Comments on: SaaS prices going up?

By: jesse

jesse — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:48:20 +0000

Dear Dennis,
I especially like the part that says if (reader) do(es) not like have the ability to do a “reality check” on the company holding their data (intellectual property, in many cases, or proprietary business knowledge) should call or email you.
I also think that efax (division of J2 Global Communications) has a long way to go in offering even a free service, in that the free in their service is largely incompatible or unavailable to the user who does not pay, despite promotions which promote the expectations of new sign ups who believe they are actually going to simply see a faxed document in their email inbox (not an unreadable attachment) after they’ve signed up.
I’m not sure about the others, but efax does not have my support at this time. I wasted my time today signing up for a promotion which did not clearly, outside of fine print in the TOS, relate that I wouldn’t be able to view my fax unless I paid.
However, I will say that gotfreefax.com is an excellent site. I also believe it’s worth asking you if salesforce is in the market to acquire anyone public, and if so, if that migh increase shareholder stakes, in your opinion?
Best,
Jesse (ps, Google needs to listen…I hope…)
http://twitter.com/jesatiu

By: More on ‘free’ | AccMan

More on ‘free’ | AccMan — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:04:55 +0000

[...] a paid user but will still bear the brunt of operating costs associated with all users. Or rather, the value that can be obtained from paying customers has to be high enough to warrant providing the …. At least in most cases I can [...]

By: Emily Coltman

Emily Coltman — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:09:46 +0000

Agreed 100%. Time to sign up methinks.

By: Dennis Howlett

Dennis Howlett — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:05:15 +0000

“I’d love to use it for letters of engagement and for contracts.” – that’s exactly what I was thinking. $15/month if you HAVE to pay? Seems a tiny price to pay for convenience etc, especially with your new business.

By: Emily Coltman

Emily Coltman — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:01:15 +0000

No worries Dennis.

It’s an interesting point you make about Echosign. I was handed an Echosign document recently for a software agreement and I was amazed just how easy it was to use. No downloads, no printing as a .pdf, just a couple of easy clicks and there you go.

I’d love to use it for letters of engagement and for contracts.

By: Jason M. Lemkin

Jason M. Lemkin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:56:26 +0000

One interesting data point on free & freemium … about the only public (or other) company I know of that actually publishes the customer value of a free customer is eFax (J2 Global is their corporate name). Their 10,000,000 free customers all-in generate $0.05 in revenue per month. Their 1,000,000 paid customers generate $14.85 per month … I think freemium can be a good way to help get attention for a start-up (though it’s harder these days) but I think ultimately once companies hit at least a Basecamp-type stage, they at least have to deemphasize free given these types of numbers as the free base probably competes with the paid base and drags down your revenues …