Got an email to purchase 2019 upgrade and it's also stating upgrades are ending??? Is it going the dreaded "subscription" (rent, never own) model?!
After reading the many bugs and problems with 2019, very reluctant to move on to that one. I'd hate to purchase that 2019 upgrade and they leave it to die and NEVER fix it, but force me to SUBSCRIPTION after they take my money.
CorelDRAW Upgrades are Ending!
Now is your last chance to upgrade to CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019. Later this year, upgrades will no longer be available.
Hi everyone. I want to provide a bit more context. As everyone knows, we pride ourselves at Corel in offering choice for how to get CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. For some, that means subscribing. For others, that means buying a perpetual license. The only thing that is really changing later this year is the "open upgrade" whereby users of any previous version can buy the perpetual upgrade license of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019. We will still provide the opportunity for current version owners to get into the latest version without having to subscribe or pay the Full version price. In the past we have changed the upgrade policy where only certain recent versions were eligible. Right now, the policy is wide open. But that is the only element that is changing later this year. As for Upgrade Protection, if you choose to go that route, it is valid for a period of one year from when you purchase it before it would need to be renewed to remain eligible for new versions as they come out. Thanks.
Clarity is singularly missing in this case John. If Corel want to be honest with their customers you do have to spell out exactly what is going to happen. Is 'Upgrade Protection' necessary for 2019 owners? What does it guarantee and for whom? What if CDGS2020 is late being released and the year long 'Upgrade Protection' has expired?What if a current 'Upgrade Protection' member decides not to upgrade in 2020? Can they pay for 'Upgrade Protection' for another year to allow them to get CDGS2021?
And I'd bet there are many more questions.
KISS has a lot going for it and in this instance Corel are doing the opposite and not being entirely clear about the plans. Maybe thats deliberate to get people to pay protection money!!!
I just wanted to chime in to say that I also think this is horrible decision on Corel's part. You used to have to wait 2 years for an upgrade at cost of $200 USD or $250 CDN. Now we're expected to upgrade every year at that same price when, as mentioned, the new features aren't always worth the upgrade price to the individual user.
So if I decide to skip a version because it doesn't add any value to me personally I have to upgrade anyway otherwise I'll be forced to pay $600 CDN? This is insane and I think WILL backfire.
Like many others I've been using the software since version 4 and I'm a loyal user but that doesn't mean that I'll buy every version. Sometimes the new version just doesn't add enough value to justify the upgrade cost.
The situation is even worse in the case of 2019 where it's been two or three months since it's release and I still can't use it daily in production because of so many bugs and quite honestly many areas where features have been stripped down and or redesigned for the worse.
I can understand having some limitations on upgrade pricing but 1 version? Again, that's insane and will make many users including me very upset. I don't think anyone is unreasonable and expects 10 year old versions to qualify for the upgrade but maybe within 5 years is somewhat reasonable.
Moreover, as it stands now 2019 is a mess and unless an upcoming service pack or packs fix A LOT I don't see many compelling reasons to upgrade. Although there are some nice improvements there are also many areas where it's inferior to 2018 and even 2017 without taking into consideration the plethora of bugs.
I have a license for 2019 but one of my clients who holds several licenses refuses to upgrade to 2019 because of it's abysmal state. Since he heard about Corel's plans to no longer offer upgrade pricing he feels like he's being shaken down which isn't a good feeling for a customer to have. Most of his versions are 2017 and a couple 2018 versions and I like him don't think it's unreasonable to expect access to upgrade pricing after having been a customer for over 20+ years and having invested a lot of money over the years.
This move will likely upset even the most loyal users and I think Corel would be wise to reconsider this policy change or at least make it more reasonable.
Do u remember kodak or ibm? (obviously corel is not the industry leader, but they did similar mistake: NOT reading the market or understanding their customer; or a combination of both)
Completely agreed. On another note, Autodesk moved their licencing model to the annual "maintenance plan" model many years ago, after which each upgrade became annual but less and less useful, until I found myself paying $1k per year basically just to keep my perpetual licence with almost no benefit in software utility. This became their path to moving to a rental-only model entirely, so now you can no longer purchase a perpetual licence. They're still in business so plenty of people are happy with rental software, but I know I'm not and have moved elsewhere.
That's right! It's great for the company but NOT the customer. Customers are fools these days to fall for it and they're more of them than the ones like that know better.