with a payment plan.  Perhaps not the smartest move with USG Sequestration looming at EOY, but if I get laid off, at least I'll have lots of reading/studying time... [;)]  Still wish the 30% discount window had still been open though.

  • Geo Philips
    Geo Philips Member Posts: 401 ✭✭

    Hi Phil,

    I wonder if you have any further updates regarding this stemming from your discussion.

    In Christ,

    Geo