Annual Auto Renewal Explained

Greetings and Happy Holidays again!

I am writing this in “newsletter style” but sending it as a promotion (I never talk about sales in the newsletters).

In my last newsletter, I made mention that we have a deal where you can buy a 12-month renewal of Software Maintenance and Support for just $29.97 (a 40% discount). In the 24 hours that followed, we have sold a ton of these and we have gotten a few questions about this. I thought it would be helpful to explain how this all works as briefly as I can. That is the purpose of this email.

When you make your first purchase (reg. $99.95), you get:

• A perpetual software license for Ham Radio Deluxe. Some folks have referred to this as a “lifetime license.” With this first purchase, you are entitled to use the software indefinitely. We do not, and never have, sold the software as a subscription. You will only buy this product one time. (Subsequent attempts to buy this with the same email address used previously results in this item being replaced during checkout with the 12-month renewal explained below.) [Click here for an industry explanation about "perpetual software licenses]
• 12-months of Software Maintenance and Support. Software Maintenance means you are entitled to all the features that are introduced within that 12-month period. Support means that you are entitled to direct access to our technical support team.
• If, after the initial 12-months have passed, the software does everything you need it to do and you do not need technical support, you are welcome to continue without any additional payment. Because the software is not sold as a subscription, the software is not disabled after the expiration of Software Maintenance and Support.

12 Month Renewal of Ham Radio Deluxe Software Maintenance and Support

When You Make Subsequent Renewal purchases (reg. $49.95). You Get:

• An additional 12-months of Software Maintenance and Support.
• If, after this 12-months have passed, the software does everything you need it to do and you do not need technical support, you are welcome to continue without any additional payment. Because the software is not sold as a subscription, the software is not disabled after the expiration of Software Maintenance and Support.
• Software Maintenance and Support will either add 12-months to an existing expiration (if renewing early) or start a fresh 12-months (if the previous has expired).
• Software Maintenance and Support can be purchased at any time, regardless of your previous expiration date.
• Software Maintenance and Support purchases require validation of an initial purchase of the software. In other words - you can't buy a renewal as your first purchase.
• The proceeds of renewals supports the on-going support and development of Ham Radio Deluxe. Without this stream of revenue, we could not continue.

There are two ways you can buy the 12-month renewal of Software Maintenance and Support:

• Non-recurring; this is the standard renewal item we’ve been selling since 2012. The regular price is always 50% of whatever the full-price product is. During some promotional periods, you may see this discounted by as much as 35%. That is rather rare. You can buy these in multiple quantities and 12 months are added for each quantity. We never take this to a 40% discount to protect the recurring renewals.
• Annually recurring; this is the point of this email. A customer told me at a hamfest some years ago if we would automate the annual renewal process, he would sign up for it every year. In 2017, we were able to do that. Customers who select this item get a 40% discount on the renewal. That brings their renewal price to $29.97. Rebilling for the auto-renewal comes at the time of the Software Maintenance and Support expiration. If you buy early, 12-months are added and the rebilling occurs at the new expiration.
  • Our eCommerce (webstore) provider is UltraCart. They are a PCI certified payment card handler. They meet all the regulations regarding the card information. It is safe. Due to the technology about this, PayPal cannot be used for auto-renewal orders.
  • Cancelation policy – if an auto-order is canceled early (to take advantage of the 40% discount with no desire to participate annually), the Software Maintenance and Support date is prorated in days against the $49.95 renewal price. This could cause loss of access to some features. It is cheap, so it is best to let it run to the conclusion of a full year.

I may repost this on our blog site. This comes up a bit.

The auto-renewal is a really good deal. There are members of my family who spend more than $2.50 a month on coffee or bottled water.

If you are interested in this offer...

Again, Happy Holidays. I know we are all looking forward to a better 2021.

Mike, WA9PIE, VK4EIE

HRD Software, LLC