Great letter Scott. However I also have a concern beyond the Creative Suite and Photoshop. Right now more and more professional photographers are finding Lightroom and Photoshop Elements is enough for their work. However how long before Lightroom is either added to the Creative Cloud, or moved to a more expensive subscription basis? This would be actually a bigger concern for me.

One positive thing I see from this mess is that if it becomes possible to subscribe applications in the Creative Suite on an as needs basis it might make sense for me. I use Photoshop mostly, but maybe a handful of times a year I need to use InDesign. Subscribing for a month to use InDesign would work for me, and certainly be much cheaper than buying the Design Standard version of Creative Suite outright.

- Brian

A straightforward and sensible appeal and a fair proposition. It would help Adobe take care of their bottom line and their customers. And it’s a wise public company that realizes the two go hand in hand. I hope they listen. Thanks for standing up, not only for NAPP members (of which I’m proud to count myself), but for all Photoshop users and other Adobe customers.

Like Glyn, I appreciate the fact that despite what has to be a pretty close working relationship you must maintain with Adobe, you don’t mind telling the truth, even when it hurts. I hope they appreciate your feedback.

thanks,
Dennis

Scott,
Thanks for a well written letter with logical alternatives to this non-customer centric stance by Adobe. I, like most CS users, skip generations in most software upgrades. The cost and the learning curve is a bit much for the enthusiast to absorb. Are we forced to upgrade to CS5.5 and hope in 3 years Adobe smartens up and lets us go to CS7?

On a more personal note; what does NAPP become if people start shifting off of Photoshop? The National Association of Post Processing Professionals or the National Association of Aperture Professionals? What a teaching/training disaster.

Well, if this goes through, there wont be a CS6 for me, so Ill stick with CS4. I cant justify a subscription to PS, nor do I want to pay full price for a product twice.
LR does the heavy lifting for me, and from what I can see, the new OnOne 6 suite look like a pretty darn good alternative to PS, as its now a stand-alone product. So that will be the way I’ll be looking if Adobe dont change their mind. I wonder what he$$ they where thinking…
Sure, any company is in it for making money, I just have a feeling that this move will back fire.

I can imagine that plug-in companies such as Nik, Topaz etc. are a bit worried about their sales if Adobe decides to continue down this path of alienating their customers. Especially the non-professional users of Adobe products and Im in that group.

I wonder what Terry White thoughts on the subject would be, could be interesting…

This new upgrade plan is going to hurt Adobe big-time in the long run. I”ve been using Photoshop since 6.0 and only upgrade every-other version. I’m on CS5 now but it looks like that might be my last version? My business is way to small to justify the price jump.

Netflix tried to goof around with their customers and look where it got them…….good letter Scott

Well, I just upgrade to LR 3 thanks to the photowalk discount. I do most everything in LR and with plugins — photo matix, topaz. There’s a bunch that you can do with photoshop but I just don’t use it that much in my personal work. Not sure if that will ever change. Now at work, I have the CS 5.5 suite, mostly for illustrator and indesign. Scott has the right idea, Adobe would keep customers happy with a tiered upgrade system. Anyone using CS 3 should have to pay the most for an upgrade. I know a lot of people kept CS 4, so if they decide they want CS 6, they shouldn’t have to upgrade to 5. Seems punitive and mean. Thanks Scott.

I’m afraid this new pricing policy has “Netflix” all over it!

I believe this action is a revenue generator for the loss of flash.

Wow! Adobe must be taking advice from the executives at Bank of America on how to treat their customers. Hopefully Scott’s letter will make them come to their senses.

Wow! – well done Scott, talking about just nailing it. I couldn’t agree more and I thank you so much for doing this. Adobe’s business decisions and upgrade pricing even for CS5.5 seem a little baffling lately, not to mention releasing Photoshop Touch for Android first is crazy!

Thank you for writing this!!!

Awesome letter, thanks for the information and you’re the man Scott! You are the man!

-
Dwayne D.C. Tucker II

All this pricing change will do is force people who are currently law abiding PS citizens back into the pirated world. I had a pirated copy of CS3. I used it for a while and then bought the full version of CS5. I felt good about doing the upgrade. Adobe cared about its customers and I wanted to support that.

What Adobe seem to be forgetting is that NAPP members (and photographers in general) live in the real world here of photogs making a living and budgeting for upgrades rather than mega-corps buying 100 copies at a time. Adobe’s attitude is going force me (very reluctantly) to stay on my CS5 for years and years and, maybe, eventually upgrade. What is more likely, sadly, is that I will, in two or three years time, jump on to BitTorrent and download.

Adobe’s attitude seems to be “If you don’t update to the latest release during the update window then we are not interested in you”. Not a good way to retain customers.

There are plenty of free applications that has the majority of PS functionality. GIMP anyone? Maybe we can have the NAGP? National Association of GIMP Professionals :-p

For little guys like me, this Adobe decision is a disaster. It will effectively end not only my upgrades to PD and LR, but as a consequence of no upgrades, eliminate my participation in Kelby Training and make NAPP membership of far less value.

I have used and upgraded PS since 1.0. I have been a member of NAPP since almost the very beginning (my membership was one of the first 45K).

I am retired on a fixed income. Adobe’s greed has just priced me out of their market. I resent being pushed towards using GIMP or staying at CS5 forever but I cannot afford the new structure.

Whoever thought up this pricing structure at Adobe was thinking only of “soaking the rich” as seems to be the mood today in America. But you forgot the little guys – and we are myriad.

I believe this structure will hurt – maybe even destroy – Adobe in the future.

Very WELL SAID!

Thank you Scott for letting Adobe know how we all feel!!!

I certainly hope they listen to you and take into consideration how ALL their current customers feel about this upgrade.

I personally don’t think they should have this upgrade policy even with CS6, but it’s better than doing it now with CS5.5. I paid full price for Photoshop 4 and have upgraded every other version since. I’m a small business and can’t afford to upgrade each time a new version becomes available, like most people I’m sure.
I’ve run into problems with In-Design also at work. I have an older version right now, and can’t even upgrade to CS5.5 because my version is not upgradable. How does that work?
Again THANK YOU Scott Kelby for looking out for us, your customers ,when Adobe apparently isn’t!!

to Adobe – that’s like blood-sucking a Turnip! Thanks Scott, you are a genuine guy!

This is marketing madness from Adobe. Whenever I speak to photo clubs and societies, I stress the quality of Adobe’s products and plead with people not to use pirated copies. However, the expense of upgrading for each and every version is beyond the pockets of many users who do not make a living out of their photography. I’m not a student. Although I teach Photoshop, because I don’t charge for my services I’m not entitled to get the discounted version. Then, of course, I have to suffer the further indignity of being British and paying the premium sterling price – why is it £=$ for Adobe?

Do Adobe want to force people into piracy or onto other (worse but affordable) products?

Thanks for trying to do something about this lunacy Scott – let’s hope Adobe listen!

Well said. Thanks for sticking up for the little guy.

Wonderful letter, Scott. I think Adobe products are great, and would hate to see this happen where we get priced out of being able to afford upgrades. Thanks also for stepping up and sending this, as it has been such a concern on the NAPP forum also.

WOW!!! Thank you for sticking up for us.

Hi Scot
Thanks, a really big thanks. Times may be hard for Adobe but they are bloody awful for the rest of us and their change of pricing policy is almost criminal. They may not listen to me but, hopefully, they listen to you (and 70,000 Members)

Scott, thanks for bringing this to my attention and being a voice of caution / sanity with hopefully enough clout to make Adobe reflect about their decision.

I do wonder if the individual(s) at Adobe who are working on this change have thought it all through. Sure, all things being equal it has the potential to bring in a more revenue on the bottle line, but have they considered the fact that all things won’t be equal and, as it being voiced here at a micro level, many people won’t now be buying these progressive upgrade (for whatever reasons) if they adopt this policy.

It seems to be a more to try to forcing customers who were slower upgraders (i.e. upgrading every other version) to now upgrade with each release in order to avoid having to dig deeper in their pockets and pay for a full version fruther down the line.

Certainly not the best way to treat your customers who, let’s face it, pay your wages -be they corporates / large business (who may be able to absorb these changes somewhat more readily) or small businesses or individuals (who most likely can’t absorb these changes).

Hear, Hear!!!!

Thanks Scott,

Well said Least we forget, margins on software are extremely high. There are ways that Adobe can make this more palatable. Unfortunately they chose not to think this one through. Photoshop is one of the most expensive software purchases many of us make. Making these upgrade policy changes is akin to a situation that in football is cause for all of us to throw out a yellow flag. Piling On – Adobe – 15 yard penalty – Automatic first down.

Kudos Scott. Thanks for the heads-up and thanks for having our backs with Adobe.

I agree with Mike, 70 thou is just for starters. I do a newsletter for a little photo club. Do the math and watch the replication. The move from Cs4 to Cs5 contained only one thing that I use, so I’ll be staying right where I’m at. I hope they don’t start doing the same thing to Lightroom or I’ll really be getting on my broomstick.

Thanks Scott… although this does not affect me as I have the latest version (and could get an academic version if I wanted), I think you are more than fair in your appeal. I could see many customers saying screw it, and just go to Photoshop Elements. Maybe that is ok with Adobe, I don’t know.

Scott, I know this was a big business decision for you and I certainly respect you for standing up for all your customers. I believe Adobe will take note and hopefully come up with a deviation in policy. With the economy crunch in the last couple years I know there must be many out there who couldn’t upgrade when Cs5 came out and simply decided to wait for Cs6 to release. Adobe has always been a great company and I believe there is no way they will ignore their customers or NAPP in this one.

KT

Hi Scott,

Thanks for the letter and keeping us NAPP folks up to date! I’m usually pretty good at keeping up with news like this, but I missed this one. Adobe must have made this pretty low key media wise. I currently use Lightroom and CS 5 for my work. Before I retired, I took the leap and purchased CS 4 and then upgraded to CS 5. Because of NAPP, I’ve gotten pretty good at using both Lightroom and CS 5 for what I need. Unless there are some really major changes to CS 6 that will benefit me, I wasn’t going to upgrade because retirement income isn’t the greatest!:-) I just hope Adobe doesn’t pull a fast one like this on Lightroom. I hate to see Adobe go down this path it’s a no win scenario for them and us. Please keep us posted on any replies that you might get from them.

Thanks for standing up for us!

Dennis

When I read this shocking news, all I could think was that the guys who make Pixelmator have got to be absoutely thrilled to death!

This is really just the latest in a long string of Adobe outrages. They still refuse to market a single, multi-language versions of their products here in Japan, and charge a significant premium for a “Japanese version” that has identical functionality to the English one, with no cross grades available. And I’m sure nobody here needs any help in hating their hideous copy protection/registration system.

Despite what Scott says, I’ve never really perceived Adobe to be a customer-centric company.

Unbelievable. I totally agree that they should have warned users ahead of time. This is the first I’ve heard of the new upgrade policy. I have only recently purchased 5.5 and had to extend myself to purchase that and a slew of other upgrades in a tight economy – not planning to be an early adopter of CS6. I would hate to be held hostage to essentially start from scratch if I was still using CS4. This is going to be like a dagger through the heart of every small show owner struggling to just stay in the game – designers, printers, photographers, etc. I think they should extend larger savings to people who upgrade more frequently and still allow a path for users of older programs to upgrade without having to pay the full freight.

Well said Scott!

Mark

Scott, thank you for a well-reasoned letter to Adobe. I hope that the good folks at Adobe are listening and have the courage to re-think their decision.

It took some spine on your part to speak truth to power here; that’s what I’ve come to expect from NAPP and one reason why it continues to be a must-have membership for me.

Kudos.

Here’s some thought..
1) Start selling all your Mac products in the App store and charge Apple prices for it (i.e. no more than £299 – I am guessing you will more than make far more money this way by having a larger audience.
Sure your a business but I believe you’re a monopoly really so come one treat those paying for your software fairly.

2) Don’t.. and continue to see your products being stolen/copied/hacked etc

PS.. Perhaps we could persuade Apple to purchase Adobe now flash is almost dead.

Scott,
Thanks for your leadership on an issue that impacts a large segment of the Adobe user community. I hope Adobe listens to your proposed approach.

Thanks Scott,
I am one of those that buys every other version of every software I purchase. It sounds like Adobe is pushing for the monthly rental method of sales and doesn’t care about selling to us users outright. Again comes the forceful power of the major manufacturer and the little man pays for all the wall street gamblers.

And now that the world is a small place due to the Internet – why don’t you adopt a world pricing policy? Apart from local taxation we should have a global price. Here in Europe we pay well in excess of that. e.g.

Creative suite 5 design premium in the UK is £1665 – which, on todays exchange rate is $2580 – less Tax – $2150
The same suite in the USA is $1704 before tax.

Thats $450 more (or around 25% higher) – which I find a bit excessive for the spelling of colour instead of color.

Its a rip-off!

Thank you Scott.

I appreciate that you have the integrity it takes to see this issue from all sides, and have offered some very diplomatic solutions to what could become a serious problem for Adobe and its customers.

Stu.

Scott,
I think you just showed why we all read this blog, and respect you as a teacher and a person! You just took a huge stand for the little guys, and did it in a way that wasn’t rude to Adobe! Thanks for everything sir!

Alex

Having thought about this I think many hobby and freelance photogs will take a hard look at the use of Lightroom with Photoshop Elements as this will get them essentially the same base package. People will also start looking more at plugins to supplement this. Or the On One 6 which is standalone. Both LR and PSE have a fair amount of training and books available. And the various alternatives such as GIMP and Sage Editor will begin to look more attractive. PS will go back to being something only specific users buy just as only specific markets buy Autocad. Everyone else uses Turbocad.

My fear is that Adobe will do this across all their products. Take Acrobat for example. I never upgrade to the new version but wait until the next version. As Scott says they have every right to do as they please. But business practices like this force people to look at alternatives particularly in an economy that is not likely to really change for many years. I am taking a good hard look at alternative PDF tools.

Adobe is shooting themselves in the foot just like Apple did with Final Cut and Avid did with their AV software. Funny thing is Adobe offers a big discount to Avid users. Avid users went to Adobe CS and now they get the shaft.

Thanks for a thoughtful post on this. In these tight times as a “small guy” this, as you say, might well have me using CS4 as my last Adobe product. Did they not see the fallout from not engaging with their base over at Netflix?

Thanks for the thoughtful post Scott. As a “little guy” this indeed might just have me with CS4 being the last Adobe product that I ever own. If they are going to price me out of the market I will find other solutions. A very poor decision in these tough times.

Couldn’t agree more with your open letter. I was actually unaware of this policy. Fortunately I have stayed up to date on my upgrades and am currently on v5. But I know that if this were not the case I would not be in a position to plunk down full retail for v6 when it comes out. The delay to v7 would at least offer forewarning to existing users whose software isn’t current, and the tiered concept that offers a middle-ground upgrade price for those who are more than one generation behind may also be a reasonable compromise.

Thanks for your voice.

It’s great to see you publishing this letter, however just to put pricing into perspective, we living in Sweden pay $680 för the upgrade to PS CS5 Extended and $2047 if you buy a new product. How’s that?

Ditto to all the thanks and accolades. Have a great workshop in Seattle. Come back when eastern WA is not a sheet of ice and I’ll be there!

Adobe must have the same consultant as Netflix……….

Just think, if all of us Cs5 users don’t upgrade when Cs6 comes out I guess we will be buying the full version when/if Cs7 comes out!

I upgrade from CS3 to CS4 AND I switched from a PC to a Mac in 2008….so I was told by Adobe back then that I have used up all my upgrades. I hadn’t heard about this recent Adobe CS6 issue…and if I understand correctly, I guess that means that I will need to buy CS5 at full price in order to even have the upgrade option to CS 6. Bummer. I think I’ll just stick with CS4.

Scott,

Well said, and thanks for posting this as an open letter, so that we can read it and share it. The points are valid, and it is the small business owners and entrepreneurs who will be most impacted by these proposed changes – exactly the people who are already down in this economy, and who really don’t need another kick right now.

Your suggestion of delaying the new upgrade policy to CS7 is a very fair one, and the tiered upgrade pricing is also quite fair. For a company like Adobe, who makes a profit margin over 25% (that’s over a billion dollars a year in profits), this will not hurt them. However, following the current proposed path will hurt and alienate countless customers, which is never a good policy.

Scott, you showed clearly today that you hear and LISTEN to your customers, let’s hope Adobe demonstrates the same empathy.

mh++

Wow! I had no clue about this. When I got the 20% off, I thought about upgrading but I knew they must be coming out with CS6 soon, so I opted not to since I figured so worth the 20% more for CS6. Please keep us up to date on this as I know I cannot afford to update twice! Thanks for sharing this with us. It is great to know that you watch out for all photoshop users!

This also sounds a lot like KODAK!

In the Portrait Photography world there was a great product called ProShots. This was a program that allowed a great interface and workflow for ordering from photo labs from scanned negs and digital files. The program was supplied to photo studios for free. The labs paid for the use of the software.

In steps Kodak and they buy out the company that created ProShots. Kodak then decides to charge studios $249 a year to use it. Photo studios balked and the labs quickly worked to design several alternative software solutions that they then offered to photographers for free.

It did not take long and then Kodak had to shut down ProShots and even had to give refunds to the people who did subscribe. Where is Kodak today? They are practically out of business and they are currently selling off most of their patents to try to keep their heads above water.

Photoshop may become just like Windows XP. Look at how many people and entire corporations have refused to upgrade from XP. Windows has published 2 upgrades since XP and are soon to release a third, but these users (including me) are not paying to upgrade.

Unless Adobe finds a way to stop you from using your current version, there is no way many people will upgrade. Also, many big corporations are not exactly doing well right now. Maybe they will decide that the current version is just great and they don’t need to upgrade because of this policy change.

Lets take a look at what happened to Netflix when the went and messed around with there pricing structure and services and did it without telling there customers,,,a loss of 600,000 customers (ouch0 Adobe could be really smart and take a lesson from history and buy doing so they won’t be dommed to repeat it.

Thank you Scott, it was just a matter of time time until someone else feels the pain.

That statement warrants an explanation. I am in New Zealand therefore an international customer.

The offer of discount is nice and I am happy to pay even if there was not special discount.

I am not allowed to pay for an upgrade from CS4 to whatever in US currency or purchase from the US store online

Instead I get redirected to the Australian store. The price in Australian currency is higher, maybe that is not all that bad ( for the same thing nothing extra yet ). I have to convert the Australian currency to New Zealand currency.

The end result is for the same thing, nothing extra, I have to pay several hundred dollars more than someone who purchased Photoshop.

The reason is people will put up with it. People will end up buying the product because they love it regardless of the principle and those that can will pass the cost on to their customers.

This would have been the typical practice of Quark when they had near-monopoly of the design and production industry, now we’re seeing Adobe taking the sort of bully-boy monopolistic stance.

Are they trying to boost their stock-value prior for a possible buy-out? Who would buy them – at one-time Apple might have bought them because of their content creation opportunities and selling more Macs, But now Apple is making much more from the consumer side it’s unlikley to be of interest to their core-business.

Can someone start an Occupy Photoshop?

I upgraded from CS3 to CS5 when it first came out because I had gotten back into photography in a big way as a hobby. Frankly, I don’t use Photoshop all that much in my workflow, though it’s wonderful when I do. The advance info on CS6 is not making me anxious to upgrade, and so I was planning to skip this version, and use my hobby dollars on other things. If Adobe does go ahead with this policy, then CS5 will probably be the last version of Photoshop I own. Most of what I use Photoshop for I can now do with Lightroom plugin suites that I bought for other purposes. I’ll bet there are a ton of other NAPP members and enthusiast photographers just like me. Yes, Adobe gets to make their business decisions, but then so do we as customers. And customers always have the last word.

Scott,

On behalf of the little guy, thank YOU!

I’ve also written emails to various Adobe employees asking them to rethink this pricing policy.

I’m praying they’ll fix this right away.

Ivan

Good one Scott. Keep up the good work your doing for the community.

Thank you Scott!!Total agreement with your comments. Maybe we can persuade Apple to Purchase this Greedy Company [with some of their War-chest Billions] so we can all be again treated with Respect.

Beautifully said, as always, Scott. By suggesting reasonable solutions, you have shown Adobe a clear path to upgrade their policy.

Thanks for standing up for us, Scott. Many people who skip a version are still very loyal customers, waiting to upgrade for a more substantial set of improvements and features. This seems like a very short sighted move on Adobe’s part.

Thanks Scott –

Adobe has a problem: After telling my photography friends about the upgrade change I’m heard stories of problems when they contacted Adobe. The most common problem reported was the photographer had a legal, licensed PS program and attempted to place it on a new computer, but Adobe would not allow the transfer.

Adobe should remember: No business will last if they continue to make interactions between the customers and the business a unpleasant visit.

I thought Adobe would rise above the lame tactics Quark did 10 years ago when they controlled the market. Not so? Come on guys…

Adobe can learn a lesson from Netflix on how NOT to go about a change that directly effects the customer and not without any pre-notification. Netflix lost 600,000 customers with that change. Like the old saying goes,,,”learn from the mistakes in history or you’ll be doomed to repeat it”.

I already had my “rude awakening” from Adobe this year. I was one of their customers that purchased the full version of CS5 Master Collection. I am a Mac user and was not planning to upgrade my 2006 Macbook Pro (32-bit) until next year. It was serving my needs perfectly. I had downloaded and successfully used the 30-day trial version of CS5 on this 32-bit Macbook. Imagine my shock at finding that when I purchased the full version it would not run unless I bought a whole new Macbook (64-bit). Adobe was less than helpful when I inquired as to why the trial ran successfully in 32-bit. I kept getting the stock answer that I needed a 64-bit machine. Then why the hell make a trial version that runs in 32-bit???!!! If the 32-bit exists, then why not make it available? Oh, that’s right I forgot…IT iS AVAILABLE TO PC USERS. Thanks for supporting the Mac users who put you where you are Adobe.

Adobe has lost its soul. One word “Pixelmator”

Thank you Scott. I’m sure that wasn’t an easy letter to write. Let’s hope your speaking for the 70,000 has some effect in San Jose.

After many years of using various Adobe products including Photoshop since version 1, I cut them out of my workflow completely several years ago because of unfriendly, confusing, expensive upgrade changes and unresponsive customer service. They did not deserve any more of my money. Sorry to see they are up to the same old tricks. Good luck with them.

BTW – why did you do away with Adobe Service Providers?

We were on that scheme – and its missed…. are you just getting too greedy?

Back in the 1970′s in the UK, the goverment set the top rate of Tax at 95% – so you got to keep 5p in every pound earned – and unsurprisingly people worked very hard at minimising their income to avoid paying tax.

It was quickly found that as the percentage rates dropped, people didn’t work so hard at avoiding tax – so they paid up – and as a result the government got more revenue. It seems counter intuitive, but true. I am sure than so many people have illegal version of Photoshop exactly as it is so expensive….. I’d love to know what happened to Apple’s sales when Aperture dropped to a 1/3 or 1/4 of the price when it went onto the app store.

As someone who has used photoshop for almost half my lifetime, starting with version 2.5 (not CS, but the original) I found that I didn’t have to upgrade at every version – so I went from 7, to CS2, to CS3 – which is where I’ve stayed. Now I’m probably ready to go to 5.5 or 6 – but will avoid as much as I can – and certainly will not change every computer in the business to the newest version. If however it was sold at a realistic price I’d have it on 4 or 5 machines…

I read somewhere that for every legal copy of photoshop in use there are dozens if not hundreds of illegal copies. Charge a realistic amount and many many more people will buy.

Yeah!! amazing… Like we care about what Adobe offer us those days! it’s just the same OLD architecture with useless addition, I stop upgrading Since CS3 and I’m happy with it, like CS6 gonna change my mind.

Scott (& team),

Thanks for the effort and well-reasoned letter. I certainly agree that a structured/graduated upgrade pricing policy makes more sense.

Like some other posters, I have never thought of Adobe as “customer centric.”

Thanks again.

I’m so angry at Adobe lately. I’ve been a customer for almost 20 years. I work for a non-profit and supply my own software. Recently I have had the unfortunate displeasure of dealing with their support and sales people. All their support is from India and I suspect their sales are also. My treatment was what you would expect when dealing with extortionists. Three and a half mind numbing hours later the problem was resolved with the following declaration, “We don’t support that version, buy a new computer and upgrade to the newest software”. I was in the middle of a television show edit. Infuriating. I will be upgrading to an Avid system and software. To bad there isn’t a suitable replacement for Photoshop. The online sales staff tried to cheat me three times out of the advertised price on upgrading to CS5.5. Such poor service and customer treatment. Adobe, SHAME ON YOU. you lost a lifetime customer.

I learned Corel Paint Shop years ago, I upgraded it June of last year when the photo version came out. When I started college to get a degree in Photography they only use the Adobe programs. Corel and adobe’s photoshop are very simular and do much of the same things the same way, just that the names of some tools and techniques are different.

Scott your trainings and books was valuable to me when I was learning Lightroom 3, and love the program now, I’m currently halfway through my Photo shop class and often refer to your trainings when I get confused by what my Instructors are trying to say. Not only is the two programs so simular, but there is a big cost difference. Not buying the upgrade Paint Shop X4 ultimate photo is only $99 Compared to Adobes price scale. The biggest difference I see is Photoshop has the camera raw seperate from the main program itself, with Paint Shop it is one program. Many times a year you can get the full versions of the program at big discounts. Right now until Nov, 27th you can get the Ultimate version for only $40 plus free ground shipping. The cost alone is a big factor, It is really easy to go from one program to the other because they do the same things, and if Adobe does go to the new scale I will go back to Corel even if it is not approved by the school. I do have the CS5 with the upgrade to 5.5 already, but I can’t afford to pay for the upgrade and school also. I know my current and future classmate are all in the same boat and can’t afford to buy the upgrades. Since the school uses professionals that are working in the field as advisors for the materials and subjects we are taught, it is important that all levels be on the same page. We are allowed to use Corel’s painter program in place of Photoshop already. I also know several Pro’s that use Corel’s programs.

Well said Scott, Corporate greed is killing the world, look what happened to the banks Adobe.

Do not buy adobe products! Go get them for free at http://www.thepiratebay.org. This will send strong and clear message to adobe for being so greedy. Use Corel products, which has the best painter program in the world.

I go back to Pagemaker 1.2 on a Mac Plus.

Adobe should remember why we migrated to InDesign instead of the more popular Quark Express.

Quark’s customer service and pricing sucked big old rocks through tiny little straws.

One could call (or email) Adobe and actually get a response.

Will Adobe now fall to an upstart competitor? There are several out there.

I usually upgrade every other version, personally, because there is not enough new features to make it worthwhile with every new version… I have to keep my expenses down. I would definitely look for an alternate solution if this stays in place. Photoshop is an expensive product, and I don’t mind paying out very few years, but being forced into every upgrade is, to my mind, unacceptable. I dont always need the new features being offered, but I may need the next set you come up with.

Amen.

BRAVO!

Mahalo Scott

I just learned about the new pricing over the weekend and I was prepared to just stay with CS4 for the foreseeable future (read forever). Partly for monetary reasons but also because I upgrade on my schedule. Realizing, in the past, upgrade pricing from Adobe was limited in coverage of previous versions but this is extreme. Plus, I have no interest in a subscription. I’m old fashioned. I actually want my own copy.

I think the tiered system would be completely fair. I own CS4 and would totally understand having to pay more for an upgrade to CS6 than if I owned CS5 but to have to pay full price? It just isn’t going to happen. I am a small business. I cannot justify in my budget upgrading every time for some cool new features that I may or may not use but can usually work out every other upgrade. With this new policy I don’t see buying a CS version again for a long time. Makes me so sad.

You have certainly exceeded my expectations, I guess that is what great businesses do.

Thanks

Gerhard

There is a very simple solution to this. Stop upgrading. If all current Photoshop users hung on to their current version, how long would it take Adobe to feel the pain of no
more profits from upgrades. I know it is corny but we hold the power over Adobe not the other way around. I was thinking of upgrading from CS4 but after reading this I will hold on to it until Adobe changes their policy.

I just noticed that onOne’s Perfect Layers component has a healing brush that works within Lightroom. This may be the last step in cutting the cord with Photoshop and just stick with Lightroom. So maybe I should thank Adobe for saving me money by not upgrading?

Thank you Scott for giving us the heads-up on the upgrade policy and speaking on our behalf. Even though I did take the upgrade path from CS4 to CS5 on the first day of release, it was because of their fair upgrade policy at that time. Some of us, like myself, are hobbist and do not sell anything to justify just any price of upgrade. Such a costly upgrade penalty for skipping a release would probably prohibit many of us from buying the next release. Scott is correct about this being an out of character move by Adobe. I know Adobe will not make the same mistake as a did a (formerly) popular DVD rental company did recently.

Thanks, Scott. Also, many or most of us photographers are also users of Lightroom and we also pay for the upgrades to it. We spend most of our time in LR and occasionally need to go to PS for some touching up. If Adobe wants to keep photographers using both of their products, they will make upgrades on both products within their reach.

Very well put Mr. Kelby,
I, like anyone else, likes enough notice of a fundamental change to be able to prepare for it. Now, Adobe’s products are utterly amazing and I am tickled pink to see them making serious profit from their sale, as this profit is the source that funds the R&D, which, of course, in turn creates the really cool software. My primary concern is that Adobe might be considering going to some type of subscription or “cloud-based” system. I think they, and many others, are not fully grasping the fact that the so-called “cloud” is an absolute dream for hackers, the piracy, that they are currently concerned about is nothing compared to what will be happening very shortly with subscription or cloud services.

Thanks Scott. You can continue to count me as a very satisfied NAPP member.

Wow.

First, the first I have heard of the new policy is here in Scott’s letter. Kind of amazed I did not hear from Adobe as I am registered on at least half a dozen products including PS CS5 and Illustrator, not to mention Lightroom. And visit a number of Adobe forums weekly.

Agree with all said that .5 upgrade was offensive and I did not make that move. I would have liked 3D for Photoshop, but not worth the cost difference for me so let that pass as well. I’m a hobbyist and I have to think there is a sizable market of us that are not pros and cannot write off their Adobe purchases. This is a luxury for me. Not a business tool.

I have owned Photoshop 1.0, maybe 4, then 7 or 8 and CS3. Upgraded to CS 5 just for the content aware fill. But rarely upgrade unless a feature jumps out at me as “have to have”. Now, even that will be much farther spaced between. If ever again.

Lightroom is another story. I try to stay current there and have paid for every upgrade If its affordable, it will stay current. Believe it or not, Page Layout is such a rarity for me any more that I still use PageMaker 7.0.1 just fine. If the suites were better priced for a hobbyist, I might have upgraded several apps at once and would be using InDesign. But the cost benefit is not there – for me.

Even at work where I use Framemaker, its 7.1 because the upgrades are not compelling and too costly. And, I will never rent an app in the cloud. Ever.

As others have said, poor timing. And has Netflix taught the industry nothing? Check their stock. I dropped my account the day they decided to take advantage of their users and have been happy streaming from Amazon, Blockbuster, Fresh Films and a few others since. Not missed.

Someone will come along and take up the slack. Sure, Photoshop is a great program. But I imagine I can last with CS 5 for quite a few years before a feature catches my attention enough to seek out a deal. And by then, who knows what alternative will pop up encouraged by Adobe’s disregard for their customer base.

Nice to have your voice speak out for us Scott. I hope they read these comments as well as your letter. The fact you spoke up is worth much more to me than the 15% discount my membership here brings me at Adobe. Good for you.

~Bob

Very well written.
Was thinking of upgrading my CS4 to CS6 when it comes, but now I will remain with CS4
which is enough for me. I use Nikon Capture NX to develop and fix my pictures in and basically only use CS4 when I will make enlargements and prints.

Greetings
Rolf H

Thanks Scott! We appreciate all that you do, especially for us (the little people) who struggle!

Right on, Scott! Let me add my voice to the 70,000 other members of NAPP and hope that Adobe will listen. This is not the way to treat loyal customers. Customer service has taken a huge nosedive from too many companies who have grown too large to see the little guy. I am glad that NAPP has taken the lead in this case, my estimation of you and my association has increased tenfold! Way to go!

Interesting…we have been dealing with this from Autodesk for years…I am surprised that it has Adobe so long to go to this model… Really makes it hard on small businesses who may like to skip a release to save some money…
Thanks for giving us a heads up on this… My boss will love this!!!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

More corporate greed here. Banks are actually charging to cash YOUR checks now. Ridiculous!!!
I will be looking for an alternative when Adobe has their hand out next time. Nikon NX is actually much better at editing my pictures than Adobes products, (which I use alot).
If we all stop using their products, (and if prices are too high, we will) they will have to listen. Look at Autodesk, they have so much competition now that it makes no sense to even consider their seriously overpriced software.

Thanks Scott for standing behind and with us….

They don’t seem to realize that it was US the Loyal Users that made Adobe…..
Guess it is time to start looking at Corel and Gimp in a huge way…but I really hate changing software and workflows….

I view software like any other tool…it is a tax deduction but you watch it….the Govt will no claim that software that is on the “cloud” is no longer deductible….for some reason….

A not so Happy NAPP’er

Art Scott

I may not be an economic expert but in my opinion raising your price or changing your upgrade model at the last minute is always a good thing. ?_? Sometimes I wonder if these decisions are from a strong company confident in it’s business model or the decisions of a monopoly that wants to screw its customers one last time before the party ends. How bout this Adobe, if your going to screw us at least make us feel good about it. Raise the price of your Creative Suite a hundred dollars and then send me slick looking email promoting a $50 discount if I UPGRADE NOW!!! If there was healthy competition in the market Adobe wouldn’t get away with this.

Very well said, and a big thanks for standing up and saying it.

Dear Adobe, you need to get your act together and really think for your customers.

Anyone that could post a link to the adobe page that say that it is not possible to upgrade from CS4 to CS6 please?

Their live support clam it will be possible to upgrade from CS4 to CS6, but it might be someone that is not updated on the latest news?

Thanks

Shame on you Adobe. You would be wise to think about this again. Read Scott Kelby’s letter. Netflix saw their mistake and did an about face after their customers let them know of their dissatisfaction. If you don’t rethink this you might lose more than you will gain.

Thank you for your letter. There’s no way I will ever use the proposed alternative i.e. Adobes forthcoming creative cloud subscription model i.e. pay a fee each month for years and years just to loose anything as soon as I stop paying. I’ll stay on CS3 as long as I possible can.

If they actually made an application worth upgrading to then maybe there would be some justification, but many of the “updates” are often more gimmicky it seems. I use Illustrator as well, and that program, sans some bells and whistles, hasn’t seen an update for years. No it’s more seen some slap ons with duct tape.

I’ll just keep gutting it out with my CS3 MC for now. As some have stated, AD does similar things- one of the reasons I’m switching from and AD product to MODO (luxology.com).

Well said, thank for your leadership. I’m proud to be a part of NAPP.

Seriously? It’s no longer about customers… it’s about share holders, duh!

Excellent points. I originally upgraded to CS4 when I added a Canon point & shoot and wanted to integrate Canon CR2 raw files into my Nikon based system. I’ve continued to use CS4 because CS5 won’t run on my G5 PowerPC. I considered upgrading to CS5 just to stay in the upgrade loop but it doesn’t make much sense to purchase software that’s only compatible with a computer I don’t yet own. Maybe its time to take another look at Nikon Capture NX 2 and confine my point & shoot camera choices to Nikon.

Dear Adobe,

As with many I am still using a 32bit platform and do not buy nor upgrade every 2 years hardware or software due to cost implication. So there was no reason for me to upgrade to CS5/.5 (point iterations Adobe are laughable excuse of an update and a way to squeeze more money out of your customers) but next year when I finally upgrade to a 64bit environment Adobe expects me to pay full price for their software all over again. I will not.

Thank you Scott for your excellent open letter and years of superb enjoyable teachings.

Jason Rayment

Thank you for the great letter to Adobe, this company is not looking at the big picture.
There are other editing programs to be had, and Adobe Photoshop customers will be checking them out. Adobe may want to re-think this decision

I waited to upgrade from CS3 to CS5. There is very little difference between the two. In fact, I had to spend time turning OFF a lot of the new ‘features’ to make the app usable. If CS6 follows the same pattern I recommend taking a pass on upgrading. Even *if* Adobe manages to pullout a big release with CS6 I am going to side with SK here and skip it on principle alone.

Their true colors have been showing for a very long time.

I’ll believe they care about their customers as soon as they release FreeHand from it’s chains in the dungeon.

Must be nice being a monopoly.

After reading the text from David Wadhwani (Adobe) on the new upgrade and pricing structure, CS5 may represent the last version of Photoshop (PS) I use. Adobe is moving towards cloud computing and non-perpetual, monthly licenses, neither of which interests me. However, this may be of great value for pro graphic art businesses. Time will tell if this new model is appropriate. Perhaps the “casual PS users” simply represent too small a market to make a profit from and that pro users who take full advantage of the “cloud computing” environment will find this a better product delivery mechanism. I wish Adobe all the best as I have truly enjoyed using their products these past 15 years.

I used to always rush out and upgrade to the next version of the Adobe suites, not anymore.
I have Lightroom 2 and CS4, I didn’t upgrade to CS5, or lightroom 3. I left Adobe and went with ACDSee Pro 5. it does everything I need to do at a third of the price.

Thanks Scott, for your plea.

Suzy Q

Thank you Scott for speaking out and bringing this to public attention. I agree with you that Adobe’s actions in this regard are heavy handed and likely to alienate large segments of their customer base, myself included. I oppose the policy change and call for Adobe to, at the very least, adopt Scott’s suggestion about holding off implementation until CS7, with CS6 being the “transition”.

I’m a freelance photographer who purchased PS CS2 upon graduating from school and then upgraded to CS3 to gain improvements to ACR. Subsequent versions of PS have simply not offered enough added value and functionality for me to justify the cost of purchasing them. Being a “professional” photographer means making profit from my services and images, and purchasing expensive software with very few additional capabilities simply does not make professional business sense.

As a result, my plan had been to upgrade to CS6 when it came out; to use my last chance at a discounted upgrade while hopefully getting a version of PS that had matured enough to by then provide tangible benefits which would make the upgrade worthwhile. Instead Adobe is trying to force me (on short notice) to buy two upgrades in short order or else be forced to pay full price as though I had not been a customer for the past 6 years.

So I find Adobe turning their back on me, a loyal customer, and essentially penalizing me for not having purchased every iteration they launched. Perhaps if Adobe returned to their roots and began once again designing innovative and useful features into their software people like me would find real value in more frequent upgrades. I’m disappointed, possibly even disgusted, by Adobe’s policy decision and will seriously re-evaluate my work flow with the aim of eliminating Adobe PS and ACR.

I oppose rewarding Adobe’s behaviour with continued sales. There’s capable competitors out there, perhaps it’s time to try them out (you never know, I might even come to like them more).

Agreed! Thank you Scott!

Scott, thank you for your letter to Adobe…I hope they’re listening. The new policy would be more palatable if they didn’t continue to speed up the version release…if new versions didn’t consistently need upgrades to plug-ins so that we can continue with our current workflows…or if upgrades incorporated new features that had more mass appeal. PS is an incredible product, but more and more Adobe seems to be turning a deaf ear to the broad audience of users; unfortunately, until a serious alternative is developed by another company, there’s little to do to motivate policy change.

I have been on the every second version upgrade path since I started with Adobe. I find that it works well and there is enough innovation by the second version that I can justify the purchase of the Design Premium Suite each time. Currently I am on CS4. My plan has been to upgrade when CS6 is released based on the information that Adobe has been giving me on upgrading each time that I purchase it. As a small photography studio, I can use most of the software in the suite, but am not interested in paying for every upgrade, effectively doubling Adobe’s take from my profits. I was extremely disappointed by Adobe’s eleventh hour decision to charge me more. Also, the 20% discount on CS5 (which I don’t need anyways) is useless since I already receive that discount through NAPP anyways.

I will likely wait until CS8 or so to upgrade now. It will cost me the same to do it that way as it did befo, but I will be two or three versions behind all of the time now. Joy!

That is a great letter, but I doubt that Adobe will take notice of it.

I hope Adobe takes a good look at the recent Netflix debacle. They lost almost a million customers and a lot of stock value when they decided to make a “good for business” change to their structure, completely disregarding their formerly loyal customer base. I discontinued my membership with Netflix, and am ready to stop purchasing from Adobe as well. I’m sure another, wiser company will come up with a product at a good price that can function as a sort of Photoshop replacement. It would be a good time for them to enter the market.

Thank you, Scott. My takeaway from this is:

Adobe does a Netflix

If Adobe does embrace the Dark Side, the company will be the Grinch who stole Christmas. Not cool. Moves like this beg for competing solutions.

They didn’t tell us any of this at the LA Roadshow during the Spring. The selling point was that most of the CS6 innovations were geared towards Premiere Pro and After Effects.

Thanks Scott, another job well done.
Don

Scott,

Thanks for speaking on behalf of all NAPP members. You’re approach was “to the point” and very professional.

Scott,
THANK YOU for representing us; the hobbyists, photography enthusiasts, and Adobe devotee…until these recent developments.

Bank of America listened to their customers. I’m hoping that Adobe will heed your words.

Otherwise, this CS4 user, and recent retiree who now has the TIME but not as much MONEY, has reached the end of the road upgrading my Adobe products…I may never feel the glee of using the content aware brush first hand. :(

Carpe Diem,
Barb Carrier

My guess is they shot themselves in the foot creating Lightroom, and many of their customers who would normally have sprung for Photoshop don’t anymore. So now they have to make some money. Nothing wrong with that mind you, but it certainly narrows their market at $700.

i totally agree! ADOBE we know the term “planned obsolescence” don’t screw with us. i pay for your great products but you WILL NOT FORCE ME to do so every 2 years.

you are beginng to try to force updates. indesign cs 5.5 is a great example. to open documents in cs 4 or earlier you have to export a markup file…

stop fucking your customers!

Bad move Adobe.
I am a pro user and have been using Photoshop and Illustrator since they came out.
I use them everyday…really everyday, they are my hammer and wrench.
But I am using CS4 as I am still on a Mac G5.
So this is the situation I, and I imagine many others, are facing.
1. I have been patiently waiting for the new Mac Pro to come out, so when (and perhaps ‘if’ considering some of the rumors of Apple ditching the Mac Pro that floating about) I upgrade my computer, I then have to factor in a full price software upgrade even though I have been a loyal Adobe user forever.
2. Math. So we are looking at $3000 minimum for the box and $1900 for the software. $4900 upgrade, wow. I guess that’s what loyalty buys ya. I do pretty well in my job, but that is a big financial hit, especially since it was not planned or plan-able. Trust in Adobe had previously allowed financial planning of my software purchases.

I need these tools and I am not going to rent them. I can handle 0% downtime, let alone the privacy and security issues of a “cloud.” A career carpenter does not rent a hammer or wrench.

Trust is the most important attribute of a company, product, or service. Adobe has taken the first step away from my blanket of trust. If this pricing policy is enforced, then a big part of my trust in them has eroded. I will begin to look elsewhere for my tools. I will absolutely leave if CS becomes a full time cloud model. I left Quark and many others, Adobe is not immune.
-J

thanks for puttin a word in for all of us!!

Scott, well stated. Adobe is not thinking of their customers on this one. I myself I have CS3 on my production box, and on my laptop CS4, the reson why I’ve not upgraded is cost of business vs. return on investment. I would have to buy 3 copies for my studio, and I use most all Adobe products (Master Catalog) and that cost would be over $9,000. As I look at it that’s not a cost my shop can afford in this “new economy”. As I see it Adobe may just make my decision in business…look at other products that meet my business needs at lower cost.

They’ll also create a bigger black market by doing this too. Hackers will find a way to beat the system and that will loos Adobe even more market.

Someone at Adobe’s not being smart on this one and they will alienate their customer base very quickly… The proof will be the first 3 months of sales, then lets see what they do. Look what Netflix did, they could consult for Adobe easily.

-Jeff

This new license politics will be no more than a trial from Adobe. It will break their necks cause they will not sell a lot this way. Also a lot of people will be going illegal. They already are. A lot (and I mean: A LOT) of professional photographers are using illegal versions of Photoshop to sell their photographs. Not a good idea but due to the extreme licensing prices Adobe is asking for in Europe.
The problem is not Adobe but the system of shareholders expecting growth.
Product cycles are growing longer (that is why Adobe wants a monthly payment) and there are not a lot of true inventions. The CS4/CS5 is a good version to stick with for the next couple of years. For the latest camera models (RAW) you use other software or DNG-files.

Adobe is just finishing itself with this politics and they will change that back in no time. Just watch it…

I can’t help but feel that Adobe is following in the footsteps of Netflix and it will take an equal uprising by Adobe customers to Adobe’s new upgrade policy just as it did with Netflix’s customer base to wake Adobe up. Let’s face it: There are alternatives to some of Adobe’s Creative Suite products. To allow a company to hold you in an “upgrade purgatory,” is not being customer centric or customer friendly. It’s called Coporate Greed.

As you may have already guessed — Adobe, like many of the credit cards in your wallet — is never at a loss for impromptu revenue streams — and in this case by unilaterally (and some might say quite cunningly) rethinking your position in the upgrade food-chain and access to the “Cloud.” Of course shakedowns like this are customarily executed by guys named “Jimmy da Fish” or equally colorful representatives of the local criminal class — but let’s not reduce this to a crime — obviously, they know where you live — soooo just put the cash (in small, unmarked bills) in a brown paper bag behind your trash container tonight at 8PM and everyone will have a good night’s sleep. (OBTW Adobe is probably toooooo polite to ask, but is all your insurance paid up? You know, you can never tell when something awful might happen)

This recession strikes everyone differently. I can’t wait for your new product, but several of my friends are really struggling. One losing his studio, another his job, another had to move out of town. With my bills I could only afford the upgrade. Any more money would make me very sad because I too would have to live without the new version. Please do what you can for my photographer brothers and sisters.

I think for a lot of photographers (not graphic designers, etc) the solution is going to be Lightroom & Elements. It’s already hard to justify the cost of Photoshop CS5 over Elements and this will only make more abandon it.

I am a web designer hobbyist that has clients. I do it all. I need all the tools. This year I added into my repertoire photography, a kind of value added service. I purchased upgrades as they have come along knowing I needed the best to do it all by myself.

I decided I would upgrade from CS5 web to CS5.5 by the end of this month because Adobe was offering a 30% discount on upgrades. Well an astute customer service agent informed me that the discount does not apply to CS5 users, only CS4 and below. Well, the first thing I blurted out without thinking was “hey this sounds like Microsoft!” I didn’t know about this new Adobe policy and it sure isn’t posted anywhere on the product pages. I am not part of a large company team. It’s just me. The cloud experience is just too expensive. I am already set up with good hardware.

Adobe Media Encoder forum users have been complaining for months that this product is failing them, lots of users. Adobe finally announced that they were closing the book on it and have left many users hanging. Users range from big production houses that need to encode 24 hours a day to casual users like me. Since they never could reproduce this at their end they finally said it was driver upgrades that weren’t updated. It worked for some but not others. I found this whole attitude by Adobe very odd. But now I understand what is happening.

Thanks for bringing this to light.

When Netflix raised their prices, lots of folks left, then they tried to change the way they had their business set up and so many folks complained, that they dropped the idea. maybe if enough folks complain about Adobe raising the price to where many of us just cannot afford it, they wil listen to what Scott has to say. His letter was very well thought out and written. In this economy where so many of us have had to close our galleries or lost our jobs, losing the ability to use the tools we need to survive because we cannot afford them is not a good thing. I support what Scott is saying 100%. I for one am still using PS CS2 and have been saving up to be able to upgrade, but to have to come up with $699.00 is more then I can afford …

I stopped the Adobe upgrade mania at CS2, and the only reason I upgraded was because I wanted the convenience of Text on a Path. Otherwise, even the old CS2 upgrade offered very little for me. Welcome to the digital world where companies want to suck every last dime out of users by enticing them with more whiz bang.

And just a comment directly for your Scott. I stopped getting your magazines when you left me in the dust promoting all the new whiz bang instead of helping foster true creativity that could be accomplished with basically any flavor of the product. I’m not some schlep looking to put kittycats on Mars with Photoshop. I work in the retouch world where real work is done. And no new filter or feature that has come along in versions CS3 and up will enhance that workflow. No piece of software will help me of my clients get it right in camera from the start, no filter or piece of software will properly analyze and enhance or repair an image where it needs help. So I’m done with whiz bang. I did want to start playing around with some HDR stuff and found that my old CS2 will not support some of the new plugins such as those from TopazLabs. No problem for me – I went and picked up weenie Paint Shop Pro X4, and the new stuff I wanted is supported there. While Paint Shop Pro is a royal pain in the butt to use for me coming from the simplicity of Photoshop, it was the nest decision for me. Sorry, I’m not on Adobe’s Gravy Train any longer. And oh yes, Bibble Labs takes care of my raw processing needs just fine. PS pro a little deficient in that area.

Thanks for writing the letter though. While I’m sure your own commercial agenda is partially at stake, it’s good to have a reputable voice weigh in on this.

What is really going to be interesting is when the new CS6 arrives. How are the Photoshop Guys gonna play this card. Are they going to tell people that they really need to go out and be taken by Adobe? Do they try and sell the average user like myself, that I need to upgrade so as to have the latest and the greatest worthless new features that Adobe seems to think we need? I am at the CS 4 level, that is where I will stay. I will look for free-ware, or if need be, I’ll look into pirated software. I am not going to renew my NAPP membership because I can’t afford it right now. Money is tight Adobe, sorry you missed the memo!

Excellent points, well written. Please listen, Adobe. This policy is enough to make customers want to pirate your great but expensive software.

Does the word corporate greed sound familiar to anyone.

Sorry Scott but the problem is not solved by “wait until next year to price-abuse us customers.” The overall PRICING NOW is the problem, and it is suicidal for Adobe. In 1995 PS was an awesome product and the only game in town. Adobe deserved the price we all paid. Not so today.

2011 there are many great products and Adobe long ago amortized the development costs. Charging the RIDICULOUS 2011 PRICES is no way appropriate, and switching to high subscription prices is just a con.

Unless the cost of upgrading changes (and I do not mean simply postponing the new upgrade scheme) I have upgraded the Master Collection for the last time. The prices Adobe asks are just too high. E.g. with PS at $700 while apps like Pixelmator are $49 and GIMP is free means Adobe is just flat ripping off its long-time pro users.

It may already be too late for Adobe. As a British CS user the cost of their software is already appalling in comparison with others. I had bought both Adobe and Macromedia Studio, and continued to CS3 because I needed Dreamweaver developer (which they suddenly dropped without notice) and suggested we use a CMS instead of writing our own. I did upgrade to CS4 Design premium instead of the master collection because I bought Apple Final Cut studio instead as it was better value.

When CS5 came out it just didn’t have enough to warrant the upgrade, so for the first time I decided not to upgrade, as the economy is so poor. It is not just the software cost, it is training costs and time it takes to get up to speed on the new versions. Having been forced to use free open source software by Adobe dropping me in the lurch, I found it to be good, much more professional than I had assumed. When the decision came I also chose Aperture over Lightroom which were evenly priced. Aperture is now nearly four times the price of Aperture 3 and i’m very happy with it.

The other problem is that the software is very mature, its hard to think what could usefully be added to most of the packages. Most people can get by quite happily with features of CS4 for enough years that Adobe will have long since gone bankrupt. Also Adobe are looking badly managed, look at the Flash fiasco!

Adobe will become like Nintemdo, my kids had a DS and when I look at upgrading the games are up to 40 times more expensive than iOS games so they are getting iPod touches soon! Decision made I’ve talked myself out of buying Adobe again, and it feels good, the more recent the upgrade the less value for money it has felt.

So what for the future? My guess is Apple, Quark or some other publisher will now have enough time to come up with a rival suite of software for about a fifth of the price. Perhaps Apple or MS will buy Adobe when they hit the crunch and discount the software to revive it, but I don’t trust or like Adobe any more and they are holding a banana to my head not a gun!

What would Adobe do if everyone flat out refused to purchase future upgrades or software period? It’s a cycle that Adobe better think about that way. If no one purchases future upgrades, then related businesses such as commercial printers won’t have to change what they have. If everyone goes into stasis then Adobe will have real financial problems. People will start developing/using other alternatives and Adobe will lose its monopoly on being virtually the only “industry standard” software.

As a current Master Collection CS4 user, I have to say that unless Adobe (at least) takes the advice offered here and begins this policy as-of CS7 instead, they’ve permanently lost a customer.

It was my intention to upgrade to CS6 when it was released, but if that means paying around $1200 right now for CS5.5 and then another $500-600 or more for CS6 sometime next year then I have no intention of buying either; period.

Imagine the ripple effect that this is going to have. I use CS4, will definitely not be upgrading to CS5 or CS6, ever! Whenever I did upgrade, I usually bought 3 or 4 new books that offered tips and help with the new version. Those are purchases that will not be made anymore, simply because I won’t ever need them. I can get by just fine with CS4, and newly downloaded GIMP. It really doesn’t now matter to me what Adobe decides to do. They have shown their true colours and have forever lost me as a long time user. I have truly enjoyed the books written by Scott, Dave & Matt, it’s a shame that I will not be buying them anymore. There is a wonderful supply of free software out there that works just fine and will do the very same things that Photoshop does for the average user. Some ask for a donation, I do donate because of the time and effort they put into their work, and unlike Adobe, they really appreciate the money that we send to them. Good luck with this Scott, Adobe will do what they want, and to hell with the consumer! Sign me, a former Adobe customer.

I agree with Mr. Kelby. I am a current student at Irma Rangel YWLS (Dallasisd). My school focuses on math, science, and technology. Therefore, we incorporate the Master Collection CS4. If we were to follow the new policy, then not only will it cost the district more money, but it would be impossible to upgrade with the time constraints. I feel that Mr. Kelby’s plan on CS6 being a transition version to CS7 is a smart move. Adobe has always been aware and concerned with their customers and I would hate for Adobe to lose their users because of your new policy. Hopefully, you will reconsider your new policy with the suggestions that Mr. Kelby has given. I believe by doing this your customers will not only be grateful but they would admire you for doing so.

Couldn´t agree more. Think Im gonna become a member. :-)

The real problem is you as the customer. You’ve been overpaying for this stuff for YEARS, and now that the market has been brainwashed to believe there are no real competitors, Adobe has been handed a monopoly on this software segment. The real answer here is, step out of your comfort zones, learn new software, and use one or more of the “many” other products that are available for much lower pricing (Xara or Illustrator for example) or for FREE (Gimp, Inkscape, paint.net, etc.).
Simply put, this will force Adobe to lower pricing, or at least do what they should have in the first place, which is invest development time in making a “substantially” better product each cycle, rather than buying out tech and/or investing in web technology development that they want to corner the market on, while trickling in cutesy features on the core products.

Great article Scott. Thanks for representing the customer’s view. I hope Adobe listens.

Another of Adobe’s pricing policies that leaves a bad taste in my mouth is the upgrade to CS5.5 from CS5.0. The only software that is new in the CS5.5 Design Standard package is InDesign 5.5. The other packages in the suite are still v5.0. The cost to upgrade is about £344 in the UK. The cost to upgrade just InDesign 5.0 to 5.5 is just £110. Upgrading to InDesign v5.5 from Creative Suite 5.0 is not allowed. So Adobe charge £110 to upgrade InDesign alone, but an additional £234 for effectively upgrading just InDesign if you happen to have the full Creative Suite. So the reward for customers who have a whole suite of Adobe products and have paid more into the ownership is to rip them off royally.

And Adobe wonder why people pirate software.

If only professional photographers used Photoshop, I might agree with you Scott. But there are a LOT of non-professionals who use Photoshop. I’m a very serious amateur photographer. There are at least two professional photographer friends of mine who’ve tried some of my lenses and other equipment because, as an amateur I don’t have to do a cost/benefit analysis on anything I buy. If I like it or want it and can afford it, I’ll buy it. I’m also lucky to have some extra income that lets me play like this.

There is also going to be more serious interest in Photoshop alternatives. It might be the biggest 800 pound gorilla in the room, but there are some alternatives. Some Linux geek friends keep telling me that GIMP is awesome, but never seem able to actually show me how it works, and Photoshop just keeps me happily making great photos without having to program it myself to get cool plug-ins.

One other implication is that with a serious increase in price there WILL be a commensurate increase in piracy. I’ve got at least 7-8 boxes of Photoshop in a closet. I’ve always been legal since I switched from Aldus Photostyler to Photoshop. But I know at least two or three serious amateurs who’ve pirated Photoshop. It’s hard to justify $600-700 when you’re a high school or college student just beginning to get serious. And educational prices aren’t really cheap enough for most students either.

Scott: 

Full disclosure – I used to work for two software companies. One was an Adobe competitor, and the other was purchased by Macromedia, who was subsequently subsumed by Adobe. I started working with graphics software before the launch of Windows 1.0, and I still have PTSD over editing batch files with EDLIN. 

Adobe is following in the footsteps of a host of other companies that have become large, fat and happy on great products, but then lose their way (which generally starts to happen when they go public) and begin looking at their customers as cattle. Adobe is not unique in this regard, but the simple fact is that there are no, viable alternatives to Adobe products for much of what we do as graphic designers. 

When Adobe purchased Macromedia, they killed FreeHand, despite an agreement with the government NOT to do so. Now they’ve moved from a relatively reasonable upgrade path model to one that is bent on forcing all of us to pay a monthly fee to ‘rent’ their products. Their end game is a subscription model. But why would I want to subscribe, if it forces me to keep the subscription going, simply to have access to archives of work I’ve already done? They are moving from vendors to pushers, and are attempting to move us from users to unwilling addicts. 

My business depends on Adobe products. Is there a viable alternative out there to Photoshop? Illustrator? Dreamweaver? I don’t think so. At least not now. But consider what happened to Quark when they stopped listening to their customers. For that matter, look at Microsoft. Windows may still be the dominant platform, but Mac sales are growing by leaps and bounds. And as iPads replace computers for consumers, Microsoft will matter less and less. 

I see nothing good coming of Adobe’s move. They have a virtual monopoly on graphic design products. But if they continue down this path, that won’t last. Someone will take the opportunity to come up with killer products and lure us away from Adobe’s grasp. The more they ill-use us, the faster that will happen, and the more willing we will all be to leave Adobe in the dust. 

I have friends that work at Adobe. Many of them worked with me at other companies. They’ve seen this cycle happen elsewhere. I hope their voices will be heard within the company. But I fear that those in power will not listen, and Adobe will someday soon be an also-ran, or will be itself subsumed by a company that still cares more about their customers than they do trying to eek out additional profits. 

Since when does Kelby actually buy Adobe products?

Just imagine the speed at which GIMP could surpass CS6 if enough intelligent people contributed.  Contributed everything from lists of requirements to interface and design suggestions all the way to project management and code writing.  Wow, what a day….

thank u mr scott ,u r great..
can any body tell me why i can not visit adobe site from syria
just because i am syrian whereas u in your country  pretend that u r with freedom and humanity,dear mr scott i say that not to u because i believe u and NAPP R GREAT

 Freehand was a cool program. When I moved to Illustrator I thought it was a pile of garbage in comparison. Freehand also migrated into Photoshop territory, which is why it was killed.

Laugh as you might, CorelDraw was a very useful program back in the day, with a few features, like programming patterns on a grid I’ve yet to see anywhere else.

At this point, Photoshop should be a miracle with every graphic feature any software ever offered, and yet, they not only overprice the release, but they insist that you buy plug-ins for a host of stuff as well, greasing that side of the deal as well.

I’;m 100% done with these people. I’ll run Red GIant elsewhere. There are other compositing options. The people that run Adobe need to be run into the Ballard Canal.

Man you guys forgot one thing. If you live outside the US you pay USD=any currency. For me it would be 600GBP instead of $600. The pricing policy outside the US is ridiculous and should be addressed as well.

Adobe is killing itself slowly. I don’t know any other company that is so reckless. Check this out: https://getsatisfaction.com/adobe/topics/why_are_uk_prices_nearly_double_us_prices

they dot give a crap, they know you`ll pay.

I cant wait until Adobe has some competition and we have alternatives. Adobe has become to big for their own good. That makes them arrogant and abusive to its users. I am about to move to capture One or Aperture just so I don’t have to use any Adobe products. And as soon as I find an adequate substitute for PS, I will move too. I will NOT upgrade to CS6. 

I am a CS5 Design Premium person that looks like I’m done upgrading to any more Adobe CS any #. Yes the new features are great but I’m tried of lining Adobe’s pockets & with the way they do business. I am also one of those 70,000 members of NAPP.

Scott – you have always been a champion for all of us working professionals out here and I happened upon this post after an online chat with Adobe and attempting to upgrade. I was attempting to upgrade from CS2 to CS6 and noticed there was no option to do so. As Tech was online in the pop-up window, I asked why not, and surely there was some workaround, especially in this difficult economy. Apparently not, and my 15 years of ardent Adobe loyalty have just gone out the window. There are plenty of comparable and cheaper products out there which we’ll be switching to. As you said, Adobe isn’t our friend, it’s a business. Well, we’ll be taking our business elsewhere from now on.