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Tag: price hikes

  • Windows 8 Upgrade Prices Going Up Tomorrow

    Windows 8 isn’t being adopted by PC users in the numbers Microsoft had hoped. Though the company has sold 60 million Windows 8 licenses, the new OS still holds a marginal share of the desktop OS market, while Windows 7 and XP make up over 84% of the market.

    Normally when software (or hardware, for that matter) isn’t selling is the time when most companies consider a price cut to match the low demand for the product. Microsoft isn’t most companies.

    Starting tomorrow, Microsoft will be increasing the price of Windows 8 upgrades, giving customers another reason not to upgrade.

    Since the release of Windows 8 in October, Microsoft has been selling Windows 8 Pro upgrades at the “special price” of $40. Starting February 1, an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro will cost PC users $200. Even the upgrade to the normal Windows 8 edition will cost $120. Students with a .edu email address will be able to buy the Windows 8 Pro upgrade for $70.

    Microsoft has also been selling the “Pro Pack,” which upgrades regular Windows 8 to Windows 8 Pro, for $70. That upgrade will cost $100 tomorrow. Also, the Windows Media Center upgrade pack that is currently being given away for free to anyone with Windows 8 Pro will cost $10 tomorrow.

    Microsoft hasn’t commented on whether prices for stand-alone versions of Windows 8 will be increasing in price tomorrow. If not, that would mean that simply buying a copy of Windows 8 OEM for $140 (or regular the regular Windows 8 OEM for $100) would be far less expensive than upgrading from Windows 7.

  • Redbox Prices Go Up! 20 Cents!

    First Netflix raised its prices creating a huge amount of backlash from members earlier this year. Now, Redbox announced that it too is raising prices.

    Redbox users got an email from the company saying:

    Redbox is making an announcement about its prices today, and we want to make sure that you hear it from us first.

    Starting on Monday, October 31, the daily rental charge for DVDs will change to $1.20 a day.* The price change is due to rising operating expenses, including new increases in debit card fees. Daily rental charges for Blu-ray™ Discs and video games won’t change.** Additional-day charges for DVDs rented before 10/31 won’t be affected, either.

    In order to make the transition easier, Redbox will discount the first day of all online DVD rentals to $1.00 from 10/31 through 11/30. Additional rental days will be $1.20.***

    If you have any questions, please visit redbox.com/pricechange. There, we’ve provided additional information.

    This marks our first price change in more than eight years as we work hard to keep prices low for our customers.

    Thank you,

    Redbox

    Though this is technically a 20% price increase, somehow it seems much easier to swallow, given that it’s not a monthly fee that users pay, but just a dollar (now $1.20) for a movie at any given time. Depending on how many movies you rent from Redbox in a given month, this could still have a more significant effect, but I don’t think Redbox is going to lose a lot of users over paying 20 more cents for a movie.

    Netflix recently revealed that it lost 800,000 subscribers.

    I’ll leave you with some Twitter reaction to the Redbox price increase:

    @bmk
    Brian K    Redbox is raising prices. I think the next step is you have to get the 2nd half of the movie from a different box across the street. 1 minute ago via Twitter for Mac · powered by @socialditto

    @YoPaulieNJ
    Paul Boudreau    It’s pay-per-use RT @IAmRoot: So Redbox increases prices 20% overnight, nobody says a peep. Where’s the netflix-level outrage? V @kgoyette 3 minutes ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto

    @jaysonbailey11
    Jayson Bailey    Redbox changing prices to one night dvd rentals to $1.20. What commies 11 minutes ago via UberSocial for Android · powered by @socialditto

    @joshratcliffe
    Ratcliffe    With Netflix and Redbox raising prices, movie theaters should lower prices now to drive consumers back to the theaters. #justmyopinion 40 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Of course there are still some companying. Here’s one response from Redbox:

    @redboxcare
    Redbox Care    @shawnw Sorry you feel that way. This is the first time redbox raises prices in 8 yrs. This will help enhance services like phone apps, ect. 15 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto