@herb said:

Also I'd like to add, that no owner of the Chamber Strings would work with the Standard collection. The standard collections do have new stuff, for example the fast legato performances, and of course some existing stuff. But you would miss a lot of samples you already have on your Chamber Strings Horizon product. So you would be forced to use the Horizon Chamber Strings paralell with the Vienna Instrument Chamber Strings. I don't have the exact figures here, but the Standard content includes 25% to 30% of all samples, and the extended content 70 to 75%.

Pardon me, but I'm not sure I've undesrtood.

VI Chamber Strings include more new samples in Standard Edition than in Extended one?

Joseph, what is your situation ? What products are you considering upgrading ?

@herb said:

I don't have the exact figures here, but the Standard content includes 25% to 30% of all samples, and the extended content 70 to 75%.

best
Herb

And how can I get 100% [*-)]

By getting the Standard + Extended

ok he meant Standard 25% + 75%

I thought ill have 75% at all, in the end [:P]

IMO the "traded car" analogy is irrelevant in this context. Firstly, it's not a product that will become "used" per se and VSL is not re-sellable. Also, the guarantee that you never pay for the same thing twice does hardly fit into that context either.

In this case, it's not a question about how much use a customer has gotten in the past from his/hers products, but rather how many products he/she purchased in the past.

The VIP program is a major selling point for the VSL products and I'm sure one that many customers take into consideration before buying. This means that if VSL deviates from this guarantee ever so slighltly (even in the neighbourhood of cents) they would have not only broken it but also broken the trust of many old and loyal customers.

It's part of why you buy VSL...the fact that being an old and loyal customer will ensure you that you will not lose money in the upgrading process. They made us a promise, and now we expect them to live up to it. It's as simple as that and has nothing to do with used cars.

However, let me give you an example (I've used the Solo Strings because the info is available, although by the sound of it, other old customers might be even "worse" off):

If someone for example bought the "old" Horizon Solo Strings for the full price...he/she would have payed €445 for the 16 bit/44.1 kHz samples and without the Vienna Instrument.

However, if a brand new customer buys the VI Solo Strings he/she only has to pay €345 for the 24 bit/44.1 kHz samples and including the Vienna Instrument.

Not only does this mean that the old customer has to pay more initially but he/she is also forced to buy the extended VI version in order to "get the money back" he/she already invested into the VIP program...but furthermore...if you add it up, this is what you get (again Solo Strings example):

New customer: Standard VI Solo Strings + Extended VI Solo Strings = €345 + €445 = Total of €790

Old customer: Horizon Solo Strings + Standard VI + Extended VI = €445 + €345 + €30 = Total of €820

Not only does an old cutomer have to pay €790 just to get the VI Standard version (whereas a new customer only needs to pay €345 for the same step) but the old customer also pays a greater total in the end (€30 more to be exact).

This must of course mean that the old customer does indeed pay for the samples he/she already own...or else the total would be exactly the same?

Finally, it's not the amount of the difference that is important, but the principle. VSL made a promise and guarantee to their customers that they never have to pay for the samples twice when upgrading. Does VSL intend to honor this promise or not?

Rodney

I am going to have one more go at this and then give up. All I can talk about is my situation, so apologies if it doesn't apply to you.

The Standard content is £2600, Extended is £3537, so a new user pays £6137.

As an existing user if I was given a discount on the Standard then I would be entitled to no discount for the Extended (let's ignore some of the peripheral Horizon content for the moment). So, I would have to pay £3537 for my new sample engine, 24bit samples, re-programming and increased content.

As it is, I am guessing from what cm has already said that my Extended content will be no more than £900, so in this situation I am facing a bill for £3500.

This would mean that for me to break even (paying the full price for extended) the upgrade would have to be £37................! Not very likely, therefore I am in a far better situation by paying in full for Standard and much less for Extended. The only way that I can lose is by not unlocking the Extended content.

It all gets slightly confusing with the Horizon products as from what Herb says there may not be many new samples for some of them (if I am understanding correctly).

If I have got this wrong I'm sure that someone from VSl will chip in and correct me, but maybe not on a Sunday [:D]

DG

@DG said:

I am going to have one more go at this and then give up. All I can talk about is my situation, so apologies if it doesn't apply to you.

The Standard content is £2600, Extended is £3537, so a new user pays £6137.

As an existing user if I was given a discount on the Standard then I would be entitled to no discount for the Extended (let's ignore some of the peripheral Horizon content for the moment). So, I would have to pay £3537 for my new sample engine, 24bit samples, re-programming and increased content.

You should include in the "old user" bill the package he already owns, otherwise you won't have the right fee.

If you upgrade a car for 30 EUR, you should not ignore that you paid the car 8.500 EUR.

"There is no such thing as a free meal", or something like that...

@DG said:

I am going to have one more go at this and then give up. All I can talk about is my situation, so apologies if it doesn't apply to you.

The Standard content is £2600, Extended is £3537, so a new user pays £6137.

As an existing user if I was given a discount on the Standard then I would be entitled to no discount for the Extended (let's ignore some of the peripheral Horizon content for the moment). So, I would have to pay £3537 for my new sample engine, 24bit samples, re-programming and increased content.

You should include in the "old user" bill the package he already owns, otherwise you won't have a correct fee.

If you upgrade a car for 30 EUR, you should not ignore that you paid the car 8.500 EUR...

Not at all, when one pays for an upgrade, the original price one paid is irrelevant. the argument has been about paying for the same samples twice and I have shown that exisiting users could actually be getting a much better deal than they think they are.

DG

@DG said:

Not at all, when one pays for an upgrade, the original price one paid is irrelevant.

This depends on view point...

@DG said:

...when one pays for an upgrade, the original price one paid is irrelevant.

Well, this couldn't be more untrue in this particular case, since the core concept of the VSL VIP program is to do take into consideration how much you payed in the past.

@DG said:

...when one pays for an upgrade, the original price one paid is irrelevant.

Well, this couldn't be more untrue in this particular case, since the core concept of the VSL VIP program is to do take into consideration how much you payed in the past.

No, you're wrong. They take into account what samples you already have a licence to use. This has nothing to do with price. I may have paid more for Epic Horns than someone who got it in the Summer sale, however my upgrade would still be the same price.

DG