Hello Charlie,

It looks like the versions mostly outdated. Even it is compatible with 3.3 but it is not advisable to do so because it might not be stable as the latest version. You might want to upgrade your component.

Hi Nik,

I understand completely. However, because the yearly cost for the ability to download the most recent versions of the professional bundle (not discounting your excellent support of course) is just under $200.00 I will need to bring this up as a matter for discussion at our next board of directors meeting. Our Astronomy club is a not for profit group and a recurring cost like this would not be an insignificant portion of our annual budget and therefore must be considered carefully. We really like the package, unfortunately it may end up being too expensive for us to maintain over time.

Charlie

Nik,

FYI, I'm getting this cost from my account information total when I add up all the renewals.

Charlie

Hello Charlie,

Thanks for getting back to us on this. You have your point and just like what I tell everyone else, if you are paying anything under $1000 annually and will have a peace of mind for the entire year, wouldn't that be extremely cost effective?

If you actually perform a simple calculation, assuming that you are renewing your subscription for $200, you are only paying about $16.60 a month and you have a peace of mind that a group of professional is always there for you. Let alone, you will also be getting updates from the software as well Heck, it's even cheaper than contracting a freelancer or maintenance contract

Perhaps you could pitch this to your board and I am sure that your board will definitely consider renewing them

Guys,

I really do understand that for many the cost of maintaining support is quite reasonable (and I truly have nothing but the highest regard for your excellent support), but as I have already mentioned our club really does run on a very tight budget.

Almost all income from dues and donations goes to maintenance and upkeep of our observatory. Recurring costs such as this one get very high scrutiny because of this. A nearly $200.00 annual expenditure is a large enough expense to us (in proportion to our income) that it could well force us to shut down the discussion board altogether and revert back to Joomla's standard blog layout or adopt K2 for that purpose. Believe me, we would not prefer to do this but on the other hand we must be very selective in where we put our funds, even at this level of expense.

Looking at your pricing I have seen that the renewal price I've been given is far more expensive than the cost to buy the bundle brand new is. Isn't there a discount for having a bundled package? A discount for not-for-profit organizations? The board will be discussing this at our meeting tonight. I will not ask for a decision on the issue before hearing back from you but I do want them to understand that having the software on our site will require an ongoing expense so that they can start to weigh the benefit versus expense question.

Charlie Hein
President, South Florida Amateur Astronomers Association

Hello Charlie,

Please write to us at https://crm.stackideas.com and I will see if we can work out something for you

It is really annoying to pay such a huge amount for support after purchasing any software

zubair Ahmed,

I don't really see it that way.

We (my club) are not annoyed at the cost of the renewal and we are certainly not complaining about the excellent service that we have been provided as a StackIdeas customer. We are very pleased with the software and the support. We're not angry at all over this - we simply must make our purchasing decisions based on what is best for our club with the limited funds we have to make it happen.

Because of this reality we are also profoundly aware that StackIdeas must sell subscriptions for as much as they can in order to ensure the continued success of their business. After all, this is the goal of a for-profit business. Our aim in this is to arrive at a place where we can both do what we must do. We would be very pleased if the result of this is that we remain a StackIdeas customer, but we are certainly not going to be annoyed or bitter if this does not come to pass. We have no complaints about the software or services received, and wish StackIdeas continued success regardless of the outcome of this discussion.

Speaking of our discussion, it has become a private matter between our organizations, and I will ask that this thread be locked if possible.

Charlie Hein
President, SFAAA

Hello Zubair,

Firstly, I do appreciate your input on this but looking through our system, it looks like you don't even have a subscription on our site, so not really sure what you meant by having to renew after purchasing the software? I have reasons to believe that you are from a competitor trying to flame on our forums but it's cool, challenge accepted and we love to be as transparent possible

Charlie,

Thank you for the kind and prompt response! It's good to see that you understand where we are coming from! Not easy to find awesome customers who are being understanding And because of your support, I will try my best to get you a better discount