Vbulletin 3 owned license owner.

[cbiweb]

Actually her license expired a month or two ago.

[carntheroos4eva]

That sucks! Is there any major issue with 3.8.0.. if not i guess ill just stick with it.

Why does it suck to you?
The only problem I see with this that if you wanted to add the cms to your forum you wouldn't be able to as you haven't upgraded. So upgrade and then you will be able to download the cms suite

[DanaSoft]

Actually her license expired a month or two ago.

Yes, it appears so. Does this mean that we will continue to have access to updates for the version we own?

[Swampfox]

Wish we could get clarification on this

I have no plans to go with 4.0 but would like to have access to newer versions of 3.8

If they are changing to a license structure to one that lasts the lifetime of that version, they should retroactively do the same to 3.8, its only fair

[blackberry]

i also don't want to upgrade 4.0

and its not fair to pay for 4.0 upgrade if u want to stick with 3.8 patches etc.

Vb team should think about that and give renew option to owned license users

[SteveLV702]

Wish we could get clarification on this

I have no plans to go with 4.0 but would like to have access to newer versions of 3.8

If they are changing to a license structure to one that lasts the lifetime of that version, they should retroactively do the same to 3.8, its only fair

If you your license has expired then you don't have access to newer versions but you will still get Security Patches which is what new one is so you should have access to that.. If you don't I would contact Support about it...

[slinky]

i also don't want to upgrade 4.0

and its not fair to pay for 4.0 upgrade if u want to stick with 3.8 patches etc.

Vb team should think about that and give renew option to owned license users

We are in the same boat, wanting to upgrade several of our products to the latest 3.x. Of course it's not fair nor do they seem to care at all, unfortunately. I've read Bob Brisco's blog about how the pricing is intentional to move forum owners to the vBulletin Suite. They want you to showcase the vBulletin Suite so they can sell more vBulletin licenses to browsers of your successful site who want to know what software you use. They believe that the people who were unaffected by this policy will continue to evangelize the software and the complaints of the current licenseholders will disappear.

Unfortunately after being a customer here practically since vBulletin started selling product, I've had to use other forum software for all of our new clients. Like you, for our existing forums, we only needed the forum and the few updates we have a right to receive as a customer of the product. We would not consider any switch for a while, especially since there are many integrations and vBulletin 4 is nowhere near stable. When you have multiple licenses, the cost to force users to pay $175 or $190 is considerable and they wanted us to spend it all at one time during the surprise two week presale.

Imagine the unhappy clients who were told to use vBulletin and then had to pay a large sum of money for this "presale" just a few months later since the price to upgrade later would be astronomical, buying a new product practically. Some of these clients are well financed and it wasn't about the money but the principle - charge you one day and then, without notice, change gears and ask you to pull out your credit card again for the price of new software. For the same price they have switched to another forum software, are actually happier given the way it works and are getting great results.

[njoker555]

is that $175 for the upgrade a one time fee? what about upgrades and support them? I realize that $40 renewal option is gone.

Have been out of vB news for quite some time and was recently brought the news about 4.0. So just a bit confused. Read through the thread and I see how some people are confused an unhappy.

[slinky]

is that $175 for the upgrade a one time fee? what about upgrades and support them? I realize that $40 renewal option is gone.

Have been out of vB news for quite some time and was recently brought the news about 4.0. So just a bit confused. Read through the thread and I see how some people are confused an unhappy.

Yes - one day vBulletin sent out an email to customers that the presale for vBulletin 4 was "on." We were provided no notice, before or during the presale (that I can recall) that you couldn't purchase your maintenance subscription to ensure that you can continue to have your 3.x forum up to date. I found out here. If you wanted to get your vBulletin 3.x updates you had to pay $190 to upgrade to the vBulletin 4 suite. The $175 forums only option (which makes no sense value wise) was offered later.

Now you understand why so many reasonable, supporting customers are absolutely furious and probably will be for a very long time.

[tiberonmagnus]

When I bought the owned license I guess I missed that in the fine print. I thought buying a owned license got me free updates, even whole new versions, but I only had to pay the annual fee to keep it updated. So then after I found out that I had to buy another owned license for 4.0 I was unsettled. Then I hear (possibly a rumor?) that in about 18 months Vbulletin 5.0 would be out, and that we would have to buy another owned license.

What really bothers me is that the new version is $195 while the upgrade is $175, only a $20 price difference. I do understand where Vbulletin is coming from, at least on a certain level, is that 4.0 and other totally new versions are complete re-writes of the code, so it's a completely new software. So with that, sure charge a bit more I guess, but I think the people who already owned a license and who have been loyal contributors and purchasers of the software should be entitled to more than a $20 savings for upgrading. When I notice other major software developers, such as Adobe who sell new versions and their upgrades are 1/4 the cost (CS4 new $699, upgrade $199) I think that model should be used in conjunction with how Vbulletin sells their software. Totally and utterly new Vbulletin for a first-time purchaser, sure $195 (example), while the upgrade for already owned licenses would be about $49... that I can agree with.

To be honest, a part of the reason why I'm up in arms, it seems like life is pooping on me lol. Lost my job, so I thought to myself, ok I can work on my website and finish it off with the unconditional spare time I have at the moment, then I come here to find out I have to spend a couple hundred bucks of what I don't have anymore due to the economy. But, I guess that's life.

[bosss]

I have license (paid) for vbulletin 3.x.x and separate license (paid) for vbblog 2.xx.x
Now i can upgrade only forum with vb4 and in sametime lose all my blog articles and posts ... or buy vb4 suite and i will get vbblog and CMS (but i do not want CMS...will never use that) ...

Will just say that vbulletin should make option for customers to make choice ....

i want forum and vbblog ...and i paid for that (separate) before ... and do not need suite and CMS...

Very bad from you from vbulletin and no honesty ...

regards

bosss

posted before here and never get answer - http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...forum-and-blog

[slinky]

I thought buying a owned license got me free updates, even whole new versions, but I only had to pay the annual fee to keep it updated. So then after I found out that I had to buy another owned license for 4.0 I was unsettled. Then I hear (possibly a rumor?) that in about 18 months Vbulletin 5.0 would be out, and that we would have to buy another owned license.

You heard correctly. From my experience, vBulletin never gave customers prior notice that this policy was going to be changed. The 18 month is a guess by Ray Morgan, the general manager who has now retired to build his home just 2 months after the presale. Nobody knows for sure whether it's 18 months or 12 months when the next presale begins and you'll pay again.

What really bothers me is that the new version is $195 while the upgrade is $175, only a $20 price difference. I do understand where Vbulletin is coming from, at least on a certain level

I read Bob Brisco's blog. It's an insult to customers, IMHO. He implies IMHO that the suite was priced to incent existing customers to upgrade to the suite by pricing the forum at a ridiculous upgrade price. The problem is that the Suite price was also unfairly priced. If your maintenance ran out just a few days/weeks/months before the presale, vBulletin expected you to pay not $130 but $190!!! So they expected you to pay $60 (and not $40) for a "maintenance" upgrade that you would never use....PLUS the Suite upgrade cost. Incredible.

When I notice other major software developers, such as Adobe who sell new versions and their upgrades are 1/4 the cost (CS4 new $699, upgrade $199)... <snip>... then I come here to find out I have to spend a couple hundred bucks of what I don't have anymore due to the economy. But, I guess that's life.

Many of us have come to the conclusion, unfortunately, that Jelsoft is gone forever. I'm sorry to hear about your predicament. I am almost at the end of my attempts to reason with vBulletin Solutions but it appears that they don't seem to care. I've sent in my support request for the final time. Many of our clients decided to bite the bullet and figure that a $250 upgrade (which is what it is now) for the vBulletin 4 suite for a forum they just paid $180 for this year is an insult and not worth it.

[Matthew Gordon]

Actually her license expired a month or two ago.

Because 3.8.4 PL2 is not considered to be a new version - it's considered to be 3.8.4 and anyone who could get 3.8.4 can get PL2.

[slinky]

Because 3.8.4 PL2 is not considered to be a new version - it's considered to be 3.8.4 and anyone who could get 3.8.4 can get PL2.

And anyone who has 3.8.1 or 3.8.1 is being forced to pay $250 for the suite or $175 for the forum - practically the same price as buying vBulletin 4 outright. Disgraceful to hold these minor updates hostage. I've sent in my last support request to them. I've been a long time customer and one of the more visible vBulletin forum sites. We'll see how much longer that will be the case.

[bosss]

vBulletin should shame ... no serius more ... if they need money ...should write that ... i get answer from support about question for my vbblog which i paid like separte product and if i upgrade my forum (3.8.4 PL2) will lose all my blog posts - i must buy suite -NEVER
answer from vbulletin:

Hello,We are no longer offering the blog as a separate product. If you'd like to use the blog with vBulletin 4 you'll need to purchase a 4.0 license.
Will found another solutions ... and will say to all customers ... buy nothing ...when i buy blog , nobody says to me that in future it will not be separate product. Shame - vbuletin!

regards
bosss