Have you heard the one about the customer who walks into this confusing mess of prices and stores, and says “Look, just tell me how to buy the new version of Name Mangler?”

OK, so it’s not really that bad, but the fact that there are two versions Name Mangler 3 for sale in two distinct channels does make for some potential confusion for those looking to buy. Hopefully this post will clear up any such confusion.

As background, this is the pricing for Name Mangler 3, in both the direct and App Store sales channels:

• Normal price is $19 ($18.99 in the App Store).
• Sale price is $10 ($9.99 in the App Store) through March 5th 2013.
• Direct purchasers of version 2.x can upgrade for $9 through our web site for the next 30 days. Beyond that, the upgrade price will be $14. The upgrade will, as always, get you

This knowledge base article describes the differences between the App Store and direct versions of the program. There aren’t many, but for certain users, there may be some show stoppers for the App Store version. Please check that document before you buy.

How do you get that upgrade? That depends on where you bought your copy.

• For direct buyers, we will be sending you a license file, with no action required on your part. (If you already purchased an upgrade license, we’ll be sending you a refund, too.)
• For App Store buyers, you face a decision. If you want the App Store version, you’ll have to buy it directly from the App Store—we do not have any way to provide free App Store copies to recent purchasers.

  However, you can get a free license to the direct version, if that’s acceptable to you. To get your free license, email me (rob at our domain, or click here) your iTunes receipt, clearly showing your full name, date of purchase, and Name Mangler as the purchased app. I will then verify the receipt and send you a license file.

Read on for some answers to questions that may come up as you’re looking to buy Name Mangler 3…

• I previously purchased Name Mangler 2 from the App Store; don’t I get a discount?
  Apple, unfortunately, offers no way to sell upgrades to previous customers. We don’t know who our App Store buyers are (we receive no buyer information at all), and there’s no official upgrade mechanism in place for App Store applications. If this is something you’d like to see, we encourage you to let Apple know.

  Lacking any Apple solution, putting the new app on sale for a limited period of time is the best we can do for an upgrade plan. Make sure you buy within a week, though, to take advantage of the sale price.

• I bought Name Mangler 2 directly from you, but now want the App Store version. How do I buy an upgrade license?
  If you want Name Mangler 3 from the App Store, you’ll need to buy it there. With the sale price, though, this will only cost you $0.99 more than would buying the upgrade license through our site.
• I crossgraded to the direct version from the App Store version. How do I buy an upgrade license on your site?
  The crossgrade license is not the same as an actual license for an app purchased from our site. It allows you to run the direct version as a licensed customer, but we cannot use this license as the basis for an upgrade license. (The reasons relate to piracy and the ease with which pirates could use a license conversion tool for bad things.)

  As such, you’ll need to either buy a full license through us or through the App Store, depending on which one you want. Again, during the sale period, this will only cost your $0.99 more than would a true upgrade license.

• I bought Name Mangler 2 directly from you, and want to buy the upgrade license from you as well.
  Great, an easy one! Just click here and you’ll see the shopping cart with the $9 upgrade license already in it. Complete the checkout, and await your license email. NOTE: You must have a full Name Mangler 2 purchased license in order for the upgrade license to work.
• I accidentally upgraded to the direct version of Name Mangler 3, but prefer to stay on Name Mangler 2
  No problem, it’s easy to revert to the older version. Delete Name Mangler 3, then download Name Mangler 2. Copy the file off the disk image to your hard drive, and you’re back in business.

If you have any questions I don’t address in the above Q&A, please post them as comments, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 at 12:06 pm by Rob Griffiths, and is filed under Company News, Name Mangler, Products. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.