Comments on: The $99 Effect

By: Felix

Felix — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:41:43 +0000

To question number [5] : Will V11.2 works reliably on Windows Seven (release planned for October 22) ? The answer to this little issue isn’t very clear yet (Alibre forum)…

By: Debankan Chattopadhyay

Debankan Chattopadhyay — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 05:05:57 +0000

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[1] Will the industry see Alibre’s $99 offer as them giving up on the mid-range MCAD race? More importantly, will users feel that way? Are users bothered in the first place?
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This is a perception issue and quite academic for the most part. When a
user decides to buy CATIA or SolidWorks or Alibre they don’t do it because they need to buy a high-end, mid-range or low-end software. They do it based on (a) their need – whether the s/w works for their requirement (b) their budget – biggest bang for the buck.

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[4] Is this $99 offer the beginning of a marked shift in the Alibre’s target audience? Say 2D users as opposed to current mid-range MCAD users.
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To be honest, I don’t think the $99 effect will include people migrating from other CAD systems to Alibre. Migration of legacy data, compatibility issues go way beyond the lure of $99 promotional pricing. But yes, I would agree that this will be an incentive for 2D users to move to 3D.

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[7] Alibre hopes that mid-range MCAD users ask themselves the question, “Why are we paying so much?” (Matt Lombard has already asked that question). After finding the answer will these users end up doing something about it?
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People will for sure, ‘infer’ that Alibre does not do all that the others can. Why? How can they do all that SolidWorks can and still sell (and survive!) for $99? No user has the time to do a due diligence and try and prove things wrong. Remember, status quo is always the easier option.

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[8] There is no such thing as bad press. Or is there?
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IMHO, Alibre has gained immensely from the press/blog coverage it has received because of this $99 offer. Even with some negative commentary and perception biases thrown in, I don’t think Alibre marketing have reasons to complain. Paul Grayson’s post is a reflection of that.

By: Ken

Ken — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:39:10 +0000

I’m not sure Alibre really made it to the “mid-range” space. It has always been “low-end” in my opinion, and that is probably based on a combination of it’s previously low cost and my view that it lacks “production” modeling capabilities and many of the niceties that the big 3 mid-range products have had for some time. Now that it’s priced at the bargain basement rate of $99 dollars, I view it as a last ditch effort to save a sinking ship and I’m left wondering what happens with my invenstment once the ship has sunk. People do percieve quality with price and dropping the price is never a good thing. It’s like trying to sell a house and then dropping the price. People think it was overpriced to begin with or there is something wrong with it and no one bothers looking at it anymore.