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sunnydayz · September 30th, 2009

As probably many have seen, I have had listed my Digital Art Solutions Smart Designer and templates for sale in the classified section. Well I have had several people inquire about it, but had heard from a member a few weeks back, that she was told at one of the ISS shows that it would not be worth it for her to buy it used, when she mentioned seeing my ad for it here, as she would still have to pay a fee of $400 to be able to use it, even if she did buy it from someone who has also already bought it. She was told she would need a new activation even if she bought a used copy.

Then a couple days ago, I received another pm from another member, who had actually purchased a used copy, and they told me they were having this exact problem. That they were being told they had to pay a new license fee for them to be able to use it.

I originally posted a question about it a couple of days ago, and then deleted it. I figured I would wait till I talked to someone from their company to find out what the story was. Since I myself had mine for sale I was very concerned with the fact that I did not know this. I wanted to find out if indeed there was a transfer/new license fee if you sell your smart designer. I spoke with Craig and he told me that yes there is a fee for transferring this software to a new owner, and it is actually in their licensing agreement, but you do not see that before you buy it. You only get that when you have bought it and get it in your hands.

I wont go into the nitty gritty details of the whole conversation, but will say I did confirm that you cannot sell this software without a new owner having to pay a fee for a new license. I am not sure if all of their software's work this way, but smart designer does, that is something that others may want to check into though. So make sure if you decide to buy or sell this software to ask about whether you are allowed to transfer it or not. I was not aware of this when I placed mine up for sale, and it was not told to me when I bought my software.

I have learned a new lesson with this, and that is to make sure to ask about in the event that you no longer need your software, make sure you are able to sell it free and clear.

skdave · September 30th, 2009

That is a real rip off, Bobbie.
I will not be dealing with them.

EddieM · September 30th, 2009

That sucks i was going to buy it but if what i am working on dose not work out i would want to be able to sell it if i no longer needed it.. This would be a big road block in making me want to buy it now.

No other software i have has something like that.
Thanks

freebird1963 · September 30th, 2009

Is that license agreement on the outside of the box or inside of a sealed box ?
Or in paper work sent along with it. ?

Thanks
Mark

sunnydayz · September 30th, 2009

It is in the manual, which you do not get until you receive your software. You don't receive your software until you pay for it

So basically you don't know until after you have already paid for it.

Its in a 30 page user agreement in the manual which I had to have pointed out to me, because I never really even seen it in there.

TexSub · September 30th, 2009

So how much is the fee? Seems like a sneaky way to do business to me. They may lose a few customers over this. I for one probably will not do business with them again.

sunnydayz · September 30th, 2009

I have to say that I have loved their products, they are great. I am just not happy about this situation of how this works. I am glad I had not sold mine without knowing this, because I would have hated to have someone mad at me for it. The fee that is listed in the license is $400 for transferring it. Now if you pay $699 for the software, and the new owner if you sell it has to pay $400 to make it work for them, well you figure out how much you will make back on your investment if you have to sell it.

I had thought when I bought it that if I did not need it, I could sell it, as I was not told before hand that I could not, without the new owner incurring fees. I am in no trashing DAS, just want people to be aware when they buy, since it was not disclosed to me. I do still think their products work great, and are different then any other products out there, but I also think that you should be well informed on the all details before buying, not after. Then at least you know this going in, and can make the decision that is right for you.

sportkids · September 30th, 2009

That policy pretty much says BUYER BEWARE to me. DOESN'T MAKE MUCH SENSE!! I was considering Smart Designer because I am not a graphic designer and have heard good things about it, but don't like that policy. DAS should consider and re-evaluate!! What about the people who become proficient at designing and no longer need it? I have a couple programs with the dongle key (flexi being one of them) I was told if you have the key w/the numbers on it, you are the licensed owner and are allowed to sell it and it transfers at no charge. I suppose the software developers will jump on this one.. Come out with a similar version to Smart Designer at a lower price, just like the rhinestone software and cutters. Hopefully only a mater of time.

Mmm.. Conflicting reports again.. The DAS people told me my machine would not cut the rubber material.. The Graphtec people chuckled.. The ACS Software works fine and dandy.. 2 free classes w/Sandy, and gets the job done, for ALOT LESS $$! Guess competiton is healthy and stimulates the economy! Only in America!

freebird1963 · October 1st, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunnydayz


	It is in the manual, which you do not get until you receive your software. You don't receive your software until you pay for it So basically you don't know until after you have already paid for it. Its in a 30 page user agreement in the manual which I had to have pointed out to me, because I never really even seen it in there.

I ask cuz if the thing is inside a sealed box or the manual is shrink wrapped itself were you have to open it up to get to the agreement you many have recourse to get your money back.

sportkids · October 1st, 2009

Great point! Especially if you paid for it with a credit card, but you have to do it within a certain time limit.
By the time you want to sell it it would probably be too late. No matter what, seems like such a lame, policy! Can see the security features, there are cheaters everywhere; people making bogus copies. But not the hefty fee $400 TRANSFER FEE if everything is legit.

EddieM · October 1st, 2009

If you do buy it can you run it on two PCs with no extra cost.
I would need it to run on two for sure.
Is it using a dongle or what?
I think they would have to take the $400 TRANSFER FEE off before i would buy it.

I have ACS now to just got it in yesterday and looking forward to working with it.

sunnydayz · October 1st, 2009

You can use it on more then one system. I believe mine works on two. It does not have a dongle (which by the way is a great idea

), it uses activation codes and then has to be activated online.

TexSub · October 2nd, 2009

Do you have the same policy for Co-Cut Pro for which you are the distributor?

stix · October 2nd, 2009

Your policy should be disclosed before the purchase. I personally hate the bait and switch tactic!! Give me the real and let me make an informed decision based on facts. The fact is people will buy software and clipart for their business which may not be a success. I would be highly upset if I purchased something and didn't have a means to recoup some of my money. After reading this situation I would rather do business with Great Dane Graphics,Action Illustrated or www.advancedartist.com. JBF.. Just Be Fair

sjidohair · October 2nd, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by DASBoss


	Here is what you don't know about our software licensing for Smart Designer. When someone pays the transfer fee for $400, they get an automatic free upgrade to the next version. It is not a coincidence that the cost of the upgrade is the same as the transfer fee. In effect, we are allowing them to upgrade to the next version for the same cost as the original owner. Last year we had less than 10 requests to transfer the software out of over 10,000 owners. If there are special circumstances, we reserve the right to waive the fee. Incidentally, I offered waive the transfer fee for BobbieLee via telephone because of her current situation. Apparently she has decided to not sell the software. I had agreed to allow the new owner to receive the free upgrade that BobbieLee is currently entitled to. When we sell someone Smart Designer, they get a manual and an installation disk. When they install the software, the are asked to review our licensing agreement before they proceed with the installation. Of course no one does this with any software. After the software is installed, it runs for 30 days in a demo mode. The client has 30 days to evaluate the software, read the licensing agreement and otherwise check things out. Most folks are impressed and activate the software shortly after evaluating it. Once they activate, they are registered as the original owner and cannot return the software. Less than 1% of people that purchase Smart Designer do not activate. I think this is a testament to a software that is sold with a money-back guarantee. Smart Designer can be activated on two computers simultaneously. This is consistent with the licensing agreement for CorelDRAW which limits the use of CorelDRAW to 2 computers. Since Smart Designer requires CorelDRAW, we have to be consistent with the Corel licensing agreement. The activation system is very generous, and it resets on an annual basis so that clients can install the software on new computers if they get a new system. If clients use up their allotment of online activations during the year, all we ask is for them to contact us by phone or email to get a code. This way we know that the software has not been stolen if there is a huge numbere of online activation attempts. We all know that software does get stolen (generally from former employees). Since we are dealing with copyrighted material like clipart and templates that are installed with the software, only the original owner is permitted to use the copyrighted material unless we tranfer the license. If someone sells Smart Designer, in some cases, the original owner is still using it, and we have another person using the copyrighted material unlawfully on the same license. There is no way to guarantee that the old user is no longer using it. It is important that anyone that is using copyrighted material has the proper licensing rights, especially considering they are selling products to others. We have had many instances of clients buying the software and selling it on Ebay or forums multiple times. They get a free copy financed by the resale of the software. We don't think this is fair to honest folks. We charge a transfer fee for three reasons. 1) To prevent dishonest folks from installing and activating the software, turning around and reselling it and continuing to use it. 2) To insure that the new owners is lawfully permitted to use the copyrighted material. If you sell Smart Designer, you are no longer permitted to use any of clipart as you are no longer the owner. When we transfer the license, the original owner still retains the rights to all of the content they have previously used. 3) It costs us hundreds of thousands of dollars to develope software and we have to protect our investment. We don't use a dongle, as clients do not like them and they are consistently lost, stolen or damaged. We have found the activation system to be the best method for protecting our software and giving the client the most flexibility.

Craig,,
Thank you for clearing that up, and taking the time to do so.
I also do agree that the dongle does have it drawbacks,, and if we have systems that have dongles,, and we lose them, we do have to purchase a whole new dongle as well,
there fore, mine do not leave the desktop, which limits me in designing on the road.
Thank you again.
MMM

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