Extorniate Extension Costs! $129 to add pre-order for example…

Hmmmm….. Let’s look at the crux of the matter

these extensions are hidden costs and are extortionate in my opinion

What can one reasonably expect from a free plugin?? Is it reasonable to expect that you’ll be able to build whatever you want for free? And if, heaven forefend, you do stretch to buying an extension, it better be cheap….

How can you reasonably expect an excellent ecommerce package to be developed, maintained and extended without income? Is it reasonable to expect to build an online shop for free, or at least really cheap?

Your main gripe seems to be that “basic additional features” are expensive.

What is a a “basic additional feature”?

A basic feature implies it is one which is included in the free package. An additional feature is an extension.

You seem to feel that since you assess the $129 extension as “basic”, it’s way too expensive.

By all means, all customers should review the costs for necessary additional extensions. But is it unreasonable to expect to invest some $$ in a theme and some extensions??

In my opinion, not unreasonable at all.

My argument is not that I think WooCommerce and all of the extensions should be free. Even so I do know of many plugins that do offer high levels of functionality without any additional charges. My argument is that the extensions are overpriced, yes this is subjective yet my opinion is also informed by my use of 100’s of other plugins on WordPress and elsewhere.

I have invested in many premium themes and plugins over the last few years so it’s wrong to assume I want everything for free. In comparison the most expensive premium plugins/themes on Envato are $64. Let’s ignore the $100 – $200+ extensions and compare those prices to the standard $79 Woo extensions. Now am I supposed to believe that those extensions are somehow more comprehensive then the extensions found elsewhere? Let’s not also forget that the licenses are also only valid for a year and require further renewal for support etc.

The problem is I suspect many users will download WooCommerce thinking it’s free. Then one day they need to add a particular function only to find out WooCommerce want $$$+ the renewal costs for each added extension.

In my opinion this is like WooCommerce giving away free cars. It’s sounds great to users only until they realize parts of the engine have been left out and to make the car function as they would expect they will need to start up multiple costly subscriptions with Woo. Like I said the free plugin is great, IF you are certain it has all the features you need out of the box. Otherwise I urge new users to check out the extensions page and decide for themselves.

Also for the record I’m aware that I’m not the only one who thinks the extensions are way to overpriced, there are many articles criticizing Woo and their prices.

My argument is not that I think WooCommerce and all of the extensions should be free.

Why? If the author(s) choose to earn a living selling their work then why would you begrudge anyone of that? The GPL license for that code does permit that.

Also for the record I’m aware that I’m not the only one who thinks the extensions are way to overpriced, there are many articles criticizing Woo and their prices.

Ah. So it’s not the free part, it’s the cost. ??

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but there’s always the option to use their API and write your own code. Or look for alternatives as there are other shops.

Woo decided for this business model and while it does not work for you (and that’s cool too) it apparently does work for their other customers.

“My argument is NOT that I think WooCommerce and all of the extensions should be free. “

This means that I never said I expect it to be free, again I have no idea why you also assume I’m asking for anything for free. There is a difference between (free > fair pricing > overpriced) and my argument is for the mid point.

Also just because a business model works that does not mean it’s whats best for the users, my review is from a user perspective and I’m not critiquing their business. I could provide several dozen examples of successful business models that screw their user base over. Like I said there are many complaints far more critical than my review so obviously it doesn’t work for all of their customers. I’m merely letting new users know what to expect.

Fun fact: The first 3 extensions on Woo’s extension page will set you back $450 for the first year.

So the nub of the issue is:

My argument is that the extensions are overpriced

and

I would have rated the plugin 4/5 if it wasn’t for the extensions.

This is a forum for the FREE version of the plugin. You have not assessed the FREE plugin fairly by your own words. Rather, you have chosen to spank WOO for the expense of extensions which are not immediately relevant to the purpose of this forum.

I’m not reviewing any particular extension, rather I’m reviewing the entire marketplace which is therefore relevant to the free plugin (in my opinion). The plugin is OK but it lacks the eCommerce features I needed, if I were to say it lacks feature [A] then I’m sure you would have pointed me to the extensions marketplace. If I were to ignore the marketplace I would still have to rate it lower as I would have to go by the basis that feature [A] is missing.

Also websites are typically free to access, does that mean if I review a website I should ignore the product prices?

If I’m spanking WOO then it’s because I think they are spanking their users.

Hmmm…. So let’s have a discussion:

(1) on what should be a core function in a free ecommerce plugin, and what would validly be an extension.

(2) another part of the issue is the expense of extensions – what would you consider fair pricing for an extension/or extensions as a group?

(3) and finally, how does Woo fit into the general free/freemium marketplace
a. for functionality
b. for free core functions
c. for extension cost