Pay for a year at a time and it's considerably cheaper. Or you can choose Platinum at a lesser cost....
Chess.com Subscription Cost
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I only pay $8.25/month.
tigerprowl wrote:
Diamond is about $100/year, 8/month. If you pay one month at a time they want 14/month. I agree, it would be too much if you paid 168 in the end. What they should do is charge you for 14 for 2 months, then lower it for being a continuing member subsequent months.
I don't like the idea of a flat rate every month, nor do I like the idea of having to pay them all 1 year upfront. What if I can't use it for a couple months? Will they move it up 2 months? Probably not.
However, rewarding customers is smart business marketing. When chess.com decides to do this, then I will be a repeat customer. Until then, I will just window shop for free.
They are rewarding customers, ones who pay upfront get a discount.
Your 14/month for 2month idea is a pretty good one but I can see it getting to be a nightmare.
"But I should get my discount, this is my third month."
"No, you missed the renewal by 1 week. You go back to 14/month for two months."
"chess.com are ripping people off!!!! I'm going to sue!"
Jan 29, 2014
0
#5
ICC.com is $69/year with yearly purchase, so yes, they are cheaper. I choose chess.com over the cheaper ICC for two main reasons:
1) User-friendly web interface.
2) Turn-based chess with a free app on my cell phone.
Jimmykay wrote:
ICC.com is $69/year with yearly purchase, so yes, they are cheaper. I choose chess.com over the cheaper ICC for two main reasons:
1) User-friendly web interface.
2) Turn-based chess with a free app on my cell phone.
There's no question that chess.com has a bevy of features to work with in a user friendly, one stop shop for all of your chess needs. It's just that when I realize that I can get ICC+ChessTempo for less $ a month than chess.com by itself it makes me feel like they really should be charging just $9.99/mo. even if you choose to pay month by month.
I really shouldn't be penalized financially for not wanting to shell out the whole year's subscription fees up front, either.
Jan 29, 2014
0
#7
TheArtofWar82 wrote:
Jimmykay wrote:
ICC.com is $69/year with yearly purchase, so yes, they are cheaper. I choose chess.com over the cheaper ICC for two main reasons:
1) User-friendly web interface.
2) Turn-based chess with a free app on my cell phone.
There's no question that chess.com has a bevy of features to work with in a user friendly, one stop shop for all of your chess needs. It's just that when I realize that I can get ICC+ChessTempo for less $ a month than chess.com by itself it makes me feel like they really should be charging just $9.99/mo. even if you choose to pay month by month.
I really shouldn't be penalized financially for not wanting to shell out the whole year's subscription fees up front, either.
Perhaps, but ICC gives a significant savings as well. They are $9.99/month vs. $69/year.
tigerprowl wrote:
"They are rewarding customers, ones who pay upfront get a discount."
No, that's stealing. You are assuming I want the whole year. If I pay 100 for a year, then I have to use the site for more than 7 months to make it worth it. If I use chess.com for 2 or 3 months, disable my account, and then come back 5 months later, do they refund me 5 months or extend my membership? That's at least $40 I lose by giving my money upfront.
What I am saying is reward people who continue to use the service. The more you use, the more you save.
"But I should get my discount, this is my third month."
No, you missed the renewal by 1 week."
What I am proposing is no renewal deadlines. I have used other sites where I pay for 3 or 4 months and then the membership stops. I don't get all the benefits from that point. However, when I return to the site, it already has a record I have used their services before. There is no starting over. I simply don't have as good of an offer as someone who has been using the service for the whole time while I was away. They used the site more (put more money into the system).
On your first point, no it is not stealing. Stealing is where you take something that is not yours, sometimes by force or threat of force. No one is holding a gun to your head. THAT would be stealing.
No one is assuming you want the whole year. You TOOK the whole year. If you don't want the whole year, don't pay for it. You pay month to month then. Upfront payment is obviously not for you. But don't say something is stealing becuase you don't like the way it is done.
Your second point - I like that. Did not realize you meant it that way. But where is the stopping point? Is the most you can do is 12 months before the lowering stops? Say you use the service for 15 months. I use it for 4 months, stop for 3 and continue for another 5. At the end of that time, do we have the same discount? Both of us have been using the service for the 12 months to get the maximum, so do we get the same discount? You wouldn't feel cheated? I have been less of a loyal customer and yet I get the same "reward" as you.
TheArtofWar82 wrote:
I really shouldn't be penalized financially for not wanting to shell out the whole year's subscription fees up front, either.
You're not. The cost is $14/month.
I get a DISCOUNT for letting them have my money upfront.
You're getting penalized for not knowing how money works.
$14/month is $168/year.
By giving them my $99 month up front I am actually making money for myself, to the tune of ((168-99)-[whatever pitiful interest I could make on $99 over the year]).
Over the course of a year there is no way I could make more than about $2 in interest if that money sat in my bank. So paying them up front to reduce my yearly cost by $69 actually makes me money.
Rsava wrote:
TheArtofWar82 wrote:
I really shouldn't be penalized financially for not wanting to shell out the whole year's subscription fees up front, either.
You're not. The cost is $14/month.
I get a DISCOUNT for letting them have my money upfront.
I hear what you're saying but you're just flipping it upside down. From my perspective I'm still paying more because I'm not paying upfront which I don't think is fair.
Besides, we have no free trial or refund policy here. Additionally, we don't have a referral program as far as I'm aware of.
Jan 29, 2014
0
#11
TheArtofWar82 wrote:
Rsava wrote:
TheArtofWar82 wrote:
I really shouldn't be penalized financially for not wanting to shell out the whole year's subscription fees up front, either.
You're not. The cost is $14/month.
I get a DISCOUNT for letting them have my money upfront.
I hear what you're saying but you're just flipping it upside down. From my perspective I'm still paying more because I'm not paying upfront which I don't think is fair.
I understand that it is not the SAME, but why is it not FAIR?
TheArtofWar82 wrote:
Rsava wrote:
TheArtofWar82 wrote:
I really shouldn't be penalized financially for not wanting to shell out the whole year's subscription fees up front, either.
You're not. The cost is $14/month.
I get a DISCOUNT for letting them have my money upfront.
I hear what you're saying but you're just flipping it upside down. From my perspective I'm still paying more because I'm not paying upfront which I don't think is fair.
Besides, we have no free trial or refund policy here. Additionally, we don't have a referral program as far as I'm aware of.
I'm not flipping it upside down, you are. See how that works?
Right on the page that talks about membership:
http://www.chess.com/membership?c=support
The cost is $14/month. If you pay a year, it is $99. You SAVE 40% by paying up front. So you pay the normal price of $14/month, I get a DISCOUNT (SAVE) of 40% for paying all up front.
And from the FAQ on the signup pages:
How do I get a free trial?
You actually don't need a free trial – all memberships include a 30-day money-back no-questions-asked guarantee! So signup now and get started. We do also offer no-money-down free trials, but those are only offered occasionally to random accounts.
What if I want to just try a plan? Can I cancel it or change it for any reason?
Yes. Take a plan for a test drive and if you’re not satisfied for any reason, you can get a full refund for up to 30 days. No questions asked. If you just want to switch to a different plan you can do so at any time in your "Membership" settings without any penalties.
They should have two years memberships for people who know what they want. Please do let me know if there is already a two-year-membership!
The pathetic condition of the Indian economy is what kept me from renewing my membership.I think 100$ is worth it if you really wanna improve and I certainly enjoyed my 1 year Diamond membership a lot.
Yes, but look at all the benefits you get for your money. You get to be spammed, trooled, disconected, insulted, deleted, at any time, without warning. In the words of Yakoff Smirnov; "WHAT A COUNTRY!
Jan 29, 2014
0
#17
I've been following this thread, and here's my take:
ICC vs Chess.com
Benefits of ICC:
1) Live Chat - Shouts, Channels, and Private Tells. Simple ways to communicate live with friends rather than posting everything to forums
2) More Options - Live play here has set time controls. ICC, you can play anything, 2 0, 10 0, 30 0, 42 17, or any other corny time control.
3) Cheaper!
4) A rating system where you can actually gain points - Here you are stuck at an 8-point system after being done with provisional games, and the fact that everybody starts at 1200 here sucks - you end up way underrated. It should start you at your USCF, BCF, or FIDE rating at the time of your registration.
5. MORE PAYMENT OPTIONS! ICC, you can get 6-month. They should have that available here for the people talking about how they want to play here in the Winter. Make it $5/month, $17/half year, or $29/year for Gold, the highest might be $14/month, $59/half year, or $99/year. The fact that your only options are month or full year is the problem I'm seeing on this thread.
Benefits of Chess.com
1) Better GUI interface. ICC is all text-driven.
2) Forums - while this site sux in the "Live Chat" category, ICC sux at having areas where threads can go on over the course of hours.
Note that what people mis-name "Turn-based chess" (guys, it's called "Correspondence Chess") is also available on ICC. It's just not terribly popular there.
tigerprowl wrote:
"Stealing is where you take something that is not yours"
Ok, I give chess.com 100 for 12 months, January through April. I want to return in October. Do I get my 5th month from October or do they keep the money? No, it is not forced stealing and I never said it was. It is stealing in the sense the only 2 options I see are monthly or yearly. I also feel paying for CDs in the 90s when it only cost 10 cents to copy or inflated prices for ipods/iphones compared to the slave labor costs are also a form of stealing. Not all stealing comes from physical acts as you are portraying it.
"But where is the stopping point? Is the most you can do is 12 months before the lowering stops?"
Use common sense. If the yearly rate is 8/month, then you have reached it.
It's actually even worse than that. I am on chess.com every day but only for about 12 hours per day. The rest of the day is sleeping/eating/work etc.. Shouldn't I get a 50% refund since I am only using the site for half the day? Seems like this is basically stealing.
Your on this site for 12 yrs a day?? You have a small problem sir; your posting more than your playing. (let me notify macer). Ask Eric for a discount.
Jan 29, 2014
0
#20
Honestly, I'd pay 25/month. Maybe even a touch more. For everything I get here: Video's, TT, Mentor, Articles, live chess goups, database....
I think its more than worth the money. If I tried to get all the same information from buying books and fritz trainer vidoes I would have to spend way way more money.
I have to be totally honest: I think $14/mo. is a little steep for a subscription here. Does anyone else think that $9.99/mo. is a more reasonable price?
ICC = $9.99/mo. ChessTempo = $3/mo. FICS = Free. Chess.com = $14/mo? I just think it's a little too much.