This discussion could just as well be about ipods, cars or clothes… The seller has the right to do what they want with their products and prices.

If Apple had a whole container of 1G ipods that they couldn’t sell now because they want to promote their new shiny iphones etc, and they decided to give those away to customers at their stores as a PR stunt, would this mean that all 1G ipod owners should either get a refund or a new ipod?

It is still in our interest to keep every customer happy, but giving the customer to many “rights” is not a good idea.

I thought Brandon’s comment was spot on in that if you look in the “real world”, you can see a TON of examples where products are sold for a price one day and the next they are cheaper, updated, have more features or whatever.

For example, are iPod users entitled to get a new iPod everytime a new version is released?

No.

Do iPod customers get a rebate check everytime their iPod is sold at a cheaper rate than what they paid?

No.

So why are premium theme designers expected to do the same?

They are both paid products so why should the rules of business be different?

Here are my answers to your questions…

Q1. If you pay money for a WordPress theme, what priviledges are you entitled to as a buyer?

A1. You get the product(theme) that you paid for and a guarantee that it works with the latest version of WordPress at the time of sale. Any upgrades or additional support are provided at the discretion of the theme developer of which is outlined in the terms of sale for that theme.

Q2. Should there be a guarantee that it won’t eventually be free?

A2. No. The theme developer could use this as a marketing element but there should NEVER be a “standard” that a premium theme can never be given away for free. Otherwise you are giving control of the theme over to the customers and not the original person who created it!

Q3. Should you get lifetime code updates?

A3. No – unless the theme developer agrees to this as part of their terms of sale. Apple doesn’t send me a new iPod everytime they update it. I have to pay for a new iPod if I want the latest version.

If a premium theme is sold, it’s a product and should follow similar business principles unless otherwise stated in the terms.

Just my 2 cents

Take care.

The themes were/ are very good and the support forum was one of the best on the internet. I was therefore happy to pay the price to assist this develop and give Brian Gardiner an income.

I would consider it completely unethical to give these themes away for free to the entire Wordpress community.

I accept that he may want to change the price and conditions. It would be fair for the price to be reduced or offered as a bargain. This would be acceptable.

I accept that he may want to give say free theme as part of a deal, but a deal that involved some sort of charge.

But when a person pays a reasonable amount of cash for the rights for a set of templates it is reasonable for them to expect some form of exclusivity.

I am pleased for Brian Gardiner that he has come up with a different business model and I wish him every success. Some of the new themes look very good.

However, I have now lost my helpful support forum and have to decide whether or not to pay for support through this new business. That I accept, but to devalue the themes I have bought would be wrong.

The control panel link menu doesn’t correctly links to the control panel page. It works if you change add_menu_page() to add_theme_page() in functions.php, and I’ve tested it in a wamp server and uploaded to a Linux server before changing that line. Perhaps it’s because of WP 2.6.3? which is what I fresh installed on both servers?

again, maybe it’s just wp 2.6.3

To even suggest that we’d release a broken theme for marketing purposes, is just being stupid. Or maybe I’m just speculating…

As the Revolution 2 guys have proven, there is a marketing profile that can work well that is not the standard fare. You of course need to execute it properly, and be ready for the risk of losing a hard won client-base, but it can be done, which they seem to have accomplished.

Time will tell.

But the premium theme market is opening up and not closing down. People want things that work out of the box without too much fuss. A premium theme gives them the benefit of assurance someone will be there if they need help, much less the other perks stated before.

This leads to another thought not connected, per se, with what we have been talking about, namely plugins.

I have read where some in the development end of things prefer a theme to have little or no plugins needed for theme functionality. In talking with friends, who love the WP framework, they are of an opposite mindset. They want functionality at their fingertips, and not go seek it out in the “extend” directory.

Some don’t even understand what some of the plugins offer, much less that it is really filling a need they want!

So like the premium theme itself, there is a place for the plugins, extensions, modifications, etc. in the marketplace. Some plugins are even mandatory in my opinion, like the IDs being visible again so you can actually work with your theme! Others are more in line with additional information for seo positioning or content mainstreaming.

Yes, many are mandatory — but I said that! (smile).

For example, anyone running a commercial site wants stats! Matt (of Automattic fame) even has a plugin for them. WPStats, or Woopra, or Sitemeter, et al, provide that type of functionality. So plugins really do have a place in the scheme of things. Where you can avoid plugins, do so. It streamlines the theme’s complexity, which in and of itself may be a barrier to a user.

But make the theme robust.

Free themes are usually not robust, flexible or easy to administer (especially after adding all the bells and whistles it DIDN’T come with). And the market is there for the savvy end-user or contract designer, to grab a premium theme and run with it. Like WP itself, a theme is a platform or framework that enables a vision to become tangible. It takes the artistry of the designer, end-user or developer to bring the masterpiece to life.

We just provide the canvas!