Plugin Alliance: PickPack any 10 Plugins, $29 per month, 29 months, Own Them

[imrae]

It's free market. You don't need to use 'rent to own' but still people crying about it. Like wtf? 'Mommy mommy! I'm mad because some company have offer that I'm not interested in! Buuuu!'

You seem to be confused? Effective free markets require people to work out what's best for them. People are working out here that this deal doesn't seem to be good for them. Any "crying" is based on speculation that this signals a general shift away from what's good for them. Anticipating what companies are likely to do is also totally normal market behaviour.

[robotmonkey]

I think it's positive that they went with lease model so you own what you pay for.

Otherwise this does not seem like an appealing deal. 29 months commitment is too long.

I also hope that this will not affect their sales too much. There's just not 10 plugins I would want from them badly. There's maybe three or four I could buy when they are on sale and maybe couple of more I could buy just because of GAS when they are super cheap like 9$. Though I did pass most of them except one during the end of year sale even though they were sub 29$. I guess it shows how badly I want them.

[soulone82]

Bad deal for many reasons, one being that those plugins will get replaced quickly by newer and better ones.

[burkek]

'Mommy mommy! I'm mad because some company have offer that I'm not interested in! Buuuu!' Monty Python could make a movie about this

At least our comments provide unsolicited feedback to the vendor. Yours, not so much.

KEv

[jens]

One think to keep in mind is that PA mostly offer more of the same and most of the plugins are rather limited in functionality...

there are some exceptions like the UA stuff and I totally love the Vertigo Mix Satellite, but mostly it's yet another compressor, single amp sim, equalizer, etc.

And one general thing I want to mention:

the VST market is quite saturated and people have limited funds. To keep the competition and innovation alive, we must support the developing companies - and not just one or two of them. So personally I'd much rather purchase three 29€ plugins from three different vendors than one 90€ plugin (and not to have three more plugins in my folder - I have way too many anyway).

Waves understood this (Slate, Fabfilter and a few others didn't) - and actually I would think PA did too, considering their vouchers and monthly specials. Yet this new deal attempts to bind much of the funds to them - and for a long time. Me no likey.

[jens]

'Mommy mommy! I'm mad because some company have offer that I'm not interested in! Buuuu!' Monty Python could make a movie about this

At least our comments provide unsolicited feedback to the vendor. Yours, not so much.

KEv

THIS!!!

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Im not great with math but this seems like a bad business strategy

Not really. All they have done is further confirm what their constant sales already did before i.e prove that these plugins are not worth close to the list price.

There are just some companies' products that you soon come to learn to never pay full price for

[Jax Pok]

Some really good plugins at Plugin Alliance store some have become UAD plugins.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

The vitriol level in some posts here seems unnecessarily high. A lot of folks have been asking for more rent to own models, and a major company comes out with one. It's not perfect, but it's their first forray into this type of model, and they're already looking at more options. The amount of work that must've gone into setting up this type of model couldn't have been easy.

Benefits:
1. If you want a bunch of PA plugins now you can opt to purchase 10 using this model
2. You get the plugins now
3. You'll end up with a perpetual licence - not a subscription

Downsides:
1. You're currently limited to 10 plugins
2. 29 months is a long time
3. Plugin Alliance often deeply discounts their products so you could always be patient and play the long game picking up a few plugins here and there as they come up for sale

Unknowns:
1. What happens if there's a major update to a plugin?
2. What types of plans may exist in the future? 3 plugins over 12 months? 5 plugins over 15 months?
3. Could I pay this off sooner if I wanted?
4. What if I hate a plugin and want to swap it for something else that came out later - possible?
5. Can it be paused and resumed if needed?

I'm sure there are more in each category above, but I think this is clearly marketed at folks who want to pick up several high price Plugin Alliance products right now, without waiting for sales, and who don't like subscription models. If this sounds like you, this might be a very good deal. If this doesn't sound like you, then who cares? I don't get all the hate around having another purchasing option that you don't have to take if you don't want to.

I won't be taking them up on this offer, but I'm glad it's an option out there for someone. Also, if this works out for them, it'll encourage them to expand the model. If I could pick up their SSL consoles and maybe one of their high end compressors for a reasonable monthly price in a 3 plugin model, I'd be tempted. They're not going to do that if this rent to own model blows up in their faces entirely, so I hope it's successful.

I don't fault a company for trying to level out their monthly revenue. From a business perspective, it helps with long-term planning and growth. And let's be honest, this is a much more customer-friendly way of doing just that compared to a subscription model. So kudos to Plugin Alliance for this, even it's not for me.

[ATN69]

There is currently a discussion with Dirk directly in the PA Facebook page where he seems open to other alternatives, but time will tell what that will be. He mentioned shorter payment plans, and even the possibility to pay faster for anyone who can and want. Still it's a discussion and he is asking people about their opinions.

[jbarish]

While I applaud PA for attempting to find a way to make rent to own work, I do think this current commitment is too long. The real question is how will this new plan affect their sales and vouchers practices going forward. We've seen companies that move to these new sub and rent to own programs drastically reduce the number of sales during the year because it then makes their plans more attractive. That creates less competition in the market and offers the consumer less choice at bargain prices than we currently have. That is a very real concern and is not mere complaining. This initial PA plan is tempting but I think I will have to hold out for something better.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

The vitriol level in some posts here seems unnecessarily high.

Maybe I've missed it, but I'm not seeing vitriol

[MogwaiBoy]

Remember you could spend more than this but not even end up owning the plugins (subscription based, vomit) - so yeah, I think the Rent to Own idea is preferable. However with PA if you're patient and willing to wait for good sales - especially around Xmas - on each of those 10 plugins, then it might be more cost-effective in the long run.

[Halonmusic]

Maybe.

[Omkar]

My initial statement may caused some misleading, let`s see ...

Funkybot made the point I had on mind:
"... A lot of folks have been asking for more rent to own models, and a major company comes out with one ..."

Aside the regular purchases of perpetual licenses, the rent to own model is the one I consider a real deal and a win/win
as long as things are not getting unfair on price check or users are forced into a specific model without alternatives.
So I refered to a business model, not to this PA offer in particular.

To the PA offer:
Dirk stated they had to start somewhere but now listen to the feedback and most likely come up with other plans,
pretty encouraging to give them your suggestions I would say.

As far as I understand the entire idea it`s a spread of various business models without deductions on one of them,
i.e the vouchers continue, the sales etc.

I think I`ll join on a reasonable 3 plugins offer.