Xmarks considers charging users...
01 Oct 2010
I’ve always though that xmarks (formerly foxmarks) solves a great problem, and provides value to it’s users. But, a few days ago, xmarks announced they are shutting down. They do give a great history on what lead up to this decision and why, and having known people that work there, I can both understand what went wrong, and why.
Here’s something even more interesting. After a few days and outcry from it’s users, xmarks is now considering staying alive by charging it’s users. I’m sure this seems blindingly obvious to outsiders (charge your customers), but there are a number of reasons why didn’t ever charge.
My take is they should have started charging long ago, and in fact the $10/year is way too cheap. They could get away with $3-10/month. Yes, converting from free-to-pay is a difficult process, but it can be done, and it is worth it. At TeachStreet Dave has written and talked about how we made the transition.
No, it won’t give them a crazy 10-100x return. In fact, they still likely need to find a different way to grow their business and pivot until they find it. But charging for their service allows them to cover their costs and keep their business running while they can grow.
teachstreet xmarks free-to-pay