Other Software > Developer's Corner
How long should a software time trial be?
Lashiec:
So, we are talking about 'lite' software (that's what the author of the blog post wanted to say), combined with refunds? It seems like a perfect treat to me, but you have to give people a limited time of refunding, say, 6 months? If you give them unlimited time, you could, for example, buy Total Uninstall now, and in a year, ask for a refund, and use the money to buy PowerTools 2008 (that's why I considering if I should buy TU3 or stick to version 2 waiting for PowerTools...)
Anyway, that's not the point. A good (and different) approach could be something like this: lite versions of the software, with noncritical features disabled (to prevent Zaine getting bold due to crippled software usage ;D) with a money back guarantee for a couple months. Someone wants to try this approach in his/her own software?
mouser:
but you have to give people a limited time of refunding, say, 6 months? If you give them unlimited time, you could, for example, buy Total Uninstall now, and in a year, ask for a refund, and use the money to buy
--- End quote ---
I just want to point out an important flaw in this reasoning that i think too many people make.
It is not necesary to ensure that no user could somehow do such a thing. It is only important that most/all don't.
Who cares if 0.01% of your customers request a refund in 20 years? As long as it's such a small percent it's not something worth worrying about.
justice:
Even if you find that most of your customers can decide in 7 days whether to buy your software or not, do you really want 'to pressurize them' to do so in 7 days? ;)
Lashiec:
I just want to point out an important flaw in this reasoning that i think too many people make.
It is not necesary to ensure that no user could somehow do such a thing. It is only important that most/all don't.
Who cares if 0.01% of your customers request a refund in 20 years? As long as it's such a small percent it's not something worth worrying about.
-mouser (January 17, 2007, 04:53 AM)
--- End quote ---
Agreed. But how do you find what percentage of your customers are not going to ask a refund in a couple of months? Personally, I think that way more than 0.01% of your customers are going to ask for that refund if they can find a better software, or if they simply don't need it. After all, unlimited time of refund is very close to cracking the software to obtain a 'free' license.
app103:
I think a 30 day free trial and then maybe 60-90 days after purchase for a refund would be good limits.
If you are still using the software after 3-4 months it's safe to say it works for you and you like it.
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