this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2025
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When did selling a product instead of a subscription become a bad business model?
Edit: I have a lot of trouble believing that a product that could theoretically have value to every person on the planet for current and every future generations, that can't be passed along used or resold, couldn't develop a successful sustainable business model.
When it's an inexpensive product that nobody ever has a reason to buy twice yet remains an ongoing cost for the company? (They keep the data available for review and continue to update it with useful information as knowledge of genetic traits and lineages grows). That's not a way to build an ongoing cash flow to cover expenses. Especially when all the people inclined to be interested have already purchased.
When quarterly profits must always be green compared to the previous quarter.
Selling a product is a good business model if the product has a shelf life or naturally degrades over time, but served you so well that you'll replace it in kind or with an upgrade.
A product that does something exactly once and done doesn't scale long term, so once the hype was over, that was that.