Let me explain, if it will help.
Pricing software can come from the following list.
- The cost of the man hours to produce the software, from start to finish
- Potential money the client saves by using the software
- Cost of any planned support for the software
- Any other related costs such as installation fees, documentation, training, etc.
The man hours corresponds to the time I had to take out of my schedule to produce this software. Now if I look back and think about the time I think I spent 6 months at an average of 1 hour a day. So that's about 178 hours of work. That's about $7000 dollars if I were to say I'm worth $40 and hour and that's on the cheap. Then you charge on how many units you think you will sell. If 100 people buy it that's still $1000 ($2000 since the full price is $20). I have to sell about 500 to meet the production cost. Fun fact. The most modules I have sold is Harp Fantasy and I only sold 119. This is over the period of 3 years. My point here, is given the demand, I should set the price higher, but I know hobbyists don't have a lot of money. $20 is the standard price it seems for books and companion books. So I just set the price there. I doubt I will ever make my money back, (I haven't even made it back for the other modules, not even close) but I honestly don't think about that. I'm mostly doing this because I can and I want to. Not that this matters but when I was gaming I think I dropped more than a $1000 on stuff, be it books, adventure modules, character models, gaming props, maps, software (mostly amateur), etc. I did it because it was a hobby and I was into it. Again, not the point you were making, I'm sure, but worth stating.
Second bullet point on potential money client saves by using the software. Well, it shouldn't be a surprise that you can use this application to make a database, that includes Martial Law, College of Magics, or whathaveyou. So, taking the above example you used, a person COULD purchase Harp Fantasy and Architect for $40. Then create Martial Law and College of Magics out of Architect, potentially saving themselves $30. More if we start including books I haven't written yet. Now for the record, I really didn't say any of that out loud. It's a secret to everybody.
Third bullet point. I am providing hands-on support. I am here to fix any problems. If I can't fix I will ask Nick to see about a possible refund. I want people to be satisfied with the product but I think it's fair for people to expect that this kind of software asks for a little in return. I can provide support and software, I just ask for the support so I can continue to do this. I hope that's not a lot to ask.
Point 4 doesn't apply to me. I'm a one pony show. It's just me, which is inconvenient but that's the reality of this right now.
i'm sorry you feel the way you do, but honestly, pricing Architect is not just sensible it's prudent and anyone in the same position would most likely have done the same. I can always talk to Nick about the prices but I really haven't gotten any complaints, save yours. If the price becomes a problem I will look into it. I consult with GCP about the prices before I set them. I can't please everyone unfortunately. I set what I felt was more than a fair price. Currently we are running a sale on it so for a while it's 50% off (originally it was set at $20 but for 3 months from opening day it's $10).