The new version of BBEdit, version 10 is out. Bare Bones Software has already come under fire for their pricing model. BBEdit regularly costs $49.99. That is a great value for a tool that I use everyday and have used for years. As soon as I heard it was out I immediately checked their web site to see what the upgrade price was. There I saw that the upgrade price was $39.99. This is a bit higher than I expected but reasonable. I was elated to see that they were also selling the full version in the Mac App Store for the same price. For me this was perfect. I get to move over to the Mac App Store for the same price as I was already planning on spending for the upgrade — sold. I really prefer this distribution method for my software purchases. It is a classy move on their part.
I compare this with my recent experience with OmniGroup’s OmniPlan 2.0 upgrade. Their pricing model insures that I will be buying the new upgrade via their web site instead of via the Mac App Store. When contacted @OmniPlan’s twitter account was sympathetic, “That would definitely be nice. Unfortunately not much we can do with the current App Store policies.”
The Mac App Store needs a model for alternate channel pricing, upgrade pricing, and license conversion. Apple is not likely to move on these items anytime soon. For channel pricing Apple has come out with volume discounts for enterprise buyers. Without a paid upgrade option software vendors will be force to release new titles rather than update an existing brand. Will there be a BBEdit 11 or will Bare Bones have to come out with BBEdit HD?