Except Nate has specifically said that he is looking at ways to bring in more money for development.
So TrainerRoad’s decision on wether or not to achieve some of this by raising the cost for legacy users could very well impact what will happen for full paying users.
@Nate_Pearson as a legacy member i think this idea would be more palatable if the members who agreed to this got something in return as a thanks. This could be annual TR swag, annual beers with Chad, first access to new features, a tiny bit of ownership in the company -ok i might be streching with that one but not really joking. If you agree to pay extra to “be nice” getting something special in return makes it easier to justify I feel
What about raising EVERYONE’s plans like 10-20$ a YEAR or something like that? For example, I’m grandfathered in at $129 and have been a member for over 3 years, so I would instead pay $139/year. Someone brand new would be paying $199/year instead of $189. Just an idea. TR is the only training platform I subscribe to, because between that, my Wahoo sensor stats, and my Apple watch, I don’t need anything more to train hard and really see results.
I also work for a small AI software company and understand the time and money that development takes. Regardless of what happens, thanks for building an amazing product and for taking the community into account while doing so.
If TR had stayed static then I would expect my grandfathered pricing to stay static.
TR has made some pretty incredible advancements over the years though that, I feel, would justify a price increase.
Whatever happens I’m not going anywhere.
I definitely like the idea of a granddiscount even if it’s not as good as the grandfather rate.
Someone suggested a 20% discount for loyalty which sounds good.
How about something similar that if you renew your rate decreases? An extra 1% a year?
So someone who renews their annual subscription gets a 20% discount. But someone who has been a member for 4 years gets 24% discount, someone who has been a member for 9 years gets 29% discount.
That kinda rewards everyone for staying loyal.
same tbh. this entire thread is a self inflicted wound because of a promise made that was never really realistic to keep long term.
Part of the issue with pricing of SaaS is you have to be competitive with alternatives to attract new users, while rewarding loyalty to retain them and reduce churn (which reduces revenue, increases the need for marketing, and increases support costs as new users encounter old problems). I’m not sure there’s that much wiggle room on the former - hence the debates on the latter.
Not sure where I stand on this. I am on fixed legacy pricing but would be willing to spend a bit more. I did however jump at the grandfathered plan in an attempt to save money. Same reason I am not upgrading bikes anymore.
At my job we have had stagnant wage increases for years. I started 15 years ago at $23.50 an hour and now make $30.00. We just accepted wage increases of 2% a year for 2 years ( I did not agree with it.) For me to have the same purchasing power I had when I started I would need to be making around $44.00 an hour. Compare my wage increase to inflation and I am getting a pay cut of around 6-12% a year depending on whose numbers you use. My power bill literally doubled this month from $250 to over $500 because of transmission charges. And fuel prices are at an all time high of $4.70 a gallon USD (I am Canadian)
I may be the minority here making this kind of low wage but I have already cut cable, cell phone plans and many other things to keep my cycling habit alive. It comes down to value. I find great value in Trainer road. There is more value in paying the bills.
Something I have not seen discussed is that new users are all coming in at the higher prices. I do not believe TR has reached market saturation.
It would not take a lot for me to be priced out. Just trying to make a point about subscription services and that they are a luxury and not a necessity. We all have our choices to make. Just like TR has choices to make as well.
FWIW I’ve been thinking about this and as a legacy priced 2016 subscriber, here’s my take -
I’ve had a similar experience with another app - StrongLifts (formerly Stronglifts 5x5). When I joined them I joined with some “lifetime” level plan since I had the $ and wanted to not worry about price increases, etc. >> to 2019 and that went away, replaced with another, new option. The rationale? So they could raise more money and have more features for their users. Ironically, I was in a situation that made sense to pay more for a longer period of subscription. I suspect that in a few years this will come up again…
Anyway, I do believe that SL and TR is not an apples to apples comparison by any means. I see a similarity in the situation. TR is looking for ways to expand services and grow users. Legacy pricing can get in the way of that. Legacy pricing also keeps people here rather than shopping for a different system.
Without expanding on others points, my suggestion is pay ahead pricing to keep it simple for Users and TR. This could be in whatever increment makes sense, and would give people simple options based on their current state. Pay per workout? Pay per hour? Pre-pay up to 5 years?
For me, using this system I would welcome a price increase (but of course not too much). Just setting the price gives TR the ability to project, and the users the ability to evaluate the value of their purchase regularly. An example based on the current model could be:
Per workout - $5
Monthly - $19.99
Yearly - $189
3 year - $450
5 year - $600
Again, FWIW.
I was thinking about this. Maybe the people who get this get “TR Insider”. And they get things in early access (like AI FTP Detection) two weeks early.
We could also do forum badges and profile badges. There are probably other things we could do that are special for the people who have supported us for so long.
I learned that the term “Grandfather Clause” has a racist history.
It was used in the US as a way to prevent black people from voting because they created laws that they could only vote if their “grandfathers” had voted. And this was when black people were first allowed to vote in the US so none of their lineages had voted.
I don’t think anyone in this thread uses it as a racist term, but it does have those roots, so when I use it I feel an “ick” inside. I’ve used it a TON over the years without even knowing it.
Just one of those things in our culture that I would like to go away. So instead, we’re using the term “legacy” instead.
Thanks to the person who sent this to us a while ago, I wasn’t aware!
Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges!!!
(I’ll show myself out. Thanks.)
What about a gold star? I miss those from elementary school…some 55 years ago. Likely doesnt exist today. Its not on a computer.
I am sorry, your situation sucks no matter what TR does to its pricing. These are situations when I hate that cycling tends to be an expensive sport compared to e. g. running. I’d hate to see people priced out of the sport we love.
How many people do you think Amazon just lost raising Prime again to $139 from $119. I think I started Prime at $99? Companies raise prices all the time.
I know what Nate said a few years back, but he was a newer CEO learning on the job. He’s a good person, a good leader, and trying to things the right way. If he raises prices, I just don’t see that as breaking his promise to us as customers. Especially considering the product we have today vs a few years ago. I certainly wouldn’t leave if he did.
Hmm. Not sure how much it sucks. Its just life. We all partake in it and make choices. At one time I had a lot going on. Had 12 employees and worked about 16-20 hours a day on another job supporting the company. Then my minority partner and my accountant stole all the customers and I was out of business in 24 hours. I made a choice at that time for my health. Got a normal job where I walk a lot and stay somewhat fit. Its not a bad life at all. I just need to be careful where our money goes. I will have a pension (shitty one lol) and will probably choose to work longer than I need to.
I take steps to make sure I wont get priced out… Or will take as long as it can. I bought a High end Salsa cutthroat last year. I worked about 80 hours a week (not 160 lol. Sorry) for a few months to be able to get it. But it was worth it to me at the time and the project benefitted a lot of people and I created 4 new positions.
Just listened to the episode today about pricing.
I am Canadian. Trainer road costs us about 25% more than US citizens. I am legacy at $99.00 and that is a good deal but it actually costs me $123.75. That’s my problem and not a TR issue.
I accepted an offer of a set price and an agreement was made when I paid it. It is not my problem that TR wants to get 3 or 4 more dev teams online to grow faster and make more money. Its also not my problem that TR may not be doing enough to get new users on board. Its also not my problem that TR is wanting to accelerate their speed of new features.
However I like the product, love and respect the team and the people behind it even when I get pissed at Nate or he at me. ( I am sure he doesn’t even know who I am lol). I also want to see this team succeed and continue until they get bought out. ( if that happens)
There are people supposedly legacy around $49.99 a year. Not my issue either.
I am not willing to pay for a stripped down version without adaptive training or anything else. The money I have paid over the years has helped pay for the creation of the product as it stands today. The ftp estimate and such are also features I have been paying for. Depending on what “pro” features they are working on probably wont be of use to me as I am older and this is for fun.
The problem is how to increase pricing when there are so many different levels that people are paying on a fixed term. Also remember that when Nate put this idea out there many of us went from paying monthly and only for 4-6 months total to paying in advance for a year! That was a large cash infusion to the company at a time that it was obviously needed.
Another person mentioned prime at $99.00 and then $119.00 and then $139.00. I do not know if that would be enough to solve TR’s cash wants (these are wants and not needs as the increase in cash flow is WANTED to add more developers).
I could see my yearly subscription going up to a maximum of $139.95-$149.95 with all the features. I see the need for a change in pricing. But I also see a need for honouring the original agreement in some form. I do not think it appropriate to make legacy users pay the same as someone joining the platform today.
I would also like to thank @Nate_Pearson for posting the information about the “term” in this thread. I had no idea at all. As a person of Indigenous decent whose culture and history continue to be under attack in North America I try to respect all cultures and I have used this term as well. My ignorance is not an excuse and I apologize that I used it!
Just gotta say, very classy response. Very serene perspective.
PS Part of me wished I still lived in Canada. Loved my time in Toronto.
Meh, TR coffee mug, t-shirt… now we’re talking! Possible some stock options 
.
For the record, this issue was mentioned in this thread a month ago.
And as I said in my reply to that post, this term issue has been mentioned in just about every other thread on pricing where legacy pricing got mentioned with the bad term.
I’m glad to see Nate officially acknowledge and adopt the better term now, in line with what others shared about it here years ago.
Sorry. I did not know. I did not read through the whole thread. It was new information to me.