Bill,

 

I'm in complete agreement with your views. Perhaps if they take time to read other fora like this one they might reflect on whether their pricing strategy is maximising income.

 

I tried logging in on the FlyTampa forums to instigate a discussion on pricing. I couldn't as my account had been deactivated and it could only be activated by an administrator. Sadly, they did advise how I could contact one.

 

Maybe they've read my comments here and decided I'm an undesirable. :unsure:

 

Interesting to note that EKCH is their most expensive airport. More than £2 more than the huge Dubai Rebooted. Do they just pluck these prices out of the air or actually take some time to work out what's a reasonable price. Wish I knew.

FlyTampa and PMDG are the best in the business. Their level of craftsmanship is so far above that of their nearest competition that they have the luxury of setting any price they want. It doesn't matter that heathrow is larger therefore a smaller airport must be priced lower. That argument would only work if both products were of the same calibre.

 

As a consumer it is not your responsibility to set the price. You buy it or you don't buy it. If Flytampa can't make their ROI at this price point, they will lower either the price or the quality of future work. The price has been set. The company believes that is what it is worth. They have bills and salaries to pay. You decide if you want it or not. Not everyone will.

 

I'd really like to buy a class A share of Berkshire for $100. Guess what? They won't sell it to me. Who's loss? Think about it. You impact the price by either buying or not buying. That's all there is to it. And since this is the best scenery maker in the industry, they have no shortage of wallets opening up to enjoy their fine work. I wish it was cheaper too, but it's worth the price they are quoting and I think they deserve it for this amazing kind of quality. So I'm going to pay for and enjoy it and not try to be an armchair CEO and tell them how to price their products. Same way as I'm not going to convince warren buffet to sell me his class a for $100.

FlyTampa and PMDG are the best in the business. Their level of craftsmanship is so far above that of their nearest competition that they have the luxury of setting any price they want. It doesn't matter that heathrow is larger therefore a smaller airport must be priced lower. That argument would only work if both products were of the same calibre.

 

As a consumer it is not your responsibility to set the price. You buy it or you don't buy it. If Flytampa can't make their ROI at this price point, they will lower either the price or the quality of future work. The price has been set. The company believes that is what it is worth. They have bills and salaries to pay. You decide if you want it or not. Not everyone will.

 

I'd really like to buy a class A share of Berkshire for $100. Guess what? They won't sell it to me. Who's loss? Think about it. You impact the price by either buying or not buying. That's all there is to it. And since this is the best scenery maker in the industry, they have no shortage of wallets opening up to enjoy their fine work. I wish it was cheaper too, but it's worth the price they are quoting and I think they deserve it for this amazing kind of quality. So I'm going to pay for and enjoy it and not try to be an armchair CEO and tell them how to price their products. Same way as I'm not going to convince warren buffet to sell me his class a for $100.

 

But my example show PMDG priced an addon too high and then complained nobody bought it so they were not going to do less popular airplanes anymore. If people don't but this airport because of the price, FlyTampa can use it as an excuse to only do big hubs. And that was my point at least. Price it a little lower so casual simmers will still buy it.

Hey, at least Flytampa don't force you into buying regions or landclass to make the airport work unlike another company..

This is fascinating.

 

I wonder if we overlook the fact that for the most part, the FS addon business is a cottage industry. Kind of like a virtual aviator's flea market. Yes there is Aerosoft, FSDreamTeam, Orbx, A2A, REX, PMDG, et al.  But a great deal of software is written by small, sometimes part time operations (aren't FlyTampa a two or three man outfit?) Therefore, it makes the market rather bizarre and difficult to reconcile. Now I don't think that 30 or so dollars is out of line for a custom built airport. But that's just me. Say 10000 units are sold. How much do the Simmarkets of the world take out of that price? So say they take 25%. If 2 guys work for a year to produce the airport, they split 225000. That's before the rest of the cost of doing business is considered.

 

I think spending close to 100 dollars for an aircraft is closing in on the ceiling. But the product is superb, as is the service. Of course Aerosoft and HiFi, to name two, also have support that goes beyond a forum.

 

How much would Symantec charge for a product that might sell 10000 units, assuming they would even consider writing it?

 

At the end of the day, the market, as strange as it is, will decide how much gets charged for a product. If the market decides the price is too high, the product either is reduced in price or withdrawn. Perhaps on other thing is at play. The 'app market', which is littered with pretty programs that don't do much; most of which are given away or sold for half the price of a cup of coffee. I wonder how that has impacted the perceived value of software in general?

 

There...I've just had a debate with myself :huh: Maybe more proof that our small but passionate pastime is served by a very eclectic group of entrepreneurs.

 

 

FlyTampa and PMDG are the best in the business. Their level of craftsmanship is so far above that of their nearest competition that they have the luxury of setting any price they want. It doesn't matter that heathrow is larger therefore a smaller airport must be priced lower. That argument would only work if both products were of the same calibre.

 

That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. Regarding aircraft makers I would also put FSLabs at the top of the pile for their ConcordeX. And for airport scenery FSDreamTeam and Gary Summons' UK2000 could also be considered the best at what they do.

 

I really don't understand your comparison between EKCH and Heathrow. The latter has 5 terminals as well as many more buildings compared to EKCH's 3. Heathrow covers a greater area. The argument for a higher price doesn't hold water.

 

They've added additional scenery outside the airport to justify the higher price. Fine for those who want that. I don't and I go back to my original argument that 2 versions should be made available. There's no way I'm paying £26 for such a small airport.

 

And where's the logic with their pricing? KBOS costs £18.64 and is a much larger airport than Copenhagen. And using your argument KBOS should also come at a premium because it's a FlyTampa product but they seem to have been more sensible when pricing that airport.

 

The end line is I just won't be buying at that price because I feel it's overpriced.

The end line is I just won't be buying at that price because I feel it's overpriced.

 

I think you made your point  a few times in this thread.

I have had a go at scenery design before and failed miserably, I have a huge amount of respect for developers and the outstanding level of quality they are outputting nowadays. To charge virtually the same prices for these products consistently in what is a difficult economic climate anyway is quite a feat. This is especially true when you consider the work, effort and most importantly time that must to go into these products. You then factor in the fact that they are no doubt working full time jobs on the side too, it's incredible really. Regardless of the price, these people really do deserve every penny and they are heroes because I do not believe for one second that they develop purely to make money. It is a niche market and I doubt the volume is there to make say enough money to quit full time jobs.

 

This also goes for the legion of people developing for free, maybe more so! The collective effort of this community to keep it going and to step up to the next level is what makes it so addictive and so great to be a part of. I have been a member of this forum for over a decade and even today using pretty much the exact same simulator I am constantly finding new releases be it aircraft or scenery that you just find yourself in awe of.

 

The price for me has never really been a problem, you have to expect that this will be an expensive hobby because the modular nature of products means to build a large collection you have to spend a lot of money. I know it can be difficult for some fund this hobby but that is life and the beauty of it is that you can buy what you want and when you can afford it.

 

I have no problem with someone like FlyTampa charging any amount of money really because I know I am going to get something which is of high quality and that also has taken a lot of time to develop. They will no doubt have families, bills to pay and things going on outside of FS so they should be remunerated for it because without them we have nothing. I have not bought Copenhagen yet because I have reached my FS quota for the month already! I won't hesitate however to do so when I can fit it in.

I think you made your point  a few times in this thread.

 

As I'm perfected entitled to do. Here's another comparison. UK2000 airports all retail for between £15-£19. Manchester is comparable to EKCH (both have 3 terminals) and Gary charges £17. FSDreamTeam airports (all larger than EKCH) charge around £20.

 

These are reasonable prices. I'd love someone to explain to me why I should pay £6-£9 more for a FlyTampa product for a moderate size airport.

 

 

I know it can be difficult for some fund this hobby but that is life and the beauty of it is that you can buy what you want and when you can afford it.

 

I can certainly afford it but baulk at what I consider to be an unreasonably high price compared to equivalent offerings from other developers such as UK2000 and FSDreamTeam.

 

 

I have no problem with someone like FlyTampa charging any amount of money really because I know I am going to get something which is of high quality and that also has taken a lot of time to develop.

 

That could be said for many other airport developers whose prices are far more reasonable.

 

If EKCH was £20 and not £26 I would almost certainly buy it. If people continue to pay high prices without question FS inflation will just take off because developers will simply charge what they think they can get away with.

The price may reflect costlier resources to produce the airport.

 

Orthoimaging, 3rd party modelling, trips to the field, etc... All(or none) of these may be folded into the price to cover cost outlays.

 

"As I'm perfected entitled to do ... I'd love someone to explain to me why I should pay £6 more for a FlyTampa product for a moderate size airport."

 

THEY are also perfectly entitiled to price their addon as they wish.  Surely this is simple supply and demand, enough people will buy it or the price comes down.  No additional explanation needed.

I think it's clear that no one here is suggesting that FlyTampa airports are not of the very highest quality (unlike some other scenery developers who have been called out for charging extremely inflated prices for second- or third-rate work).

 

But it goes back to that basic question: what pricepoint will generate the most profit for them? They've set that price at $35. It may be that they're correct--that if they set it lower only a few more people will buy it and they will make less of an overall profit. But I agree with the people who have said that there's basically no way that they've set the price correctly.

 

Speaking only for myself: I have money enough to buy virtually any addon airport or aircraft I want. I've spent thousands on this hobby. I have flown into EKCH in the sim; I have a solid interest in Nordic country flying. However, I will not be buying this unless and until it's on sale. At this price it's just not good value to me. EKCH is not Hong Kong or Dubai or Heathrow.

 

Now, extrapolating a bit from the above (unscientific, I know), I suspect strongly, though it's possible FlyTampa knows this better, that this pricing means that only die-hard EKCH fans are going to buy. And that's a shame for all of us. That's why I'm writing here. This has been happening a lot lately (though with exceptions: remember when Orbx massively reduced all its region prices a couple of years ago? And then started charging even more than they had been for all their tiny airports? ).

 

It's not that FlyTampa don't deserve the money. I'm sure a lot of hard work went into this airport. But this pricing is, at least based on the evidence available to us, just plain irrational. As someone else said, they're shooting themselves in the foot.

 

James

I think you made your point  a few times in this thread.

 

Agree, move on, thank you!

 

It´s a free market society most of us live in, maybe not the UK, dunno..?

 

BTW Copenhagen is one of the most expensive cities in the world, so the price is probably right.

 

B)

I'm from Denmark, and like flying to national airports, and would really like to get Copenhagen, but I also find that even with the details and work that has been put into it, it's WAY too overpriced. So unless it's on a bargain sale sometime, I will be skipping it and stick with Swedflight's "old" scenery. Everyone (I hope) dislike piracy, but these high priced addon's makes people seek that solution, and I can't believe that's what companies want. Maybe it won't help to lower the prices, but it certainly won't hurt either.

Remember that Flytampa doesnt earn anything on VAT rates..

 

Who is to decide what cost a product should land at? well you and me basically... Supply and Demand.

 

No goods are sold for the raw materials they consumed in the first place..

 

Seems to me there is a large demand at the current price level..

6£ pounds more to pay. That is equivalent to roughly 3 pints of finest ale. Mmmmh.... if I drink only two pints a month for the next 3 months saving one...I can buy the airport. Done deal. Airport bought.