Any refunds of we don't like VB4???

[David Copeland]

To Sales:

Any refunds of we don't like VB4???

We would have to buy by next week to get the $130 price, but the full version 4.0 will not be available until after you have our money.

What happens if we don't like what it turns out to be?

I noticed you upgraded the VB site a day or two ago with a Beta version of VB 4, and it is one of the ugliest color and font schemes I have ever seen. I suspect there will be options to fix the whole look, but so far I am not impressed at all.

David

****************


Update: Friday Evening, October 30, 2009

To all,

I went ahead and purchased the $130 upgrade tonight. I will use the downtime of waiting for the final release to explore and learn all of the additional admin changes in the CP, versus learning nothing from not having hands-on support and training with an owned CP license.

(The other option I was considering was to pay the higher price when the final version is released. But the thought of being pressured to learn VB 4 with a whole new CP all at once was daunting, while costing me more. This way I will have some breathing room while I learn with the free support the upgarde comes with)

Thank you for all of your comments and feedback,

David
(Off to learn something new at my age)

[Dzi13]

I think that they don't do refunds (that theme was already mentioned).

Regarding to style you can allways edit it from admin panel so it isn't big problem

[Steve Machol]

As always refunds are determined on a case-by-case basis.

Also please note that this IS a Beta and as per Ray's announcement there are rough edges. I would recommend holding off on these kinds of decisions until you know what the final style will look like.

[slinky]

As always refunds are determined on a case-by-case basis.

Also please note that this IS a Beta and as per Ray's announcement there are rough edges. I would recommend holding off on these kinds of decisions until you know what the final style will look like.

I'm just in the information gathering process and unfortunately on the wrong side of alpha/beta testing -- does this mean that we'll know what the final style will look like before end of week?

[Steve Machol]

Final style? Probably not.

[Mark.B]

Even I would not recommend demanding a refund at this stage. It's clear substantial tweaks will be made.

[dutchbb]

A refund because you don't like the color and text? All that can easily be changed in the acp, that's the whole point of customizing it to your taste.

[slinky]

Final style? Probably not.

I figured as such and that your answer was a matter of semantics - thanks for the clarification, Steve. I'm just trying to compile all the info I can to clients this week who will need to be fully informed where vB 4 is in the process in order to make the decision of yay or nay to upgrade by Friday.

And yes, I agree that our clients' choice of upgrading or not upgrading will not revolve just around the early development style but around many other factors we've compiled.

[David Copeland]

As always refunds are determined on a case-by-case basis. <br /><br />Also please note that this IS a Beta and as per Ray's announcement there are rough edges. I would recommend holding off on these kinds of decisions until you know what the final style will look like.

That's what I would like to do, but I only have until Friday for the $130 price. Can you offer a courtesy extension so that I can see what I am buying in the final version??

If not, then if I meet the Friday deadline and your final version comes later in the year, will you offer me a courtesy full refund?

[David Copeland]

A refund because you don't like the color and text? All that can easily be changed in the acp, that's the whole point of customizing it to your taste.

1) This is the first major version where I don't think VBulletin put a lot of effort into designing the look, feel, text, fonts, colors, etc. In all previous VB major upgrades, the look was sharp, crisp, and gave the view a feeling of quality.

Yes, it may only be a minor change in making it look like its worth $260. But as a customer when I buy a Cadillac, I don't expect to see a cheap looking bucket of bolts and steel glued together, even though the motor train and everything under the hood may or may not be superior. I expect to see the leather seats, wood panels, custom looks, and so forth before any release.

If VB did not put quality effort in the cosmetics of the software look, then what else did they compromise under the hood??

2) For $260 (Retail), I should not have to make the look of the software as if it was quality. It should look like quality out of the box.

3) I suspect there will be sample beta sites to go to, but why should I be required to modify this software to look any better?

Sorry, VB, but this look reminds me of some really cheap free software out there. We only have 40,000 members (and we are a paid site), but if they saw this cartoon and faded look, it would diminish the value we are presenting to our customers.

4) And more importantly, as I have asked in the previous post about a courtesy refund offer after the final version is released, I feel there are other compromises under the hood. Who knows? The operating system factors, php, and other internal engine parts may be so far away from anything in the Ver 3.8 engine, that it just won't work effectively without major customizations and hacks.

Above all, I would like assurances that either a courtesy extension for my $130 payment (due Friday) can be approved, and if not a courtesy refund is made available after I see what I am buying.

David

[Shamil.]

You will need to open up a ticket as refunds are decided on a case-by-case basis.

[David Copeland]

Even I would not recommend demanding a refund at this stage. It's clear substantial tweaks will be made.

<br /> <br />

Notice the simple Quote Feature/Use Advance - places in the message body usable html breaks.

(I had to increase the font size or use bold to even see what is being written because there is no sharpness or crisp look to the default. Otherwise it looks like a cheap newsgroup BBS. Even so, the coloro black is not black. It comes across as a distant cousin to gray/black)

[Steve Machol]

Yep, that's a reported bug.

[smackLAN]

I'm sure vB would like to be able to give you some assurances of a refund but if I were you and were feeling really uneasy about what you are seeing in this beta versus forking out the $130 you might be better advised to take the increased price hit and buy it when it's stable as opposed to spending $130 on something you decide in the end not use...if any of that makes sense

[tormodg]

I like the comparison to buying a Cadillac.

For what it's worth, we're looking at software licences for social media platforms for our company - upwards of USD $50,000 per CPU. vBulletin at $180 (old price) or $280 (new price) is a steal whichever way we look at it.

BTW keep in mind that the $280 price is for the *suite*. The forums only will be - what - $190? That's not much more expensive than before, and no annual fees to pay. Doesn't that make it *cheaper* than before (unless you never paid for annual subscriptions)?

Asking for a refund is pointless. I'd just wait until it's launched before buying if you're worried that vB4 will not be what you expect.