I wish GPA had a trial-service...

[divad]

Note to George: $0.99 any title / 30 minute use fee. Take that iTunes.

[mrwoogieman]

If there was a "one time for a buck" option, I'd probably Paypal that dollar to George several times a month at least.

 

[sl4ppy]

...like maybe a 2 or 3 day service for $4-5. I know it isn't that much difference in price, but I don't sell enough CGC'd books to need a whole month of their service, as valuable as it is.

 

Just a thought - consider who it is coming from and judge accordingly.

 

 

 

 

-slym

 

uhh.. 2-3 days for $4 or $5. That's MORE expensive than the actual price, which is 33 cents per day...

 

So you want an option to pay more? I suspect George would be very happy to accept any additional monies you wish to send him above and beyond its actual cost.

[comeaux]

...like maybe a 2 or 3 day service for $4-5. I know it isn't that much difference in price, but I don't sell enough CGC'd books to need a whole month of their service, as valuable as it is.

 

Just a thought - consider who it is coming from and judge accordingly.

 

 

 

 

-slym

 

Not a bad suggestion Slym but I see the basement dwellers have come out in full force ... as you mentioned it was just an idea/thought.

 

I actually pay for this GPA service but do not really find it that accurate as it does retrieve data from enough sources to be beneficial but that’s just my opinion.

 

[mysterio]

...like maybe a 2 or 3 day service for $4-5. I know it isn't that much difference in price, but I don't sell enough CGC'd books to need a whole month of their service, as valuable as it is.

 

Just a thought - consider who it is coming from and judge accordingly.

 

 

 

 

-slym

 

uhh.. 2-3 days for $4 or $5. That's MORE expensive than the actual price, which is 33 cents per day...

 

So you want an option to pay more? I suspect George would be very happy to accept any additional monies you wish to send him above and beyond its actual cost.

 

I know what you're getting at, the per unit/day price, but $4-5 is actually less than $10. The days may cost more each, but it is less money out of your pocket overall, and that may be more in line with what the service is worth to you. If that option were available it could be a win-win for both George and his customer base.

 

It could work out really well for someone travelling to a con for a weekend. They could access GPA while they are at the show, when they need it, for a couple of days, and then they aren't paying for days they don't use. They spend the equivalent of half a month's charge for that weekend, but they get the value they want.

[sl4ppy]

the problem with any time metered service (versus product metered) is that nothing prevents that 2-3 day user from pulling 100% of GPA's data. Nothing prevents that now with the subscription model, so really what you're paying for is the "on-going service of updates".

 

You could do a "2-3 day OR 100 lookups, whichever is first" model, but that's simply just confusing to the consumer.

 

So that implies that a "per look-up" pricing model would be needed, but how useful is that? 50 cents per lookup and the fees incurred by credit cards and paypal or whatever makes it pointless.

 

I suspect what the current offering is meets the happy medium of both. If you're going to a Con next month and know you want it for those 3 days, just spend the $10 and have it for the month. Problem solved.

 

Also consider the costs involved with implementing a system that allows for these other models. The current model uses the most basic model of "100% access or no access" to all the data. Any other system would require more sophisticated gating to the data which would incur a not insignificant cost to develop. That in turn would drive all the prices up making the already fairly inexpensive product more expensive.

 

That doesn't even touch on the incentive issues. GPA could easily find that 90% of his "single use" revenue comes from just 100 different books that get looked up all the time. Given that, what's the point in tracking any other books?

 

It's pretty clear why these other options aren't offerend.

 

Cable TV isn't a-la carte or "only pay for what you watch" for many of the same reasons.

[Dr. Balls]

If there was a "one time for a buck" option, I'd probably Paypal that dollar to George several times a month at least.

 

 

+1

 

If people could pay $1 to look up a single book, I think this George fellow could move up the tax bracket. I know I'd throw a few his way on some books, never thinking that I would need an entire subscription. He could make a couple bucks off me each month, when currently - he's made none - because I don't deal enough in that to bother with a monthly subscription.

[HarveySwick]

the problem with any time metered service (versus product metered) is that nothing prevents that 2-3 day user from pulling 100% of GPA's data.

 

You could do a "2-3 day OR 100 lookups, whichever is first" model, but that's simply just confusing to the consumer.

 

So that implies that a "per look-up" pricing model would be needed, but how useful is that? 50 cents per lookup and the fees incurred by credit cards and paypal or whatever makes it pointless.

 

I suspect what the current offering is meets the happy medium of both. If you're going to a Con next month and know you want it for those 3 days, just spend the $10 and have it for the month. Problem solved.

 

Also consider the costs involved with implementing a system that allows for these other models. The current model uses the most basic model of "100% access or no access" to all the data. Any other system would require more sophisticated gating to the data which would incur a not insignificant cost to develop. That in turn would drive all the prices up making the already fairly inexpensive product more expensive.

 

It's pretty clear why these other options aren't offerend.

 

Cable TV isn't a-la carte or "only pay for what you watch" for many of the same reasons.

 

[Scturo]

If there was a "one time for a buck" option, I'd probably Paypal that dollar to George several times a month at least.

 

 

+1

 

If people could pay $1 to look up a single book, I think this George fellow could move up the tax bracket. I know I'd throw a few his way on some books, never thinking that I would need an entire subscription. He could make a couple bucks off me each month, when currently - he's made none - because I don't deal enough in that to bother with a monthly subscription.

 

Or you could charge people $1 to do it.

[comeaux]

Hilarious how a forum member throws out some random idea as just a consideration that may possibly be beneficial to collectors and others launch an attack with silly comments and memes.

 

Yea I get it and realize this is the internet but what about “the community” I always hear about from the regular posters?

 

I guess once you get 20,000 posts in a year or two this gives you privilege to ridicule but it’s actually pathetic

 

[skypinkblu]

the problem with any time metered service (versus product metered) is that nothing prevents that 2-3 day user from pulling 100% of GPA's data. Nothing prevents that now with the subscription model, so really what you're paying for is the "on-going service of updates".

 

You could do a "2-3 day OR 100 lookups, whichever is first" model, but that's simply just confusing to the consumer.

 

So that implies that a "per look-up" pricing model would be needed, but how useful is that? 50 cents per lookup and the fees incurred by credit cards and paypal or whatever makes it pointless.

 

I suspect what the current offering is meets the happy medium of both. If you're going to a Con next month and know you want it for those 3 days, just spend the $10 and have it for the month. Problem solved.

 

Also consider the costs involved with implementing a system that allows for these other models. The current model uses the most basic model of "100% access or no access" to all the data. Any other system would require more sophisticated gating to the data which would incur a not insignificant cost to develop. That in turn would drive all the prices up making the already fairly inexpensive product more expensive.

 

That doesn't even touch on the incentive issues. GPA could easily find that 90% of his "single use" revenue comes from just 100 different books that get looked up all the time. Given that, what's the point in tracking any other books?

 

It's pretty clear why these other options aren't offerend.

 

Cable TV isn't a-la carte or "only pay for what you watch" for many of the same reasons.

 

I dunno, the NY Times and the Chicago Sun Times allow you to read 5 free articles a month. I did that for a while with the Times and I joined after I stuck on the 6th one a few times. They've had that option for years, so there is definitely a way to limit.

 

There are lots of ways to get around things but you'd have to be pretty data savvy to pull 100% of the data, I'm sure some people here could do that, but probably not too many.

[Beige]

Hilarious how a forum member throws out some random idea as just a consideration that may possibly be beneficial to collectors and others launch an attack with silly comments and memes.

 

Yea I get it and realize this is the internet but what about “the community” I always hear about from the regular posters?

 

I guess once you get 20,000 posts in a year or two this gives you privilege to ridicule but it’s actually pathetic

 

Hasn't the Op got 37,000 posts?

 

I think what a few might have been trying to say is - if they had no money and no job, then slabbing comics, heck, even having the internet, would be way down their priorities behind looking for work of any description whatsoever.

*That is NOT aimed at Slym - it's MY assumption of what others were trying to say*

 

$11.95 per month seems more than reasonable for what you get. You can always get a big list of books, join for a month, get your info, and then cancel your membership of GPA.

 

[slym2none]

Hilarious how a forum member throws out some random idea as just a consideration that may possibly be beneficial to collectors and others launch an attack with silly comments and memes.

 

Yea I get it and realize this is the internet but what about “the community” I always hear about from the regular posters?

 

I guess once you get 20,000 posts in a year or two this gives you privilege to ridicule but it’s actually pathetic

 

Some people have no idea what "I wish..." means. It's been proven many times in this very thread.

 

Thanks for the kind words though. Much appreciated!

 

 

 

 

-slym

[slym2none]

Hilarious how a forum member throws out some random idea as just a consideration that may possibly be beneficial to collectors and others launch an attack with silly comments and memes.

 

Yea I get it and realize this is the internet but what about “the community” I always hear about from the regular posters?

 

I guess once you get 20,000 posts in a year or two this gives you privilege to ridicule but it’s actually pathetic

 

Hasn't the Op got 37,000 posts?

 

That is aimed squarely at me though, even though I took 6 years to accumulate my post count.

 

I think what a few might have been trying to say is - if they had no money and no job, then slabbing comics, heck, even having the internet, would be way down their priorities behind looking for work of any description whatsoever.

 

If anyone thinks I am just sitting on my hands and hoping that the comics I am selling is going to support me and I am not looking for a job otherwise, well, they are sorely mistaken. I am sure some people would LOVE for that to be the truth because they are miserable people who enjoy other's downfall, but that just isn't the case.

 

 

 

 

-slym

[comeaux]

Hilarious how a forum member throws out some random idea as just a consideration that may possibly be beneficial to collectors and others launch an attack with silly comments and memes.

 

Yea I get it and realize this is the internet but what about “the community” I always hear about from the regular posters?

 

I guess once you get 20,000 posts in a year or two this gives you privilege to ridicule but it’s actually pathetic

 

Hasn't the Op got 37,000 posts?

 

That is aimed squarely at me though, even though I took 6 years to accumulate my post count.

 

I think what a few might have been trying to say is - if they had no money and no job, then slabbing comics, heck, even having the internet, would be way down their priorities behind looking for work of any description whatsoever.

 

If anyone thinks I am just sitting on my hands and hoping that the comics I am selling is going to support me and I am not looking for a job otherwise, well, they are sorely mistaken. I am sure some people would LOVE for that to be the truth because they are miserable people who enjoy other's downfall, but that just isn't the case.

 

 

 

 

-slym

 

I wouldn’t concern myself with opinions from this particular source Slym … I mean his reputation on these boards is about as low as whale mess on the bottom of the ocean. The guy is a joke …

[Meeklo]

I'm curious to see what George thinks of this. I know he patrols the boards a lot and has probably already seen this thread.

 

While a $5 per 3 day access model would sound nice, from a software development standpoint, this could be a nightmare. Depending on how his e-commerce system is setup, he would have to create some kind of automation to deny service after 3 days. Since his business model seems to be set in Paypal subscription payments, this means it would be extra work for him to set up "one time payment" options.

 

Sure he may get 3 new customers (just pulling a number out of my spoon) for $5 each but how much work does he have to do for those customers and how many $10/month customers would he lose to this model?

 

I'm a $10/month customer and I usually just use his service once a month to update my spreadsheet of slab values. I'd easily switch to a $5/3 day service if available.

 

 

[Doktor]

Cable TV isn't a-la carte or "only pay for what you watch" for many of the same reasons.

 

That's an apples & oranges comparison.

 

Also because cable tv IS a-la-carte. iTunes or amazon or even pay-per-episode through your cable provider is the definition of a-la-carte. Except for cable sports, virtually everything is available in one form or another on-demand or "pay for only what you watch". Not live, but within a few hours.

 

The better comparison would be single episode sales vs. full-season sales of tv shows. It might cost $3/episode but only $40 for all 23 in a season. That's what at least a few of us are suggesting. Pay higher prices for only the data we want right now, but pay less if we get all the data in that "season"/month.

 

As for additional coding/building of the site, it's not that much extra code. You still need an account and your account gets charged each time you do a search instead of 1 larger charge per month. Even paypal fees for each charge at $1/search is minimal. Or alternatively, a system where you'd pre-purchase 10 searches that just get knocked off as you use them & then when you're out, you can re-load like a pre-paid system. Either is pretty reasonable coding-wise.

[Beige]

Hilarious how a forum member throws out some random idea as just a consideration that may possibly be beneficial to collectors and others launch an attack with silly comments and memes.

 

Yea I get it and realize this is the internet but what about “the community” I always hear about from the regular posters?

 

I guess once you get 20,000 posts in a year or two this gives you privilege to ridicule but it’s actually pathetic

 

Hasn't the Op got 37,000 posts?

 

That is aimed squarely at me though, even though I took 6 years to accumulate my post count.

- of course it refers to you - hence the icon - I'm kidding with you.

 

I think what a few might have been trying to say is - if they had no money and no job, then slabbing comics, heck, even having the internet, would be way down their priorities behind looking for work of any description whatsoever.

 

If anyone thinks I am just sitting on my hands and hoping that the comics I am selling is going to support me and I am not looking for a job otherwise, well, they are sorely mistaken. I am sure some people would LOVE for that to be the truth because they are miserable people who enjoy other's downfall, but that just isn't the case.

 

I clearly said I wasn't referring to you, just making a supposition on what people had said before. If you didn't read that, go back and look again.

I have no thoughts about you either way.

 

 

 

-slym

[ttfitz]

 

Cable TV isn't a-la carte or "only pay for what you watch" for many of the same reasons.

 

Cable TV isn't a-la carte because they can get away with it, and there are certain things, like live sports, that aren't available otherwise. And because they aren't might be the main reason they end up going away.

 

SlingTV to offer ESPN streaming without cable

[Comicopolis]

Anything is possible

 

Slym could win the lottery and buy GPA.

 

Or buy the boards and shut it down.