Pleco Add-ons & Purchase Formats

[Chinarabbit]

I have the free Pleco, and I'm thinking of upgrading to the Professional Bundle

I have a few Questions before I do

1st, I want to know if Pleco has an office in China, where we can go and pay cash

2nd, I want all of the add-ons downloaded as apk or other permanent back-up files I can keep on my computer, I dont want to just purchase something and not have the actual installer. Do you get a separate apk for every item on the list?

How does the Professional Bundle work? is it just installing individual apks for each "pro" item? or is it a single Pleco Pro apk file?

Also, I dont feel safe giving my personal Credit Card info on this site that 1. requires you to register with your birth date, 2, asks for credit card info on the same page as the product info, without being redirected to a secure site, and 3. has no internet accreditation from security firms authenticating your site & server security, so I'd like an alternate payment method..

I also cannot use Paypal... so a Chinese office accepting Chinese cards would be best.

thanks

 

[mikelove]

1) No, no office in China.

2) No, they're data files and not separate APKs, so the only way to unlock them is with an activation code. You can download backups of the data files from our website here, but they won't work without that code.

3) The only place on our website where we ask you for your birthday is our discussion forums, and that's because of a silly US law that requires us to (designed to protect children from the horrors of the internet, because of course no child would ever lie about his/her birthday on an online form). The forums and the store aren't linked at all and the store certainly doesn't ask you for your birthday.

As for the credit card info, the entire page is secure - by using a one-page checkout, we can actually simplify things dramatically because we don't have to ever store your credit card information on our server in any form; you enter your card number, it's encrypted within your browser in a way that we don't even have the ability to decrypt (only our credit card processing company does), and then it's sent directly to our credit card processor (who have all kinds of security accreditations) when you click Submit. Your unencrypted credit card number never even so much as passes through our system, and your encrypted credit card number only does momentarily (and we don't have the ability to decrypt it while it is).

Like all companies that handle credit card data, though, we're required to comply with the credit card industry's PCI security requirements, and we do - we just don't bother with security badges because frankly they don't mean much these days; you can get a 'secure site seal' from a reputable firm simply by buying an SSL certificate from them, without any sort of audit of your actual site security.

But if that doesn't work for you, we also sell Pleco through the Amazon AppStore, which unlike Google Play can be used in China.

 

[Chinarabbit]

So, the only thing we get is activation codes?

and do we need to have a separate activation code for ever single thing, or will the professional bundle have one code that works for everything?

and I'm wondering if there are any special offers or promotional codes every offered?

 

[mikelove]

You get a single activation code that works for everything. We don't generally do special offers or promotions, no - haven't found them worthwhile when we've tried them in the past.

 

[Chinarabbit]

curious..

what makes them "worthwhile"

You are already at the top 1% Highest Price Point for an Android App

Are you not selling many?

I dont believe that, since alot of my friends use Pleco, including people in the U.S. State Department.

Yet, you're still here in your forum answering questions personally

so maybe it means you care about your company? or just the sales?

I'll assume the former is true, and finish by adding that Special Offers & Promotions are a way to improve your company & brand image

Its also a way to give back to the community you've been benefiting from, as a form of appreciation, and a way to 'pay it forward'

Its also a way to broaden your user-base and reach out to people who cant afford 70 or 100 or more dollars. Getting them to use your software retains them for future business endeavors which can help spur your growth at some point in the future

And I think there should be a more reasonable price in RMB for people in China. Maybe verify you're in China with an SMS message, and receive a special RMB price

Not every English speaker in China is the VP of P&G or Ernst & Young, you know. alot of them are Non-Native English speakers from Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Burma, Laos, Africa & North Korea, the majority of whom have an even weaker Currency than RMB.

I think a special offer would also show you are a caring company / person (whichever you are), concerned with more than building an empire on a single highly-priced app

Anyway, It's Chinese learning software, and special discounts for people in China should be on your agenda from time to time, for the sake of Social Relations & Customer-Relationship Building, Image Building, and to reach out and show you have some Social Responsibility and care for people from around the world who interact with China or need the Chinese Language

At any rate, I dont see how it could have any negative impact whatsoever, aside from not filling your vault with enough gold to swim in.

Personally, I remember Pleco from back in Windows Mobile days, and I went with other companies for Dictionaries, like H&H and Ectaco, simply because I never saw any special offers or promotions from Pleco.

anyway. hope you reconsider.

cheers

 

[mikelove]

I don't believe they do improve our brand image, that's the thing - I think they lower people's confidence in their purchases; it's very annoying to buy something and then find out that it costs 30% less the next week, or hear from your friend that they bought it with a special deal that you didn't know about. If we suddenly start freely handing out 50% discounts (which we actually can't afford to do, but that's beside the point), the customers who've bought our product at full price over the last few years are going to be pretty frustrated with us.

As far as lower prices in general, to be honest we think we're serving that group very well with our free app - we have a *ton* of customers from most of the places you mention (especially Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia) who download that and never buy anything. Even without any paid add-ons, we believe we've got one of the best Chinese dictionary apps out there.

And we're perceived as very expensive because of the high cost of our 'bundles,' but you don't have to buy one of those - our prices for individual features / dictionaries are generally pretty competitive (often we don't even have a choice about what we charge for them due to license restrictions), and in fact our margins on a lot of them aren't very high at all - if you spend $80 on a Pleco bundle you're getting a *lot* of stuff for your money, stuff on which we're obligated to pay some pretty hefty royalties. So you should really think of Pleco more as a "Chinese dictionary and related products store" than as a single product or app.

 

[moelicious]

@Chinarabbit: Besides from what mikelove mentioned, if you are a student (or somehow working in the field of education) Pleco offers you a pretty nice and reasonable discount on their add-on bundles and dictionaries.

 

[Chinarabbit]

@Chinarabbit: Besides from what mikelove mentioned, if you are a student (or somehow working in the field of education) Pleco offers you a pretty nice and reasonable discount on their add-on bundles and dictionaries.

Oh? how do you get that discount? I used to get those discounts alot in America, at bookstores and what not, as I'm a teacher

 

[mikelove]

That's only on iOS; on Android we charge everyone the same, though the price is closer to the educational price on iOS (about 2/3 of our iOS customers use that educational discount, so the Professional bundle is $100 full, $70 discounted on iOS versus $80 for everyone on Android). To be honest, we're probably going to abolish them on iOS soon and adopt the same strategy as on Android, since when the majority of your customers are using a discount it effectively turns from a discount for eligible customers into a penalty for ineligible ones.

 

[Chinarabbit]

I don't believe they do improve our brand image, that's the thing - I think they lower people's confidence in their purchases; it's very annoying to buy something and then find out that it costs 30% less the next week, or hear from your friend that they bought it with a special deal that you didn't know about. If we suddenly start freely handing out 50% discounts (which we actually can't afford to do, but that's beside the point), the customers who've bought our product at full price over the last few years are going to be pretty frustrated with us.

well, you're in charge of your own company. I'm not going to to tell you what to do.. but thanks for the explanation on royalties etc..

If you are paying royalties, It'd probably be a good idea to state that in your package. It's value added, and something you are paying for. For example, 'Such and such dictionary, Officially Licensed from Such and such publisher'

And I dont know what type of business training or education you've had, but I'll just say that You are way off base in your premise that offering specials, deals, promotions, or discounts will anger your existing customers.

I'm not sure if you live in a developed country or not, or a country with a Free-market Capitalist economy, but most markets are very well adapted to dealing with companies offering promotions & specials.. there are industries devoted to it.

There isnt anyone who is going to think your product is of less quality because you offer promotional discounts & special offers from time to time

In fact, there really arent many examples of any product or service that never has any promotions or special offers

"Promotion" is exactly that, a way to Promote your Brand, Product, & Name. Its Promoting yourself, and its how companies grow.

However, I see you like to take a more personal, hands on approach to your sales & marketing, and do everything yourself. Thats difficult to do, especially since we cant all be experts at every aspect of everything involved in everything we do.

And Pleco is not a bad product, I have used the free version, and its acceptable to me. There are a number of things I would like to have been done differently, but everyone has their own opinions and ideas about what works best for them

And I also dont know if your OCR has copy capability, another thing that leaves me on the fence at the moment

At any rate, there is likely no "perfect" app for anything, but I can appreciate what it is you were trying to do, and I've heard alot of good reviews about your product from different types of Non-Chinese speaking people.

But it does seem like a useful tool have in the toolbox for occasions which arise where I might need a specific solution to a specific situation, and I am considering Pleco with the Pro Bundle

I would like to also know what your plans are for the future, and what improvements or adjustments you are making..

I'd like a thread or blog devoted to improvements, that shows you're working to improve things for different types of users.

anyway.. thanks for your input thus far

keep up the good work

 

[mikelove]

Plenty of very successful companies never offer special promotions of the sort you're talking about. Apple, for example - they offer modest educational discounts on Macs but none at all on iPhones. You could walk into an Apple store the day the iPhone 5 launched and pay the same on-contract $199 for it that you paid every day after until it was replaced by the 5S.

I have no formal business training - pretty much every MBA I know has told me that it was an utter waste of time for them education-wise and only made any kind of sense as a way of networking with other business folks.

OCR does support copying-and-pasting text, yes.

There are a couple of threads here about future improvements - Android is going to get a modest update in a few weeks with improvements to Cantonese support, merged entry search / display, and the formatting / rendering of dictionary entries in general, syncing it up with our big new 3.0 update on iOS, and after that our main focus turns to our flashcard system which we're planning to overhaul almost completely on both platforms.

 

[Chinarabbit]

ah, yes.. apple does live in a world of its own.. its called planet apple.. and it has its own ecosystem and exists outside the scope of virtually every other product on the planet.

Education is Never a Waste of Time. I'm surprised to hear that from the developer of Software which positions itself as an Educational tool.

A Degree, on the other hand, is not a magical contract made by dumbledore to make you smarter, more able, or more competent, capable, or intelligent.

and an MBA is a degree. Most people finish up their degrees and retain around 15% of what they were taught.

However, to succeed in Sales & Marketing and in Business Administration & Strategic Planning, you will need far more knowledge & learning than what you gain in a year & a half of school courses that you can pass whilst half drunk or stoned the entire time.

A degree is not equivalent to an education or learning.

and an MBA or Any other Degree may well be an 'utter waste of time' for the people attaining them, particularly these days when most people enter MBA programs directly after their Bachelors program and lack the ability, experience, maturity, knowledge or expertise to gain anything useful from it.

and people dont get an MBA for Self Improvement, or for a thirst for knowledge or from knowledge seeking.. they get it for a larger paycheck which comes from the piece of paper that gives them a lifetime of security in complacency and effectively puts an end to their entire leaning process for the rest of their life.

but True Knowledge & Learning is Solid Gold.

and there are a great many very outstanding books and courses devoted to creating individuals who are fully competent in executing the most effective methods & processes from proven techniques to both lead them to success and set them up as leaders & innovators in their industry

anyway. enough of that. thanks for your help.

 

[mikelove]

I didn't say education is a waste of time, I said that the advice I'd received from people with MBAs was that an MBA was an inefficient way to get one.

 

[alex_hk90]

And I dont know what type of business training or education you've had, but I'll just say that You are way off base in your premise that offering specials, deals, promotions, or discounts will anger your existing customers.

I'm not sure if you live in a developed country or not, or a country with a Free-market Capitalist economy, but most markets are very well adapted to dealing with companies offering promotions & specials.. there are industries devoted to it.

There isnt anyone who is going to think your product is of less quality because you offer promotional discounts & special offers from time to time

As an existing customer of the Professional Bundle (and other paid add-ons), I disagree with you here. While I probably wouldn't be 'angered' if there was a special offer for something I had already bought, I wouldn't be overly pleased about it and I appreciate that Pleco does not do this. Similarly, I feel that by not offering discounts it gives a more 'premium' impression to the brand, showing that it is really worth the price and doesn't need discounts/promotions to sell. I'm not sure what country you live in, but we have some stores in the UK (particularly a well-known furniture store that advertises a lot on TV) that has discounts almost all the time, which seriously damages the brand.

 

[gato]

Pleco is a must-have tool for those who need it. Its demand is fairly inelastic (that is, not as much affected by a modest change in pricing).

Apps like games, on the other hand, have much more elastic demand and are helped much more by promotional discounts.

 

[Chinarabbit]

As an existing customer of the Professional Bundle (and other paid add-ons), I disagree with you here. While I probably wouldn't be 'angered' if there was a special offer for something I had already bought, I wouldn't be overly pleased about it and I appreciate that Pleco does not do this. Similarly, I feel that by not offering discounts it gives a more 'premium' impression to the brand, showing that it is really worth the price and doesn't need discounts/promotions to sell. I'm not sure what country you live in, but we have some stores in the UK (particularly a well-known furniture store that advertises a lot on TV) that has discounts almost all the time, which seriously damages the brand.

well, of course, nobody is ever exactly pleased once they've purchased something for a certain price, then see it the next day or week or month for a lower price. But its beyond the scope of rationality to be angry with the company or product. You may be angry at yourself, and your own poor timing, or 'bad luck', but its quite beyond unreasonable for an individual consumer to believe that the company should change its policies & not offer discounts to anyone else, ever, so that you dont feel cheated, or so that your product doesnt seem diminished.

You could also blame yourself for not having the patience to wait for a promotion. What you paid for was your need to have it now, and not wait 3 months, which is worth it in & of itself for most people

While there are actually people who purchase certain 'premium' or luxury items because of the price, and to perhaps spark envy in others who may also know the set high price for an item.. And such people would likely not ever buy the product if it were offered at a lower price point during a promotion or sale, because nobody around them would know if the product they bought was at the top tier price level, or if it was bought during a special promotion when the 'little people' also climbed aboard, diminishing the glory of owning the product.

But this isnt Park Avenue, and this product isnt in the range of satiating superficial desires of vanity. it's an educational tool, a nerdy reference book, and a travel utility. The Demographic of the current market has been established as being 2/3rds students. Most students coming to China are already heavily invested in financing their studies, travel, & living expenses in a foreign country, and every student looks for the best deals, and loves promotions & discounted items for school needs. The market is mostly people who need, look for, use, and appreciate special offers.

But Mike mentioned he pays hefty royalties for some of the products associated with the program, I feel that should be mentioned somewhere so people might better understand the higher price-point and absence of discounts, and cash-strapped students can feel better about shelling over the dough for the mobile-device application.

Pleco is a must-have tool for those who need it. Its demand is fairly inelastic (that is, not as much affected by a modest change in pricing).

Apps like games, on the other hand, have much more elastic demand and are helped much more by promotional discounts.

This is quite true. Sales of this product are likely not much effected by promotions. the market isnt gigantic, its pretty narrowly focused & fills a need which the people in this market who would buy this product for 20 dollars, would also perhaps even pay most any price your throw at them, generally speaking.

But simply not offering sales because "you dont see any benefit" (because people will still buy your product) is, nonetheless, overlooking an important group of potential customers who can be corralled in by a lower price point. It also shows you are sensitive who your customer is, and their needs as students.

I suggest one other bundle apart from basic & professional, called the "Student Bundle"

the Student Bundle could include the largest & most concise dictionaries only, overlooking the smaller ones and ones used for travel.. and also include the ORC, Handwriting Recognition, the C-C dictionary, etc..

and be priced for nerdy students who live in dorms & eat school food.

 

[Alexis]

The Pleco prices are already quite reasonable when you compare to buying the paper versions of the dictionaries, or the price of textbooks. My friends who didn't buy Pleco because it's $40 also wouldn't have bought if it was $0.99 because they expect all software to be free.

 

[denmitch]

You get what you pay for. Bargain basement price always screams 'cheap'. Poor workmanship = repeat purchases. In the end you pay more. I prefer paying once for quality. Pleco is a quality product.
Joy,
李希

 

[BrianJ77]

I have been using Pleco for three and a half years and I have been most satisfied with my purchase. Its a quality product. I haven't had any bugs or issues, even after an update, which is so common with other apps.

Customer service is the best part. I transferred my license from iOS to Android and ran into trouble because my original purchase was on an old iOS version. Mike responded to my problem within hours.

There are substitutes out there (Noah, Little Red Oxford, etc.), but a horse carriage is also considered a substitute for a car.

 

[gerganaal]

Hello,
I bought the paid OCR version , but on my tablet is still the trial version. What to do? I tried to contact the support bu till now nobody has respond me.