After browsing Alpha's web site and message board for a while, I'm coming to the conclusion that I must be the only one who feels misled (at best) by the marketing strategy for the new release. I�ve been a highly satisfied Alpha customer for nearly ten years, and although my purchases have been limited to small numbers, I�ve continually upgraded over the years through several versions of the DOS-based program and in recent years the Windows platform.
About a year ago I received a mailer indicating that if I were to upgrade our company�s (3-user) Alpha Five version 4 package to version 4.5, that our company would receive a free upgrade to version 5, when released. Even though, as with past employers, my company is Micro$oft based and it has been difficult to make non-standard purchases. To date, I�ve been able to convince them that Alpha can satisfy some of our needs, better.
I recently received a call from Alpha concerning the release of version 5. I eagerly returned the call knowing that we had already �purchased� the product, but I was informed that the mailer did not state that the 4.5 => 5.0 upgrade was free, but rather the difference paid for the previous upgrade would be applied towards the cost of version 5. Although I no longer have the mailer in question, there are several in my office who remember it giving the impression that if we were to purchase the 4.0 => 4.5 upgrade, we would receive the 4.5 => 5.0 upgrade at no cost. In fact, this was the main selling point to my supervisor for needed justification upgrade the non-standard database software.
Even though we feel we are not receiving goods previously purchased, the upgrade cost of the high-priced version 5, less the difference of the previous upgrade price, exceeds our $500 spending limit and is, therefore, out of the question. I�m afraid I�ve lost the ability to keep Alpha as a database solution for many of my company�s needs. I�m surprised that I seem to be the only one who remembers receiving this promotional offer, yet cannot find any reference to it.
--Robert-->
About a year ago I received a mailer indicating that if I were to upgrade our company�s (3-user) Alpha Five version 4 package to version 4.5, that our company would receive a free upgrade to version 5, when released. Even though, as with past employers, my company is Micro$oft based and it has been difficult to make non-standard purchases. To date, I�ve been able to convince them that Alpha can satisfy some of our needs, better.
I recently received a call from Alpha concerning the release of version 5. I eagerly returned the call knowing that we had already �purchased� the product, but I was informed that the mailer did not state that the 4.5 => 5.0 upgrade was free, but rather the difference paid for the previous upgrade would be applied towards the cost of version 5. Although I no longer have the mailer in question, there are several in my office who remember it giving the impression that if we were to purchase the 4.0 => 4.5 upgrade, we would receive the 4.5 => 5.0 upgrade at no cost. In fact, this was the main selling point to my supervisor for needed justification upgrade the non-standard database software.
Even though we feel we are not receiving goods previously purchased, the upgrade cost of the high-priced version 5, less the difference of the previous upgrade price, exceeds our $500 spending limit and is, therefore, out of the question. I�m afraid I�ve lost the ability to keep Alpha as a database solution for many of my company�s needs. I�m surprised that I seem to be the only one who remembers receiving this promotional offer, yet cannot find any reference to it.
--Robert-->
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