Here’s an innovative idea – charge users to beta test a product.
Last week I wrote about a snappy new bookmarking tool called Pinboard. The best way to describe it is Delicious before Yahoo mangled that product into an over-featured sluggish shadow of its formerly zippy self.
Founder Maciej Ceglowski, a former Yahoo and Twitter engineer, noted a surge of new account request in a blog post, noting that he was putting new resources in place to take on the new users.
Today, though, he sent out an email to people requesting accounts telling them they’ll need to pay a “small signup fee” to create a new account:
Hello,
You’re receiving this letter because you recently signed up to help beta
test Pinboard.While we have enough testers for the time being, the site is now also open to
regular users. If you’d like to create an account, please visit the following
URL:You’ll need to pay a small signup fee (around three dollars) through Amazon to
create the account. This money goes towards the costs of running the site,
and the fee helps to discourage spammers.As I make more features available, I’ll announce them on the Google group
(http://groups.google.com/group/pinboard-dev) and the site blog (http://pinboard.in/blog/).You can also find me on IRC: irc.freenode.net #pinboard
If you find bugs while using the site, please send me an email and I’ll try
to fix them as quickly as I can.For things that are not bugs (feature requests, critique, suggestions,
questions) please post to the Google group so that everyone can pile on.Thanks again for joining me on this project, and happy bookmarking!
Maciej Ceglowski
This is a side project for Ceglowski, so charging a fee for new users certainly isn’t a dumb business move. And if enough people pay to use the service, maybe it will signal to him to move this front and center on his priority list. I would have done things a little differently, though – let people in for free and charge them after a week or so or shut down their account. That lets people try it out before they open their wallet.
Yeah, like you mentioned a 7 or maybe 3 days trial account would have been nice for people to get a feel of it.
I wanted to give it a shot, but i hardly use a web bookmarking service so it didn’t make sense to pay even though its only $3
Why would anyone want to pay $2.84 for a tool that can be had for free at over 100 different sites?
well, when demand exceed supply, price tend to go up. even in this case when it is free.
before you know it. some genius out there will start a company where users will bid on beta trial privileges
Always a good idea to charge for content. We’ve seen too many sites flame out because they tried to be just another ad-supported site.
Nice work Maciej!
I second your argument, however, given the kind of service, its hard to monetize, because its not a particular pain point (I am happy to be proven wrong!). Instead, I would monetize on things people are sharing, and create people’s behavioral and interest profiles, that is way more valuable than $2.84 x n can generate!
I now split my browser usage between Safari and Chrome and loving the new Delicious extension for Chrome. Mike — if your looking for simple & fast check it out.
http://groups.g...1251f6e0b?pli=1
Conditioning people to pay for a service right off the bat is the best idea.
As soon as there is a connection between your website and free services in people’s brain’s, it’s game over.
This is incredible. The guy actually has a plan to make money. Are the people at Twitter paying attention?
There’s a difference between having a plan and having a good plan.
Oh yeah – let’s start paying to use Twitter!
they can use the cellphone sms business model
The first half of this sentence is a little odd, don’t you think? “Pinboard is free to use, but charges a small, one-time membership fee.”
Arrington — IOW, you’re suggesting he try the old bait and switch? Nice.
“Innovative” – yes, “smart” – no. Thanks, but no thanks!
Even as a side project, I think this is a bad idea.
Techcrunch gave it a great write-up, so it obviously has potential beyond a simple side project. But charging people before they can even see what they’re getting is just going to stop people trying it altogether.
I’ve got nothing against paying for a good service. But I’m much less likely to do that if I can’t see what I’m getting – even if it is a small amount of money.
Most importantly, it sends the wrong message and is simply bad karma for a Web 2.0 project to launch like this.
Yes, because we all know Web 2.0 must be synonymous with “I have no revenue model.”
Not true. Web 2.0 is about the smart way to revenue.
I was going to sign up for this, but I’m not going to pay for it especially when it seems to have no compelling features beyond several other services which are free and excellent.
Let’s charge $2.84 to tide us over for the next 20 years. I think it’s the stupidiest idea I’ve ever heard.
Ditto to your comment.
Too bad, I had bookmarked them to try the service out this week. Oh well.
I can’t fault him, however. Smart move, bummer for my cheap a$$.
I trully hope they make a lot of money.
They’ll start with a much smaller but much more committed user base.
Most of the wise guys here wont pay a dime for anything new bc they are too used to get their beta keys, checkout the site for about 20 seconds and never get back until TC says it’s cool on a new post.
Free is only good for Google.
I paid a few days ago. It was something like $2.56 at the time.
Why did I pay. Well, I used to use delicious. But after a new computer, new browser, etc, I never bothered logging in again. However, I’ve been missing a good way to log stuff.
Pinboard’s “To Read” feature is just what I’ve been looking for. Now, I can add stuff in and come back later.
Why pay when others are free? Well, to not be a cheapskate. Seriously, is $2 to $3 too much to pay for something useful? Will you not go to the grocery store because the stuff there isn’t free? Or, do you just hang out around the store and munch on all the free samples in the produce and deli area?
good post man, well put. i agree 100%
Ever heard of “read it later”? Free service.
Going back to the first post which garnered many comments along the lines of “what is wrong with del.icio.us” and “I never had the problems you claim with del.icio.us”, I have to return to that same point. Arrington insists on slamming a service and I have seen maybe 2-3 people in the comments agree…but I have never experienced any problems and it appears the majority have not either.
So, introduce a new “free” service by slamming an old one, and then a few days later the new service is charging a small fee. Another writeup on techcrunch that could be perceived as negative but really isn’t, and drives more traffic to the new service.
My conspiracy theorist mind asks – “how much is Arrington’s cut?”
“Pinboard is free to use, but charges a small, one-time membership fee.”
Some one tell them charging a one-time fee means it is not FREE to use…
I wonder how many people will pay to be beta testers?
Yea, they should not charge during beta.
For all the people that think paying a couple of bucks for a service before you try it out is stupid, let me ask you a question. Have you ever paid for a piece of software before tryin it? Maybe put purchased an iPhone app without trying the “lite” version (if there is one)? I’m sure at some point you have purchased something without trying it first. Everone has been conditioned over the last 3 – 5 years to be able try these services out for free. I think this business model might have some legs. I for one, am interested in the product because it costs a few bucks – it has a higher perceived value than a lot of the other “free” services out there. I might have to check it out myself…
Have to agree.. the idea of not having a profit model will only last for so long, I think. (Twitter: I’m looking at you.)
Ad-supported works as long as you have paying advertisers and performing inventory (eyeballs who buy your advertisers’ stuff.)
I have purchased tons of games, music, and books without “trying” them. In the process, I’ve learned to actually judge a book by its cover.
Charging for the service and charging for beta testing are two different things. No problem with the first, but charging people to test during the beta phase for bugs and send through feedback?
First off, thanks to everyone who has signed up as a result of the TechCrunch articles!
Pinboard had a bunch of alpha testers, and about a hundred beta testers, all of whom got free accounts. They caught a lot of bugs and I am very grateful to them for putting in the time and energy.
I turned on the new user fee (an idea I got from Joshua Schachter) after the first TechCrunch article, for the reasons Marcelo lays out. The site still needs a lot of work, but at this point I am confident it represents a chocolate-muffin-equivalent of value and hope the people joining up will agree with me.
I do plan to make a preview page once the dust has settled a bit, so people can see what the site is like before deciding whether to sign on.
Hi Maciej,
Maybe a short video tour would be a good idea so we can get a good feeling about the application.
-V
Price of an iPhone app? I’m in.
Wish all the best to the effort. People are bitching to pay a couple of bucks for a useful service. Is it beta? Well Google docs was beta until a few days ago.
People wont mind paying MORE for some stupid Iphone App. It’s not about the price. It’s about being anchored in the free concept.
Maybe he could encourage sign-ups by having a discount for the beta version and raising the price to $5 or so when its out of beta.
Perhaps the pinboard guys need some $$s without going cap in hand to dodgy banks?
I wish more beat invites were charged for – I would happily pay for Google Wave and so many other programmes – I have a little budget for possible “rash but maybe not rash spending” this falls under possible rash spending but I will pay – not because I’m a fool but because I think everyone needs a bit of money.
I am not rich by the way – I operate a small husband and wife business from home because I am slightly disabled
Cheers
David
I have signed up with crystalpin.com, which provides a lot of more features in addiction to the bookmarks and it is free!!!
FREE is like 30 is the new 20. That is a must have. He’s not going to succeed charging ppl. Better off slapping up some ads…LOL
not paying for that ..LOL
Good plan for making money.