Buc-ees capitalizes on Evel Knievel's jumpsuit design as a "parody" - but to me it's just hypocritical identity theft from which the estate of Evel Knievel (Kelly Knievel and family via K and K Promotions, Inc. DBA Evel Knievel) should have benefited.
Does anybody know anything about Syllabbles? I'm not much of an optimist. I'd love to hear something good. Front page is partially broken and login page just gives a black-screen time-out error. Literally five days after my refund expiration.
This is a very simple post.
When an AppSumo buyer does NOT pay $99 for the dubious honor of being a "Plus" member, they only recieve 50% of their money back on a failed product.
If they do pay $99, they may get 100% back, but only if the product is deemed worthy of being included by AppSumo in the "WGYB" program.
How is this any different than mobster logic?:
"Plus is an offer you can't refuse! We'll protect you, but you gotta pay up first. Otherwise we'll keep half of your money for the trouble of selling you a failed product."
AppSumo's money-grabbing middleman mentality is truly amazing.
Everyone knows AppSumo is a gamble. But I find far less incentive to buy these days because I'm surely not going to pay a premium to be part of a guarantee.
Layering a $99 "Plus" subscription on top of "rolling the dice" - where you have to pay a fee just to get treated fairly when a product fails, and still have to cross your fingers that the tool clears arbitrary "WGYB" hurdles - turns the marketplace into a casino where the house takes a cut on the way in and a fee on the way out.
The house always wins, while "lower tier" buyers always lose real money when the product fails,
AppSumo lures buyers into their $100 club with a 10% discount and the supposed "WGYB" shield. Buyers then believe they are protected.
To sell protection from the financial fallout of buying a bad piece of software from their own marketplace is an ugly, perverse "incentive". It means the platform is effectively monetizing its own curation risk by forcing the consumer to pay a protection tax just to avoid being penalized for buying a tool that didn't work as advertised.
Instead, just sell good, well-vetted products, and apply your "guarantee" applies across the board to all customers - one solid guarantee to the people who have made you rich. Then you can let your "plus" fans increase your wealth by paying to save 10%, join your club, and get your $25 self-destructing coupons.
I won't even tag anyone.... but if you want to hear what the founder says, I'll bet he'll be here. Hang on... 5...4...3...2...
Never worn a western hat, but I decided wanted a modified retro 20's/30's/40's homage cowboy hat. A toned down classic singing cowboy lid. In my brain it would be a mountee-montana-gus amalgam. The Stetson Sand Hollow seemed like a good starter. Made the copper piece myself. Here's what it was and what it became. Any comments welcome. You can't hurt my feelings. Thanks!
AIRLOUPE E-MAIL:
Hi there,
Welcome to Airloupe News.
I want to share an important update about Airloupe and where we’re heading.
Over the past several months, I’ve been working behind the scenes to stabilize, improve, and grow the platform. As a photographer myself based in San Francisco, my goal has always been simple: build a platform that I would genuinely want to use every day in my own business—and one that serves you reliably long-term.
When I acquired Airloupe, lifetime plans were already in place from the previous ownership. I did everything I could to keep those plans active for as long as possible—holding off on any changes for the past 6 months while covering infrastructure costs and continuing development.
Unfortunately, the reality is that the current cost structure makes it impossible to sustainably improve and grow the platform while supporting lifetime plans.
After a lot of consideration, I’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue lifetime plans.
This decision wasn’t taken lightly. The alternative would ultimately be shutting down the platform altogether—which was actually the direction things were heading before I stepped in. My goal is the opposite: to give Airloupe a real future and continue building it over the next 10+ years.
What this means for you:
The user experience and reliability of the platform remain my top priorities.
A thank-you to early supporters:
Some of you have been here for nearly 3 years—that’s incredible, and I don’t take that lightly.
To recognize your support, I’m offering an early adopter discount:
XXXX REDACTED - I WILL NOT ADVERTISE FOR THIEVES XXXX
Why this change matters:
I want to keep Airloupe 100% independent and bootstrapped. That means no outside investors, no pressure from people who don’t use the product, and no decisions driven purely by profit over users.
It also means the platform needs a sustainable foundation.
This change allows me to:
I know changes like this aren’t easy, and I’m genuinely sorry it has to be this way. But I strongly believe this is the right move to give Airloupe a real future.
Now that the newsletter system is in place, I’ll also be sharing more regular updates directly in the platform via the News tab in the support widget—so you can stay informed on improvements and new features as they roll out.
Thank you again for being part of this journey.
AdrienVillez
