Groups > comp.lang.java.programmer > #20135

Re: Arranging free trials for online services.

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Subject	Re: Arranging free trials for online services.
From	Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com>
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Leif Roar Moldskred wrote:
> Joshua Cranmer wrote:
>> Send an email and require the user to reply to it. Email is a pretty 
>> good unique identifier (few people share email addresses nowadays), and 
>> some analysis on the replied email message can catch some people who are 
>> using multiple email addresses to try to subvert the free trial. 
> 
> The problem with that approach is services like Mailinator which make
> it quick and easy (and free) to use throw-away e-mail addresses at the
> drop of a hat.

The goal isn't to eliminate all cheating. If your product is so all-fired valuable 
that someone so all-fired enthusiastic is going to the trouble to use throwaway 
email addresses just to avoid 55 cents a day, and it's going to cost you 56 cents 
a day in direct, indirect plus opportunity costs to chase such folks down, why
bother? Take the 0.3% hit in sales you weren't going to get from such cheap-ass
bastards anyway and let them be a free mouthpiece to their friends about how 
good your stuff is. Amortize that 55 cents across the thousands of people who 
love your product and are not sleazy little petty thieves. 

You don't need 100%. You only need X% where X is manageable and leaves you 
a profit in both cash and time, and is less than 100.

-- 
Lew

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Thread

Arranging free trials for online services. Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-12-03 10:45 -0800
  Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-12-03 10:53 -0800
  Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Leif Roar Moldskred <leifm@dimnakorr.com> - 2012-12-03 14:06 -0600
  Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-12-03 22:22 -0500
  Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Daniele Futtorovic <da.futt.news@laposte-dot-net.invalid> - 2012-12-04 16:02 +0100
    Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-12-04 18:06 -0800
      Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-12-05 10:39 -0800
        Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-12-05 14:27 -0800
      Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Daniele Futtorovic <da.futt.news@laposte-dot-net.invalid> - 2012-12-06 00:18 +0100
  Re: Arranging free trials for online services. "Chris Uppal" <chris.uppal@metagnostic.REMOVE-THIS.org> - 2012-12-04 18:31 +0000
    Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-12-04 12:59 -0800
    Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-12-04 18:02 -0800
      Re: Arranging free trials for online services. "Chris Uppal" <chris.uppal@metagnostic.REMOVE-THIS.org> - 2012-12-15 12:24 +0000
    Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net> - 2012-12-13 09:01 -0800
  Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Joshua Cranmer <Pidgeot18@verizon.invalid> - 2012-12-06 11:01 -0600
    Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Leif Roar Moldskred <leifm@dimnakorr.com> - 2012-12-06 11:50 -0600
      Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-12-06 10:49 -0800

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