Sale of Software licenses came down?

[Deleted member 45570]

I used to see posts where users sell their license in FP and other forums. But that has come down and i see few vBulletin users trying to get rid of the software in few sites. What has really happened? Users started to stick with the forum software or they are not interested in selling it as of now?

 

[Grim Day]

Yeah and if they keep going up they are going to see less and less sales....Kidforo went up to $160 and it's not worth more than $6...V Bulletin 5 is like $240 and its not worth much more...IPB is the most expensive..Hell if you get everything that goes with an IPB forum you're going spend in excess of $600! I will tell you what's going to happen they are going to price themselves right out of business....Thats the reason people are hanging on to them longer price is an issue!

There are more less expensive commercial software like UBB which is only $130 or UltraBB which is $99...Granted they do not have all the bell and whistles of the more popular software.

 

[overcast]

I think selling second hand license market is not the demanding one I guess. Most of the people prefer buying first hand and not reused licenses.

 

[meetdilip]

Most of the people prefer buying first hand and not reused licenses.

It was entirely different some time back. We could see many people trying to sell it off.

 

[overcast]

Yes some people wanted to just test drive for few months so they used to get 6 month worth of license for cheap but that market is technically loss of buyers.

 

[Deleted member 4320]

It may also just be a case that less people fancy being in the market to sell. I assume people may reuse and licence if they want to try another project perhaps.

 

[Deleted member 45570]

Price increase of forum software is one of the reason people don't want to sell their license if they ever take up a project again.

 

[overcast]

It may also just be a case that less people fancy being in the market to sell. I assume people may reuse and licence if they want to try another project perhaps.

I think that's one strong possibility for many webmasters.

 

[Grim Day]

It may also just be a case that less people fancy being in the market to sell. I assume people may reuse and licence if they want to try another project perhaps.

That follows what I was saying earlier.....It's cheaper to hold on to them with Xenforo @ $160 and V Bulletin @ $235 and IPB @ $200 just for a minimum license.....

 

[simonweb]

What has really happened?

Facebook and other social media sites happened. Forums are not popular anymore to use or maintain, which means fewer people are using and trading forum licenses. Maintaining a community is also much more complicated - mainly due to security and privacy issues and so on - these days compared to just 5 years ago.

 

[Carlos X]

Price increase of forum software is one of the reason people don't want to sell their license if they ever take up a project again.

Not just that. The process of transferring your license to another person is worrysome. Especially on IPS. (I read a post similar to this. Yikes.)

 

[Deleted member 29780]

Facebook and other social media sites happened. Forums are not popular anymore to use or maintain, which means fewer people are using and trading forum licenses. Maintaining a community is also much more complicated - mainly due to security and privacy issues and so on - these days compared to just 5 years ago.

I disagree. Forums are much like owning a rabbit. You need to keep feeding it water and food and will continue to grow and keep active. However, when you stop feeding it the rabbit becomes more increasingly hungry for food and water. But then when it doesn't get any it dies....

 

[simonweb]

I disagree. Forums are much like owning a rabbit. You need to keep feeding it water and food and will continue to grow and keep active. However, when you stop feeding it the rabbit becomes more increasingly hungry for food and water. But then when it doesn't get any it dies....

Yes, good and unique content is crucial for forums. But you can't honestly say that forums are as popular or relevant as 5-10 years ago. Major forums have closed down in recent years and most websites focus solely on social media instead of growing their own community/forum.

 

[Deleted member 29780]

Yes, good and unique content is crucial for forums. But you can't honestly say that forums are as popular or relevant as 5-10 years ago. Major forums have closed down in recent years and most websites focus solely on social media instead of growing their own community/forum.

Yeah sure, the major ones closed down. But we need to investigate why.. Personally my site booms and then glooms but then booms again. It really depends on how much energy you put forward with it. My community is at the size where registration just come in on their own. But then that's where you need to shift focus on your member base (Not the new base) and make sure there is interesting content for them.