On November 1st, 2015 Devot:ee will increase their take on all sales from 20% to 30%. To offset this increase, All BoldMinded add-ons will increase in price accordingly. Prices will be adjusted just enough to offset the additional 10% increase to keep our revenue per add-on sale about same as it was when Devot:ee took 20%. For instance, Publisher will increase from $175 to $200, which means we still recieve $140 per license sold.

Devot:ee is also introducing the optional timed download feature to add-on developers. Meaning we have the option of making access to download a zip file of an existing license to expire after a certain timeframe (6 months, 1 year, or 2 years). This does not mean the license is no longer valid. Customers can still download zip files even after this timeframe has passed, however, they will not get access to new zip files (add-on releases) after it has expired. In order to renew the ability to download the latest and greatest version of an add-on the add-on developer can set an upgrade price.

I have been on the fence about this new feature since it was released. My first reaction was nothing but praise, then I thought about it some more and talked to a few other ExpressionEngine add-on developers and decided against adopting timed downloads for my add-ons. This new feature from Devot:ee comes at a very awkward time. EllisLab is publicaly working on ExpressionEngine 3.0. We have no clue when it will get released, but I suspect it will be in the next 2-4 months. They have been somewhat on target with their release cycles for the last year or more, so I don't think they'll be sitting on 2.9 much longer. With EE 3.0 add-on developers will yet again have to update their add-ons. Hopefully by this time Devot:ee has implemented an upgrade option for add-ons, meaning as a developer we can declare that X version of an add-on requires purchasing a whole new copy of the license. So if my estimated EE 3.0 release timeframe is even remotely accurate, this will come prior to the first add-on expiration option of 6 months (April of 2015). Sometime in early 2015 add-ons will be released for EE 3.0, and if the developer chooses to require a full upgrade fee for all their hard work in upgrading an add-on for EE 3.0, then there could be a short window in which a customer may have to pay an upgrade fee twice in a short time frame. Because of this BoldMinded add-ons will not be opting into the newly released timed download feature (for now). We believe a better solution is to charge for new major version releases, for instance, when ExpressionEngine 3.0 is released Publisher and other BoldMinded add-ons will need to be updated. Upgrading from ExpressionEngine 2.x compatible versions to 3.0 compatible versions will require re-purchsing the add-on. Many hours will be put into updating these add-ons and it will not be feasible to offer free upgrades. We'll re-evaluate the timed download feature at a later date.