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Feature Roadmap and New Pricing Plans
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oletros

Posted: Aug 22, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by Scott Florack:
The whole business model is quite humorous. They alienated their longtime customers by tripling the yearly fee, and now they're selling a lifetime subscription at the Plus level for nearly half the yearly rate.

Cash grabs are never a good sign, but you might as well get the deal. If they are still around in 9 months you'll have broken even.


Good way of motivating the current customers.


I don't think Toodledo lasts until next summer


This message was edited Aug 22, 2019.
Larry2

Posted: Aug 22, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by Scott Florack:
https://stacksocial.com/sales/toodledo-plus-lifetime-subscription

You receive a code and redeem it in Toodledo. Subscription needs to be manually renewed by CS every 5 years.


Wow. I'm insulted. They're offering Plus for basically Standard pricing with no Standard special pricing.

That's aside from whether they'll be around in a year. I suspect they will be though but it wouldn't surprise me if they changed ownership and pricing structures.
jzamoras

Posted: Aug 22, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by Larry2:
Posted by Scott Florack:
https://stacksocial.com/sales/toodledo-plus-lifetime-subscription

You receive a code and redeem it in Toodledo. Subscription needs to be manually renewed by CS every 5 years.


Wow. I'm insulted. They're offering Plus for basically Standard pricing with no Standard special pricing.

That's aside from whether they'll be around in a year. I suspect they will be though but it wouldn't surprise me if they changed ownership and pricing structures.


last year I would bought lifetime subscription in no time... but now I wonder how much time are they going to last...


This message was edited Aug 22, 2019.
jsmail63-reg

Posted: Aug 22, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Wow, this is turning into a massive train-wreck. New team buys the IC. Promises great things. Increases prices. Abandons current customer base in lieu of chasing a new customer base. Has no ability to actually support new customer base - as they weren't even able to properly support the OLD, existing customer base.

Then, the new owners TOTALLY VANISH.

I've sold to F500 companies for many years - 4 decades, in fact. A small, 2 (or 3) person company despite all their good intentions cannot support a SINGLE F500 account. Yet, for some bizarre reason, this seemed to be the expectation (go after "big" companies) of the new ownership at one point.

Now, the CEO has bailed. And ToodleDo (which we all love and rely on) is totally rudderless. Anant may be a great guy but doesn't seem to be posting that much..

Guys - PLEASE SELL THE COMPANY - back to Jake, or whoever can keep it alive.

We're begging you. There is no viable alternative, and we will all gladly pay "reasonable" rates to keep TD alive.

Please. Double, triple Please. No harm. No foul. Sometimes the best laid plans go awry. No-one will hold it against you. Please just do what is needed to keep this alive.


This message was edited Aug 22, 2019.
Duo

Posted: Aug 22, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Great find @Scott Florack!

If this is real then it's looking more and more like the situation with Nirvana - push out a lifetime subscription then leave the servers up for a while but do nothing else.

From the Stacksocial site linked above:
Lifetime Plus subscription ls $39.99 down from $249.40 - when was this ever offered at any price?
3 Year Plus subscription $29.99 down from $179.64.
1 year Plus subscription $19.95 down from $59.88.

So basically for $4.11 more than the Standard 1 year subscription, priced at $35.88, you can have a Plus subscription for life???

Perhaps jacking up the prices to insane levels wasn't such a good idea after all.


This message was edited Aug 22, 2019.
KBC1-Gold-Expired-May2020

Posted: Aug 22, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Wow. An awful lot of time spent on this.

Under your current proposal, you will actually be collecting less from me than before. The OLD Silver and Gold plans that Jake had made more sense, AND I was paying you more than I will in the future.

Why don't you just stay with Jake's free, Silver, and Gold plans, and then add any new plans that you want / or that other people want / such as your new "business" plans?

It is always tempting as a new owner to take charge and make changes, but it seems like you're spinning a lot of wheels and annoying Jake's loyal base with no real benefits.


This message was edited Aug 22, 2019.
KBC1-Gold-Expired-May2020

Posted: Aug 22, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
For those who cannot see LinkedIn, here is what it says for Aaron C. Salls:

=======================================

Currently Product Manager at CHIME. June 2019 to Present

PAST JOB:

CEO
Company Name Toodledo
Dates Employed Sep 2018 – Jun 2019
Employment Duration 10 mos
LocationSan Francisco Bay Area

Toodledo is a powerful and customizable tool to organize your life and increase your focus. Downloaded over 1.8M times by people who want complete control over their day.

We're hiring! We're bootstrapped, remote, and trying to do very big things. If you're entrepreneurial, want to work directly with the founders/owners, want to have an impact, and move fast, then this is for you.

Message me if you want direct info.
Scott Florack

Posted: Aug 22, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
For anyone curious.. it's a legit offer. I purchased it the other day because I felt I have nothing to lose. Redeemed the code, no problem -- instant upgrade to Plus.

I'm still using Todoist as my main to-do manager, but figured I'd use Toodledo as my "brain dump" list. Since they have decent export tools, I'm not concerned with losing anything I store here, even if it shuts down tomorrow.

But yeah.. I agree that more than likely this service will be on autopilot for the foreseeable future.
KBC1-Gold-Expired-May2020

Posted: Aug 22, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Scott... Did you upgrade a paid account or a free account? I tried to do the lifetime on a free account that I have had for a few years which had self-downgraded from Silver when the sub expired. I could not get the StackCommerce lifetime code to work. All I got was "loading" for a half hour, and then I gave up. It seems to me that you might have to open a brand new free account, and then get the lifetime upgrade to that new account.

ALSO... when I try to export my Gold account (with 1790 tasks) and move that to a new account by using the backup (first account) and restore (to second account), only three (3) of the 1790 tasks are visible in the new (free) account.

On top of all this, I received two automated emails from Toodledo today. One signed by Aaron Salls, identified as CEO, and the second signed by Arant (no last name) as the CEO. They came at different times for different reasons, and I am sure they are pre-written automated messages.

Summary: Be careful with the lifetime account. It may or may not work for everyone. AND, they also warn you that you must contact support after five years to renew the lifetime account, presumably for free but that is not really clear.


This message was edited Aug 22, 2019.
KBC1-Gold-Expired-May2020

Posted: Aug 22, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Also note... ToodleDo is showing an address as follows:

10 Crow Canyon Road #210
San Ramon, CA 94583

Does someone in East Bay want to drive by there and check for signs of life?

I suspect that it may be a conference room / mail drop and the ToodleDo people live and work somewhere else.


This message was edited Aug 23, 2019.
KBC1-Gold-Expired-May2020

Posted: Aug 22, 2019
Score: -1 Reference
LONG TIME USER... 10 YEARS...

Okay, so I spent a good part of today reading this forum and browsing the Web. Without going too deep, ToodleDo Gold or Plus is the best solution for me. Priacta rates it the highest in the class, and I have been using it so long we are like an old married couple. I looked at a bunch of alternatives and none of those is optimum for me. I am set in my habits and don't want to export 2,000 tasks and notes and learn a new system. None of the alternatives is exactly like ToodleDo.

My Gold subscription runs into next year, and I just bought a lifetime plus subscription from StackSocial for $40 that supposedly is good for five years. After that, I have to contact support at StackSocial to have it renewed, apparently at no cost. But if it turns out to be another $40 no big deal. ToodleDo is worth that. Here is the deal -->> https://stacksocial.com/sales/toodledo-plus-lifetime-subscription

I am running the two subscriptions in parallel, backing up one weekly and copying it to the other. When the Gold expires, I will simply delete that and continue with the 5-Year Plus. I like ToodleDo as is, and if they never make a change or feature enhancement, I will be satisfied with that. I also use the iOS app on an iPad Pro, and that is fine too. As long as the current owner, or StackSocial, or someone else keeps the ToodleDo server running for ten years or so, I will be happy. Let's hope that happens.

People complaining and asking for more features and making life difficult for the new developers won't help save ToodleDo. Use what we have, be glad we have it, and hope that the server stays up. And make lots of local backups in case it does not -- including CSV. I do this weekly like doing my wash and it takes just a few seconds. It is the first task on my calendar every Saturday morning.

Those who switch to Milk Remembering or ToDoist or Marvin or whatever are wished well. But I like ToodleDo and that's my story.


This message was edited Aug 22, 2019.
mjbernstein

Posted: Aug 23, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by KBC1-Gold-Standby:
Also note... ToodleDo is showing an address as follows:

10 Crow Canyon Road #210
Ran Ramon, CA 94583

Does someone in East Bay want to drive by there and check for signs of life?

I suspect that it may be a conference room / mail drop and the ToodleDo people live and work somewhere else.


From Google:
It looks like a multi-building apartment townhouse/apartment set up but it is an office park.

Marc
Scott Florack

Posted: Aug 23, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by KBC1-Gold-Standby:
Scott... Did you upgrade a paid account or a free account? I tried to do the lifetime on a free account that I have had for a few years which had self-downgraded from Silver when the sub expired. I could not get the StackCommerce lifetime code to work. All I got was "loading" for a half hour, and then I gave up. It seems to me that you might have to open a brand new free account, and then get the lifetime upgrade to that new account.


I HAD a paid account, but when I upgraded to the lifetime Plus, I was not a paying customer. So you don't need a NEW account, but you may confuse the system if you already have a paid one..

Posted by KBC1-Gold-Standby:
Summary: Be careful with the lifetime account. It may or may not work for everyone. AND, they also warn you that you must contact support after five years to renew the lifetime account, presumably for free but that is not really clear.


I stated that you needed to contact CS every 5 years in my original post.
KBC1-Gold-Expired-May2020

Posted: Aug 23, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Advisory: I saw a reference somewhere that said this deal expires in four days. Maybe they will extend that, but just sayin’...

https://stacksocial.com/sales/toodledo-plus-lifetime-subscription

$40 five year (renewable) subscription to ToodleDo Plus. What is that, $8 per year if you use it for five years? $4 per year if you renew for another five years (assuming that someone keeps the server running)?
KBC1-Gold-Expired-May2020

Posted: Aug 23, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Scott wrote: I stated that you needed to contact CS every 5 years in my original post.

—————————-

That assumes that Stack Social and ToodleDo are still around in five years. Among small software companies, nothing is certain. Especially if one of them is outside the USA.

——————————

OTOH... In today’s world, it is fairly simple to keep an app server up and running. Especially if they have some ad revenue from the free accounts. And if they don’t make any major changes to the code, just needed infrastructure maintenance. And who knows, if the new owners fail to perform, maybe the original owners have the right to run another server with an older version of the code (before the new owners made changes).

Whatever the case, hopefully there will always be some version of ToodleDo running on a public server somewhere in the world. Maybe not super fast, and maybe with no new features, but I like ToodleDo exactly as it is today without any major changes.

The key here is to do backups regularly so that you can upload them to a new account / or new server / as this situation evolves. That includes CSV backups that can be read in Excel.

AND, if you turn off the synch, you can run TD on an iPad autonomously for awhile. At least until Apple screws it up with an iOS update, or something else happens. You would have no synch to your desktop, but you would have access to your data for awhile.


This message was edited Aug 23, 2019.
KBC1-Gold-Expired-May2020

Posted: Aug 23, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Scott wrote: I HAD a paid account, but when I upgraded to the lifetime Plus, I was not a paying customer. So you don't need a NEW account, but you may confuse the system if you already have a paid one.

——————-

I have a Gold account that is good for another 9 months. Didn’t want to lose that, so opened a new free account and installed the $40 Plus Lifetime over that. Then restored a backup of the Gold on top of the Plus.

That strategy gives me some data protection options, if either Stack Social or ToodleDo have problems. My two different accounts have different Gmail addresses and different login details.

See more at the bottom of this thread, dated today...

https://www.toodledo.com/forums/2/26261/2/proscons-of-alternatives-to-toodledo.html


This message was edited Aug 23, 2019.
Larry2

Posted: Aug 23, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
I'm tempted on the $40 lifetime but am hesitant.

Why would Toodledo offer such a reduction via outside their own website? What does stacksocial get out of this?

If if supported by Toodledo, why would they offer such a huge reduction? Lifetime subscriptions are not the best money generating means to profit.
KBC1-Gold-Expired-May2020

Posted: Aug 23, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
This todo-list / task management / notes-calendaring / app-software market segment is so very crowded, fractionalized, and competitive. There are ma and pa developers willing to spend a few years of sweat equity to create apps and host them on AWS or other servers and try to build a following. Hoping later to sell out to a bigger company that mostly wants to buy their user base and then upsell something new. Giants like Google and Microsoft will always have something that competes in one way or another. And users are so demanding and brutally critical.

It does not seem that this will ever be a highly profitable segment. So we will see a lot of solutions come and go and consolidate. A segment constantly in flux. Like so many other software segments in the past.
KBC1-Gold-Expired-May2020

Posted: Aug 23, 2019
Score: 0 Reference
Larry wrote: I'm tempted on the $40 lifetime but am hesitant.

If $40 is a lot to you then use the free version. The ad revenue will help support the rest of us who have paid. For me $8 per year or $4 per year is the bargain of the decade. With the productivity I gain, this is paid off in a day.

>>Why would Toodledo offer such a reduction via outside their own website?

That’s a really good question. I can think of several possibilities, but this is totally speculation. Maybe Stack Social offered them some cash for a bunch of licenses and the new owner just wanted the cash. If Stack Social sells 1,000 licenses at $40 each and gives half of that to the new owners, that’s enough to cover server costs for a while.

Or this might be a time limited opportunity of a few days offered as a gift to long time users who have been so critical of the price increases. A clever way to satisfy them without cannibalizing the business customers on the main website. Easily explainable as a short term promotion to clean up some user dissatisfaction. We will have to see how long it lasts. When I saw the $40 promo yesterday I grabbed it.

Not sure how many people there are in the new company that bought the results of Jake’s years of work. At least one CEO in the new company has come and gone. And he seemed like a young and inexperienced person in the Bay Area. I am guessing there have been some differences of opinion. And it looks like this is a bi-national company. Cultural differences between India and the USA? All of this is very common in the software business. But again, it is only speculation. Maybe none of my guesses are true.

>>What does stacksocial get out of this?

They get some portion of the $40 with no cost of supporting the app. They build their reputation as a source of cheap solutions. And they can try to upsell you on other products on their site. They are merely a reseller.

>>If if supported by Toodledo, why would they offer such a huge reduction? Lifetime subscriptions are not the best money generating means to profit.

Yeah, it’s a mystery right now until someone does some digging. I almost don’t want to know the true answer. It shows some serious chaos. See my previous posts above. What will the future bring?

I like the current ToodleDo Web SaaS service and the iOS app as-is without any major changes. For me, this is better than anything else in this segment. Priacta rates it the highest in the category. I just need someone to have it up and running on a server, and do the maintenance upgrades to keep the server running. It’s a utility like water or electricity. Keep it running but don’t screw it up.


This message was edited Aug 23, 2019.
KBC1-Gold-Expired-May2020

Posted: Aug 23, 2019
Score: 1 Reference
Can someone in East Bay run by ToodleDo’s business address and see if there are any answers there?

10 Crow Canyon Road #210
San Ramon, CA 94583

Might just be a dormitory for software engineers. Or a conference center / mail drop.


This message was edited Aug 23, 2019.
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