Looking to upgrade base package- advice needed
For a few months now, I've been considering upgrading my base package to Verbum Scripture Studies. Right now, I have the Basic package and have also purchased a few individual resources. At this point, my only question is the timing of the upgrade. I'm not in a rush to do this and, as I understand it, Verbum 7 may be released this year. Part of me thinks that it's worth waiting for Verbum 7 to come out because it will have new features. I've looked at the features of Verbum Now (which I imagine, would be part of the Verbum 7 release) and, while very interesting, I don't think that I would be willing to pay a premium price for them, as I am more than happy with what I'm currently able to do with Verbum 6.
My Dynamic Pricing for Scripture Studies is approximately $500 at the moment. I realize that resources go in and out of base packages when a new version of the software is released and so I wouldn't expect my Dynamic Pricing to remain exactly the same. I guess my question boils down to this: all things being equal, assuming for the moment that the actual resources of Scripture Study do not change when Verbum 7 comes out, would I be paying an additional premium for the same base package if I were to wait for the release of the new version? I see that Verbum Crossgrade is over $400 by itself right now. I am most interested in upgrading my current package for the new resources, not the functionality. So I don't necessarily want to pay that kind of money for new features. Should I expect Scripture Studies to remain more or less at $500 for me with Verbum 7 (depending on the individual resources of course)? Or should I expect it to be more like $900 for the same base package level upon the release of the new software? I'm relatively new to Verbum but really enjoying it and I'm getting a ton out of my studies already. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks!
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The price of the various base package levels for L6 will be roughly the same as they will be for L7 however each package will be composed of different titles causing your dynamic price to be more or less depending on your library.
If L6 has hypothetical books 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and you own 1 and 6. Perhaps L7 will have book 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, you will still get the discount for 6. But your net cost of owning the base package will go up a little bit.L2 lvl4 (...) WORDsearch, all the way through L10,
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Thanks for your reply. I do realize that Logos/Verbum 7 packages will contain different books and that those differences will effect the cost of the package for me. If the new package includes fewer resources that I already own, I understand that I would pay more. But I'm still not clear as to whether I would also pay a premium to upgrade from Logos 6 features to Logos 7 features.
As an example, let's say that Scripture Studies will cost me $500 today with Logos 6. When Logos 7 comes out, I discover that they haven't changed a single book in this package level. In other words, the Scripture Studies package for Verbum 7 includes the exact same books that the Scripture Studies package in Verbum 6 included (I realize that won't happen, but it helps to illustrate my point). In that case, would it be true that my total cost for the Verbum 7 package would remain at $500? Or, would there be an increase for me because I am also receiving a feature upgrade when moving from version 6 to version 7? I'm trying to understand whether waiting for Logos 7 will end up costing me a significant amount more money than making the upgrade now with Logos 6.
Let's say that the headline feature in Logos 7 is 3D maps (I'm sure it will be much more significant than that). It would be great to have 3D maps, but I wouldn't want to pay anything extra for that feature because I won't utilize it often. If I delay upgrading until Logos 7, am I going to pay extra to have 3D maps? If so, I'm thinking that it's better for me to upgrade now and avoid paying for new features that I won't often use. On the other hand, if there's no additional cost associated with the upgrade from Logos 6 to 7 (again, controlling for variations in the included books), wouldn't it make sense to wait and receive 3D maps and whatever other L7 features happen to be included since they won't effect the overall cost of the package for me?
Once I move to Scripture Studies, I plan on staying put at that base level for quite some time and don't anticipate upgrading again in the foreseeable future. So I'll be locked into either Logos 6 or Logos 7 for a long time. If waiting a few months enables me to obtain the Logos 7 updates for "free" (since I plan on doing this upgrade either way), it would make sense to wait until the software is released. However, I would not want to pay extra for that privilege. I hope that makes my question a bit more clear. Thanks again!
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I would generally recommend upgrading now and enjoying the features. However, if you are quite certain that you'll not upgrade again in the foreseeable future, I would hold off as the new base packages are usually offered at a significant discount.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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I've been slowly upgrading my library over time, and have seen a couple of major version upgrades of Verbum. It does seem like the package upgrade prices do remain roughly comparable when a new major version comes out.
As you've mentioned, the mix of resources which are included in the different versions of the various libraries can vary quite a bit. If you like the particular mix that's included with Verbum 6, it might be a good idea to go ahead and upgrade so that you can add those books to your library for good. I think you'll get a lot of the Scripture Study library, since it includes the Missal in English, the Clementine Vulgate, JP2's Theology of the Body, Brannan's Apostolic Fathers (with reverse interlinear), Septuagint resources, and bunch of other good stuff. The biggest difference is probably all the reverse interlinear Bibles and datasets which are part of this library, since they unlock a lot of the cool features of Logos (e.g. Bible Word Studies).
I would highly recommend reading through the Catechism of the Catholic Church inside of Verbum. The ease with which you can follow links back and forth from the CCC to the Bible, to the Enchiridion Symbolorum (SCD), to the Vatican 2 documents, etc. really makes a big difference in understanding how everything can fit together.
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Augustine said:
Let's say that the headline feature in Logos 7 is 3D maps (I'm sure it will be much more significant than that). It would be great to have 3D maps, but I wouldn't want to pay anything extra for that feature because I won't utilize it often. If I delay upgrading until Logos 7, am I going to pay extra to have 3D maps? If so, I'm thinking that it's better for me to upgrade now and avoid paying for new features that I won't often use. On the other hand, if there's no additional cost associated with the upgrade from Logos 6 to 7 (again, controlling for variations in the included books), wouldn't it make sense to wait and receive 3D maps and whatever other L7 features happen to be included since they won't effect the overall cost of the package for me?
When Logos 7 comes out, there will be multiple ways to upgrade. With upgrades to Logos 5 and 6, you've had the following choices:
- Wait for a few months and just get the "core engine". You'll have access to new features, but no new datasets or resources (or the features that depend on those datasets).
- Purchase a crossgrade. This will probably cost at least a few hundred dollars if you're coming from Scripture Study. You'll get the core engine, some or all of the new datasets, but no new resources.
- Purchase a base package. This will give you the core engine, some/all of the datasets, and some new resources.
Will Verbum 7 be more expensive to you than Verbum 6 after dynamic pricing is taken into considering? The answer is almost certainly "yes", even though I expect the sticker price to remain the same. There will be less overlap with your current package, and there will be more datasets too. So Verbum 7 will be more expensive, but you'll be getting more for your money.
But if I'm really honest, I think you're looking at it the wrong way. There's too much guesswork required.
It's better to ask yourself: "Are the features in Verbum 6 Scripture Study" worth $500 to me? If so, make the purchase. If not, be content with what you have. When Verbum 7 comes out, you can ask the same question.
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!
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Mark Barnes said:
It's better to ask yourself: "Are the features in Verbum 6 Scripture Study" worth $500 to me? If so, make the purchase. If not, be content with what you have. When Verbum 7 comes out, you can ask the same question.
Bingo. If Verbum 6 Scripture Study is worth buying for you, it's worth buying, so you should probably buy it. [:)] Why wait at least a few months? I have a good reason not to upgrade right now, but there's a good chance you don't. Maybe you do. Here's mine:
In my case, the Verbum package I'm eyeing is worth to me a bit more what I would pay for it, but since I won't be able to get much benefit out of it (or most of my present library) for the next few months due to other time-intensive obligations, I'm waiting for another special on base packages or something. (Academic pricing means that I don't care about the present 10% discount.) I might only save a few dollars or get some inexpensive add on free or something, but in my present circumstances, I'm spending more time snapping up Vyrso freebies and promoting the BookSuggestions UserVoice than I am actually studying anything theological in Verbum, so it makes sense for me to put off buying stuff I won't use at all yet. I've already saved up the money; it's sitting there waiting to be spent while it accrues absurdly low amounts of interest.
If you're actively using Verbum and/or would start using at least some of the stuff in the upgrade you want right away, there's no need to put it off. I myself want to make sure that I upgrade before Verbum 7, because I want the resource mix that exists now, and I'm in no desperate need of any new features. Furthermore, realistically, I'll at least buy the lowest Verbum 7 package just to have the engine if it's meaningfully better (read: faster) when it comes out. It's usually very inexpensive to buy a newer version of a low level base package if you have an older version of a higher level base package, and the higher that package is, the cheaper the cost of the lower level package will be.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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I agree with what has been said above. If you like what is in the package now, there's no reason to put it off. I wanted to make sure I upgraded to Capstone while the Navarre Commentary set is part of it. Though there can be a fair bit of overlap in the libraries from one version to the next, that struck me as the type of resource that may not make it back into a base package next time.
It seems very unlikely to me that the price for the Scripture Study package would go down for you with Verbum 7. With the new features alone, there is bound to be an increase, even if all the other resources stayed exactly the same. Since those new features don't seem important to you, it may not be worth it to wait.
There is a certain red-bearded, cowboy-hat-wearing, Catholic apologist that tends to have a coupon code for Verbum base packages on his website. It's the same as the promotion they are running for March right now, but it is usually there even when there is no such promotion.
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SineNomine said:
It's usually very inexpensive to buy a newer version of a low level base package if you have an older version of a higher level base package, and the higher that package is, the cheaper the cost of the lower level package will be.
Similar threads => Logos 4 to 6: Why Upgrade? and => What is the cheapest way to get all the Logos 6 Tools/Datasets
Logos 6 introduced a new Collector's Edition that had dynamic pricing for resources already in library => What's your upgrade price to L6 Collector Edition?
The other option to consider is subscription. Caveat: access to subscription resources goes away when stop subscribing.
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