I currently use Fences on 2 computers. If I upgrade to Fences 4, do I now have to pay for 2 licenses? If I put in my email address for my upgrade, it give me the single pc price.
Hello,Sorry to hear you are having issues. Yes, that will be the case. Yo can refer to this thread for information on Fences 4 upgrade FAQ : https://forums.stardock.com/508196/fences-4-upgrade-faq
ThanksBasj,Stardock Community Assistant.
Even though the license I have for Fences 3 is for 5 PC?
If your situation is different from those that mentioned in that FAQ linked above. You should raise a Support ticket and mentioned there for your unique situation and Support will help you from there.
https://stardock.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/4
ThanksBasj,Stardock Community Assistant
Funny you say that. I did exactly that, and Stardocks automated thing twice kicked me out and told me to go to the forum. Your system of support is set up terribly
Which option do you choose when you was there? Please try again using "Purchase \ Refunds" -> "Ask a question".
Thank you,
Basj,Stardock Community Assistant
A ticket was entered successfully
Paul ScrogginsAssociate Technical Support Analyst
No, the way I have been treated from Customer support, makes me want to uninstall your product and not use it. They are absolutly horrible. The way you hide the details of the upgrade is a rip off. I have a 5 activation product, and you are trying to get people to upgrade to a 1 activation product and not telling them it is only for 1. That is a rip off.
Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having trouble.
We have tried our best to eliminate any confusion with migrating from Fences 3 to Fences 4 starting with the purchase page itself. All purchase links (in our mailers and the like) should resolve here:
https://www.stardock.com/products/fences/download
On that page, a choice of activation options is clear:
If there are still questions, the FAQ is available:
https://forums.stardock.com/508196/fences-4-upgrade-faq
If you feel any of these are misleading or could be fortified with additional information, please let us know and we will consider it.
Sean DrohanStardock Support Manager
Yes it is misleading. See at the bottom, it says upgrade, click on that, I enter my email address, it says I am entitled to purchase the upgrade. How am I to know if my current version has 5 activations on it, that I am losing 4 activations. If I see upgrade, and I click on it, I assume I am getting the same product I have, except upgraded version, not downgraded and less of a product.
Fences 4 is a unique product and while there is an 'upgrade' button on the panel, bolded for emphasis in it is the '1 Active Install'. While you may have assumed it was the same, it is noted there, as it is, so that is hopefully avoided.
Thats, your answer, "Hopefully avoided", Are you serious, More like hopefully, people just upgrade, then realize they got mislead and have no choice but to buy more activations. Upgrade means, upgrade to a newer version. At least on every piece of software I have ever bought. Upgrade give you exactly what you had before in terms of use of product. Any way you say it, Stardock is practicing deceptive practive with terms of the upgrade button and what it does.
If you have a suggestion of how better we can detail that there is just one activation for that panel choice, I am open to it (I mean that sincerely).
I think that it can work if you enable upgrade option also at 5 active installs. And not only at 1.
And upgrade prize should be also motivating to buy new version for your customer that is already using your product.
Why it is not enabled in default at all products...
For starters, if a customer, like me, has bought a 5 activations licence and you offer him/her an upgrade to the newer version of the product, it MUST respect the terms of the original contract, meaning, you should provide 5 activations for the newer version.If you have basically the same plans on Fences 3 and Fences 4, then the upgrades should be for the same licences, someone that has bought the 1 activation licence should be elegible to upgrade to 1 activation of Fences 4, somone that has bought the 5 activations of Fences 3 should be elegible for an upgrade to 5 activations of Fences 4, and so on. Any other way is a ripoff...I wonder if there is somewhere to put a lawsuit for this scam???...
That does not follow logically at all.
What does follow for any offer is reading the terms: Not what you would want the terms to be, but what they actually are. The offer was made to all customers, not just to you personally.
Not every customer opts for five activations. Would it be fair to sell the same item at two different prices because x months ago you bought something at a different price in a different offer? Clearly not. Nothing in the offer states "if you have five activations before the upgrade, you'll have five after the upgrade".
Finally, the upgrade refers to the version of the software, not to the number of activations which is a separate matter altogether. It is not "the original contract" but rather a new one for a different version of the program, as noted in Fences 3 vs. Fences 4.
I also expect to maintain my current license count when "upgrading".
@sdRohan You said you are sincerely open to feedback so here's mine:
While I understand your logic supporting the panel design, this is poor UX. The upgrade offer is misleading; with only a single upgrade button and no specific text I would infer that nothing is lost.
By looking up the email address you are aware of the existing license, it should be clearly stated (in bold text on the purchase page) that this is a single activation. It should also be stated whether the Fences 3 license is forfeited (I don't see any information on that even in your upgrade FAQ).
The bottom line is that I have a 5 PC license for Fences 3, I would expect any "upgrade" to upgrade my entire license on all activations. I would argue that anything less than that is more correctly termed a "discounted price for Fences 3 users", perhaps the wording should be changed to that.
We are open to suggestions, but I think the current layout of the product page set the appearance that the upgrade is for a single license:
Also, I am not sure where you got the idea that you would be forfeiting your Fences3 license, as that is simply not true.
I agree. It is clearly stated Single vs. Multi- device.
Also, if something is unclear nothing prevents one from making a forum post asking a question.
Problems come up because people make assumptions such as the thought that "I had 5 of Fences 3 so if I upgrade, I'm entitled to 5 of Fences 4." which ignores the actual offer. Version and number of licences are two different things altogether, hence the two separate prices: Having five bananas does not entitle one to five coconuts for the price of one. Any grocery store will tell you that.
To help with any confusion, this Fences upgrade FAQ has been pinned for a couple of years now:
That said, are you suggesting that this could be highlighted?
Thanks for the feedback.
Sean DrohanStardock Product Lifecycle Manager
I appreciate all of your replies but I don't think you're getting what your customers are saying here. I want to be clear that I've read the FAQ and I've read all your replies here thoroughly. I now fully understand the offer, but to others it may be unclear. As a fellow developer, I know we can be blind to user interpretation due to our deep knowledge of a product.
I said it's unclear whether that is the case as it is not defined anywhere. An upgrade may include the forfeiture of the original item so it was a concern. Thanks for clearing that up, you may want to add that to the FAQ.
It's not clear, that's what we're all saying. As a user, I don't even look at the SINGLE/MULTI-DEVICE wording; I see one upgrade button and I know I have an earlier version so that's all I'm clicking.
Making a forum post to ask a question before purchasing is horrible UX. The offer should be crystal clear without additional prompt. Where is the actual offer anyway? There's no clarity aside from the panel title.
I disagree that "version and number of licences are two different things", I have a Fences3 5 PC license and to me that is one thing. If someone sold me 5 bananas and then asked me if I'd like to upgrade to coconuts, I would expect (without further clarification) that I'm getting 5 coconuts (I'd also expect that I'm forfeiting the bananas). If you instead told me that I now have access to a discounted price on one coconut it would be more reflective of the offer.
If you are truly interested in utmost transparency without additional bloat, I would put the change in license count behind the upgrade button. Simply change "Great, you qualify for a Fences® 4 upgrade discount." to "Great, you qualify for a Fences® 4 Single Device discount."
Again, I get it now, but it shouldn't have taken me a FAQ and 20 post forum thread to do so. I'm not the only customer in this thread that thinks so.
If you were in a brick and mortar store and something (price, version, etc.) was unclear, you'd ask a question, no? It's impossible to anticipate what a person doesn't understand, hence the ability to ask. Maybe an AI chatbot might help, maybe not. An ad is meant to pull attention with font, color and simplicity. You might disagree, but to me the meaning is obvious.
Only because you (and everyone else in the world) make unconscious assumptions influenced by what you want/hope it to mean. That's only human...but human doesn't equate to accuracy nor to intended meaning. People have unspoken agendas and self-interested biases...that's the real world.
Hence my suggestion of an interactive chatbot that could add a more "human" touch <I hope you laughed there >. I think that if it took 20 forum posts to birth a possibly useful tool, the price is cheap. But that's just me. Realize, though, I don't speak for Stardock. I'm a volunteer moderator. Just being transparent.
I hope you realize there never was any intent to hoodwink people. If SD didn't care, would folks have dedicated time and effort to explain? No, they wouldn't.
Is fenses 4 upgrade a lifetime or annual license? Can I upgrade to multiple licenses?
Many questions are answered here: https://forums.stardock.com/508196/fences-4-upgrade-faq
Please read that post, and if you have additional questions, please ask.
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