[Extension][$] EdgeGrab

But you have posted several plugins recently that don’t do anything that other free plugins can do and some of them you want to be paid for.
Please respect the other plugin developers and at the very least release them when you are able to explain them fully, or release a beta version and ask for feedback.
People make an the effort to demonstrate how their plugins function and how they can be useful, particularly the ones with a $ in the title.
Without that info it’s just another random code.

Thanks for your advice, but I don’t agree… I have been reading books such as The Lean Startup and listening to Podcast such as the Indie Hackers and all of them agree on not biting more than you can chew, I recommend listening to the podcast and reading the book.

I recommend understanding the developers of Sketchup plugins.
You’ve already been flagged as spamming once, do you not want to be on good terms with the people that are in a position to expand your audience or would you rather go your own way.

I am simply working hard every day to improve my programming skills and trying to make SketchUp Extensions that help people. If you don’t see them as valuable I can’t change your mind but please let me do my thing.

Sure, happy for you to improve your programing skills, but don’t be surprised when I point out better plugins that are free when you are selling ones that are inferior.

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Please change your toxic behavior… it’s depressing!

My behavior isn’t toxic, it is for the benefit of users who may not know better.
If people advertise their products without criticism or other options how are new users to know what is good and what is less good.
I have a following of over 30,000 users and I am very clear on what I recommend to them.
If you produce good plugins I will recommend them, if not I will show other options.
As soon as you added the $ you entered a market where you don’t get a free run. You need to walk the talk.

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I think the SketchUp Sage label is going a little bit over your head.

I am not a big company and I can’t afford to give my work for free (Do you give your work for free?). I also don’t claim to be the best SketchUp developer but you do what you think is the right thing.

I’ve never made anything from Sketchup.

Just a note that Rafael is not new to the community, or the developers.
He’s been interacting with us for at least 5 and a half years.

http://sketchucation.com/forums/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=148515

We made this point also in the other thread on plugin spam.

This is a public community forum. Everyone is going to have an opinion, and has the right to express it here (as long as they follow the forum guidelines.)

Posting here invites critiques, compliments, alternate work arounds, and other solutions (native, paid or free.)

Consumers are ruthless. If they do not believe they are getting a good value for the price, they’ll let you know in no uncertain terms. … expect it !

Agree.

Here is my opinion of EdgeGrab and LoopLab …

They should be combined into one Selection enhancement extension that has perhaps more functionality.
One function priced at $5 is really too much, and inflates the extension migration task that users need to contend with each year as they upgrade to the latest SketchUp version.

People do not really want more small extensions, they want less extensions with more of the functions they need. Less is easier to migrate and maintain.

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I agree with your overall point of view except for the snippet below…

I really respect your input and consider you a Jedi Master when it comes to SketchUp development!

But, I fear we developers sometimes undervalue our work perhaps a little too much and I am trying to change that.

For Example, you might create a tool in less than an hour and because it was easy for you to build, it can feel wrong to charge $5 dollars. The reality of the situation is that programming is NOT easy for 99% of the people and the years it took for you to get that good at programming is worth a lot of money.

I think $5 is not enough for the hours of work I put into it… Programming is just a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to launching an Extension. Also, I don’t have the economy of scale working in my favor for me to charge very little and still win.

Again, thanks for your input and I’ll be more accepting of criticism even if it borderlines being insulting. :slight_smile:

I think you might get more constructive criticism if you make a free version.

That’s relatable. I suggest checking out some Youtube channels on becoming an entrepreneur, like “Valuetainment”.

It’s true that programming is a valuable skill that most people don’t have, so thank you for adding valuable extensions to the Warehouse. Although, if you think it’s wrong to charge $5 multiplied by the amount of purchases you get, then you might be right.

Personally, I didn’t buy it because I have no need for the extension. I’m happy with using box selection, but I see potential uses for this extension. For example, in character modeling, brush selection would be useful in avoiding selecting hidden faces. $5 is out of my price range for an extension that I wouldn’t use. To be honest, there’s this extension I really want (Instant Road Nui), but I don’t want it enough to spend money on it. I’d rather just draw roads myself. Just know it’s a really tough market out there, but there are still plenty of people who would buy your extensions. Although, I might have downloaded EdgeGrab if it were free, just to try it out.

Forestr,

I have heard that Free users come to a product for a very different reason then paid customers. They’ll even give you different feedback for the type of features that they want and in the end will not be my target audience.

Yes, I have seen lots of Valuetainment videos and I like the energy but I don’t agree on a lot of his views.

This is a perfect example to make a point…

I use SketchUp to make money by making architectural visualization and for me time is money…What I mean by this is if I am wasting time making roads by hand when I could buy ‘Instant Road’ Extension and save lots of time then I am consciously choosing to throw money away by not buying the plugin.

Thanks for your honest feedback!


More SketchUp Extensions / Plugins by RafaelRivera...

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The proof is in the pudding. Just see how many people buy it.

I listed Face Cutter extension as a free extension and had over 1,000 users in a very short time. Just for kicks I put a price in it for $3.99 (the lowest allowed) and only sold 16 licenses since. It was a fun game anyway.

On the other-hand my Building Creator sells for $1000 and is really useful to the small niche it serves. I sold 19 licenses just last month!

If people aren’t buying your extensions it might NOT be due to a lack of advertising. Consider that it could be a lack of value.

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Neil Burkholder,

Not selling enough to brag but I am almost half way to cover the cost of SketchUp Pro at least. Doing Freelance as a 3d Artist has paid for SketchUp in less than a week with much less work. But, Programming is something I am really passioned about and want to improve on.

Now, I am also selling Extensions because I am forced to learn other vital skills not related to programming. Someday I’ll have the skill to build a $1000 plugin as you but I have to start somewhere.

Thanks!


More SketchUp Extensions / Plugins by RafaelRivera...

(1) Using large bold header text is akin to shouting.

(2) Attaching advertisements to every one of your posts is a bit too much.

(3) My point was about the overhead cost it takes for each extension. Ie, the extension registrar script, the loader, the EW review, the encryption, etc. What you are doing is making the buyers pay for this overhead too many times, when each extension has one function.

Bundling your related functions into larger extensions at a higher price, I believe will be more cost effective.
You can do this anytime in the future, say when you get to 5 “selecting” plugins, … do a bundle.

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You’re welcome!

Computer programmers earn $21.91/hr. - $62.67/hr, so if you sold 4-12 copies of your plugin, then you’d be getting paid a decent wage. You made this extension in less than an hour. No? I think you’ll probably sell way more than 12 copies considering you got 5598 downloads on your Re-Scene plugin. If you sold 200 copies of EdgeGrab, then you’d have made $1,000/hour. Right? Point is, I believe you could lower the price and still get paid a great wage.

P.S. Why are only two of your 13 extensions are showing up on your Extension Warehouse profile page? I found other extensions of yours in the big list of search results.

The cheapest I am allowed to go is $3.99 but I think $4.99 is the lowest I am willing to value my unrefined work. Even though the programming side might initially take me half an hour that doesn’t include the hours for me to update it and make it better. If a customer encounters a bug that also adds hours of work.

Apart from the code, I make the icons & graphics… And in some cases youtube video overviews. I also have to create the product page and market it (I seem to be doing terrible job).

I think the business side of things can be difficult and I am learning what I can.

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EdgeGrab has now been integrated to the SketchUp Extension Grabby.

Further development can be followed on the following topic…

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