Startup Library: Sewing with Sara Alm on Craftsy.
July 15, 2017 5:03 pm EST: We’ve changed the title of this article to make it more clear that Craftsy will be adding an additional membership option, not taking away the a la cart purchasing option and customers will be able to keep the classes they’ve already bought. We’ve also added additional information about pricing, distribution, and instructor compensation as it became available.
In a letter signed by CEO John Levisay and sent to instructors yesterday, Craftsy announced that it will begin offering a subscription payment model beginning in 2018 in addition to the current a la carte model. “While some people love our in-depth tutorials, many people who aren’t currently using Craftsy find our a la carte only model to be a barrier and want to engage with our content in a variety of ways,” the letter stated. Craftsy learned what those barriers were during a consumer insights study conducted last year. Many changes have resulted from that study including a sight redesign last summer that better integrated supplies with classes and patterns, and the launch of DVDs earlier this year. Membership allows customers to binge watch many hours worth of videos over a weekend, for example, without the barrier of deciding what to watch and purchasing additional materials.
The new membership model will allow consumers to stream the entire Craftsy online class catalog for a monthly fee with the option of purchasing a class to keep at an additional cost using an “Own Forever” feature. This model is similar competitor Creativebug’s subscription model which is priced at $4.95/month. JoAnn purchased a majority share in Creativebug earlier this year. Information is not available yet on Craftsy’s membership pricing, although in a video call with instructors on Friday Levisay stated that membership would definitely be more than $2/month. Such a low cost membership fee wouldn’t be sustainable with the company’s large marketing spend per class. Currently Craftsy classes are priced individually and range from $9.99-69.99 under the a la carte model.
In May it was announced that NBCUniversal had bought a majority share in Craftsy for around $230 million. The instructor letter from yesterday emphasized the importance of this acquisition in exposing Craftsy content to new customers. “Given our new relationship with NBCUniversal, we are going to be able to reach new audiences at a scale previously unavailable to us,” it stated. In the video meeting Levisay emphasized that a membership model will allow the company to expand into English speaking markets outside of the US and, over time, with translation services in place, expand into the non-English speaking world. Levisay also indicated that Craftsy content could run on other video platforms. “You know what these platforms are,” he said, perhaps pointing to currently existing streaming services (although he stopped short of naming any in particular). On these platforms viewers would be able to watch Craftsy videos, but not download course materials such as patterns.
During the call Levisay and Danielle Wilkie, Head of Growth, explained that the membership product is still being built. The alpha test will begin shortly with a few hundred users and beta will launch in the fall. Craftsy experimented with membership once before, in October of 2015, and Levisay says the consumption rates for video classes were “very high,” although the company failed to be upfront with instructors regarding the compensation model during that trial run leading to some feelings of distrust.
Instructors will be issued new contracts at the end of next week. Royalty percentages will remain the same and membership payouts will be figured based on minutes watched. Longer classes will have more available minutes to watch meaning more possible revenue earned. In the video call Levisay stated that his hope is for membership to triple or quadruple the size of the overall business.
Personally, I love the a la carte system. I usually get my classes on sale, but only some of the categories interest me and I go in spurts. Unless they keep some sort of a la carte feature, I will probably discontinue using Craftsy. Bummed about this decision and direction.
I’m 100% with you. Will not subscribe. period.
I will not subscribe. Don’t need another monthly drain.
Agree. I don’t purchase shoes, fabric or dishes on subscription, so I don’t want/need subscription for crafts classes. . I like a la carte option!
And Craftsy made it clear today that the a la carte option will remain.
But will the a la carte be available for all or only for those who subscribe? I will not subscribe, so what happens with my all ready purchased classes?
It looks to me from what Craftsy has said that a la carte with be an option in addition to the subscription and you’ll be able to keep the classes you’ve purchased.
I will not subscribe either and I would think this could open a lawsuit for those of us who have already purchased classes IF we are required to subscribe in order to have access to those classes.
But you’re not going to be. They’ve made it really clear. You will keep the classes you’ve purchased.
Thanks for the infro.
Agreed
I prefer the ala carte system. I look for sales also. The one thing that I really hate are MONTHLY FEES. Then you are being charged wether you watch the class or not. Corporations think $$$$$. Oh just a little every month but if you think about starting low and raising the cost. Then you have big money. 😡
I also prefer the system as is. What is wrong with the CEO in Craftsy? do they really think that by charging a subscription, this is going to help them attain more customers ? I do not think so. Better they try to re-think this bad decision.
I will not subscribe nor be a part of their new plan. Pity, I really liked Craftsy as it was/is so far. Maybe plans should be made to improve things in other areas: for instance to improve classes, offer cheaper materials to all international customers and not limit it to USA/Canadian customers only. There is a lot of room for improvement.
Agree wholeheartedly. I live in UK it is just impossible to purchase any product from craftsy even in sale with the added cost of postage etc
I appreciate that Craftsy took the trouble to find out how to improve access to their product. I want them to make money and stay in business so I can keep the classes I have and continue to learn. I look forward to when I can watch their videos on a device on my TV.
So long, Craftsy, if they go to this model. It’s about making money, not serving their long standing client base. I won’t go with them when they implement this.
I was apprehensive too- but I love Craftsy Unlimited! I have found classes I never ever would have thought to buy and I have enjoyed and learned quite a bit from those.
I agree I want to keep the system I won’t pay a monthly subscription the reason I use Craftsy is so I keep my class for ever and to hear that on top of the fed you have to pay more money to keep it.i have been reducing my monthly subscriptions with companies as they are getting too expensive . I won’t use the other companies as they dont let you keep the class .
I don’t want the monthly cost either. If I did, I would belong to creative bug. I don’t want to pay for something I don’t want!
Not impressed and another money grab………..I love the classes I have paid for and the tutorials that I can continually watch over and over. Sad for Craftsy and I also will NOT subscribe period. Glad that the things we have purchased will remain as we have paid for them.
I would have to agree with you on that . Very disappointing.
I prefer the a la carte system. I usually purchase from 2 streams and do not need access to everything else. I purchase when there is a sale and this system is working well for me.Please do not get rid of this system.
Agree 100%. Who even has time to use the site enough for a monthly fee to be beneficial? Haven’t seen the exact price, but $9.99 a month would equate to six classes at $19.99 (sale price). Very disappointed, but glad I can keep all the classes I’ve purchased over the years.
Have lost ALL of my paid for “the original Craftsy” quilting courses. Is there any way I can retrieve them?
Please contact Bluprint customer service.
As long as my already purchased “forever classes” stay mine, I guess I dont care too much. I just dont want toblose what I have already paid for!
I totally agree. I bought some for the future so when I retire, I will have them to guide me.
Jeanette – Exactly! That’s precisely why I purchased mine (and I purchased sooooo many). Have only watched a few right now, was really waiting for our lives to slow down after DH’s retirement in 1.5 yrs. I’m concerned that whatever answer is given to us today will not be consistent with reality down the road. I believe they should support the people who supported Craftsy, and that would be by offering us our paid-for info on DVD’s or etc. (and hopefully at no charge). I’ll be contacting them.
If you’re concerned the best thing to do is to contact Craftsy directly. Here’s the link to their customer service: https://www.craftsyhelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/213639997-How-to-Contact-Customer-Support
I am not in agreement with the “FLIPPING THE SCRIPT” idea. Like many others, I bought and paid hundreds of dollars for classes to keep ‘forever’ as was sold. I was never Informed [so be careful of law suit Craftsy ] of a sly move to now charge a “membership” fee to access tutorials already paid for. Battlefield is going to destroy the marketing of Craftsy with such moves. DVD should have been offered up front long ago. I am not interested in marriage with Craftsy without a divorce that enforces my ownership of my property. Like others I purchased for retirement security. RETIREMENT goes without saying expedible fund’s are limited. I purchased with expendable income for a time when expendable income is reduced. This move is coming from a narrowly defined audience who really do not have time for Craftsy and will not purchase. So to speak to the already users of Craftsy is a greed static!
Me too!! I am buying now while I have the money! I have invested a lot of money in Craftsy classes, and I have been in since the beginning. They were sold as forever classes. There are classes I haven’t even watched, I too am waiting for things to slow down once I am retired. I just hope the classes are still around – they had better be!
Totally agree… Want to be able to keep access to the ones I’ve already purchased.
As long as I can keep the classes already paid for!
I agree. As long as I get to keep what I already have intact.
I agree – as long as I can keep what i have paid for – I am ok with the new plan – I only am interested in certain categories.
I’m not happy about this change. I will not pay a monthly fee. I’m not interested in everything thing, I just want to buy what I’m interested in and not shuffling through a lengthy catalog. I enjoy a sale buy. I’ll just keep what I bought and move on then. Paying a monthly fee to have the privilege to search your catalog is ridiculous!
That was my concern as well! I will be more than angry if I lose access to the almost 100 classes I already purchased!
It’s pretty clear that will not happen.
Thank you Abby, for reiterating this point as the thread grows. I’ve bought classes, but will not become a subscriber under the proposed new model. I’m not worried about losing access to my existing classes, although I regret that Craftsy is moving to a subscription model. PS I’m writing from Scotland (should this fact have any relevance whatsoever!)
By the way Abby, I really enjoy reading your blog:)
For now. They can change their mind again at any time in the future. Makes me less likely to purchase from them in the future. I would feel MUCH better if there was some way to download and SAVE the files for the classes I’ve already purchased for future use.
If everyone is so concerned about the classes they have purchased there is an option to download the class and save to their computer, USB stick or other media.
How do you download the video classes that were bought? I thought you could only play them.
I don’t think you can.
I have over 100 classes and bought them with the understanding that they were mine forever.
And they are.
Me too. Hundreds of $$$$
More then 100 classes….I guess it’s thousand dollars +
Me too, i spend hundreds of dollars on classes. If i will loose them i will be very angry with Craftsy! I do not want the monthly subscription.
You aren’t going to lose them.
I actually like this idea! Any ideas on where to sign up for the alpha and/or beta?
I like it too. I think there are things I would try in other categories that I wouldn’t otherwise buy.
I got an ad in my Facebook feed offering “Craftsy Unlimited” for $14.99 a month, and now I can’t find the ad. It came with a 7-day “free trial” if you signed up, and I was going to do it from my laptop after seeing the ad on FB on my phone. Of course, when I pulled up FB on my phone, the ad was gone. The URL it took me to on my phone was unlimited.craftsy.com but when I put that in my browser, it doesn’t exist. I wonder if they jumped the gun on the FB ad, given that their subscription model is to start in 2018 with the beta in the fall…?
Personally, I was going to sign up for the 7-day trial and look around. There are many Craftsy classes I would like to try but don’t want to pay the purchase price only to find out I won’t use it. I like the subscription idea, and if it truly is $14.99/month, then it’s cheaper than the $19 a month charged by ArtTutor.
Perhaps they were recruiting a user base for the alpha tests? It looks as though the subscription model will be between $10-20/ month and subscribers will get access to exclusive members only content.
so, will those who have a subscription be able to see all the classes or just a select few.
Subscribers will be able to access the entire library and there will also be subscriber-only content that a la carte purchasers won’t be able to access.
Abby,
You are correct. I finally found the ad again and clicked the link. It had me fill out a survey to possibly be chosen as a tester for the model when the beta is ready in the fall. Personally, I hope I get chosen! 🙂
I love Craftsy, and I know they can’t/won’t take away what I have already bought. (Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Craftsy in any way other than my past purchases.) I would love to be able to scout out other classes and areas of creative interest on an unlimited basis! I would also welcome the opportunity to try it out and help them fix any glitches or features that are possibly unfair to those of us who’ve already purchased classes.
P.S. The link I clicked said the monthly fee would be $14.99…not sure if that is set in stone or if it is something they will reconsider during the beta testing.
Not a fan of this idea. I have spent a lot of money on classes! And I don’t want to pay a fee every month for something I don’t use every month. I seriously doubt that I would subscribe. This is what happens when a unique product is bought out by a big conglomerate–they change it, make it like everything else already out there, and the unique features its users love disappear.
I personally would not join.. there are certain categories I enjoy and that is where I have invested my money .. so as long as we don’t lose the classes we have purchased – I’m good!
I’ve also bought several classes. But, if i’m reading this right I’ll forever own them. So, if they don’t charge the 4.95 just to watch the one’s i already own, I see no problem… AND for a small fee you can watch any of the rest!
I am absolutely certain that accessing the classes we already own will require navigating a horrific barrage of ads. They are not going to cease trying to sell the subscription content and service to non-subscription users. I can see already that I’m going to get so irritated that I’ll probably walk away from my entire investment before I will endure that high-pressure sales nonsense. I’ll just go back to watching YouTube tutorials. It is one thing to pay a one-time price for a class that I may or may not ever watch. It is entirely unacceptable to me to pay a monthly fee for something I may only use 4 or 5 times per year.
I wonder what this will do to instructor income? My understanding is that a high-selling Craftsy class could be very lucrative for some instructors.
They had a Q&A with instructors today.
As stated above I don’t want to lose the classes I already have and I don’t use it every month either, spurts here too.
There’s no indication that current customers will lose the classes they own.
Appreciate your response, however, it leaves me uneasy. I have invested in enough classes for a lifetime, so lots of $$$, and am concerned. Is there a link or e-mail address for the parties involved in the decision-making process where those of us who wish to make our concerns noted could drop a line?
Hi Carol, Looking at the site it seems you could go here: https://www.craftsyhelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/213639997-How-to-Contact-Customer-Support
Abby, thank you so much for your very quick response. I appreciate it!
As soon as I read that NBC bought into Craftsy, I have been waiting for the changes. I, also, wonder how this will affect our instructors. Hopefully, if our favorites do move on they will offer classes on their sites.
Yes, I think that’s a great option and I hope to see more of that too. It’s much more supportive of the maker herself to create professional content that she herself can control… pricing, where it’s offered, how it’s offered…
I have paid for a class and I have things I have bought. I don’t want to repay for things I have already bought. I don’t use craftys enough to buy a membership.
I gave up my creative bug subscription because I didn’t want to keep paying the monthly fee. So much prefer to own my classes. So what happens to the clip poses I own? I hope there a, new set classes separate from the orginal.
I travel a lot and for months I don’t look at class but when I’m home I go back to my old classes. To be paying when I don’t use this service sells un fair.I own over 100 classes, so I’ll not happy.
I have purchased quite a lot of classes. I do not want to have to pay again for something that I already own.
AGREE!
I like just being able to purchase the classes I want and have them forever. Month to month is not a good idea for me personally.
This is disappointing. I dont purchase a lot of classes, and there are only a couple of categories I am interested in. I find them very useful when I am researching something new, but that’s not every month.
Not sure how I feel about this exactly . If my forever classes disappear, I’ll be upset. Leaning towards not being interested at all. So much in there outside my interests, so I most likely won’t suscbribe.
I would think that we would have some sort of legal right to the classes, and patterns we have purchased. We were told up front that we would always have access.
And I think you will.
Think is not what I really want to hear! I’ve spent a lot of money on craftsy classes with the understanding that I would always have these classes! Changing that would be devastating to me and many others that have invested in these classes!
You’re going to be able to keep your classes.
Will we still have access to our classes even if we do not sign up for monthly fee?
Yes.
I do not use Creative Bug for that very reason. I like the Craftsy platform as it is. Will not go subscription.
Not happy about this. I am reluctant to join subscription services–when I see a class that I want I buy it. So, I may have bought my last class. Too bad.
We are on retirement income, so I would not do a monthly subscription thing. I wonder if the option will be there to go on as we have been, purchasing one class at a time.
This is also not clear. Will there still be an a la carte option? The letter left this ambiguous, at least in my reading.
Even those who will opt to be in the subscription membership can purchase classes for “forever” so it’s clear to see that being able to use the ala carte method will continue. There are still a lot of details to be worked out from what I’ve heard.
I have purchased over a 130 classes and I hope to keep them. But I have no desire to pay a monthly fee. I want to be able to purchase a class when ever I want one. I’m not a fan of this new idea!
I, too, have invested $$$ in my classes and don’t want to pay monthly since I refer to them sporadically. Some classes I purchased on sale with the intention of watching them in the future so I haven’t even used some of my classes.
I also wonder if my collection of patterns in my pattern library will be inaccessable as well. If so, I will be very unhappy and will decline to purchase a subscription as I did similarly with Creative Bug when they went to a subscription format.
There’s no indication that your pattern collection wouldn’t be available in the future nor is there indication that the classes you’ve purchased already wouldn’t be available.
I appts I ate the fact that you have reiterated over and over again ttat people will still have access to their content that they have already purchased. I also have purchased content which I would like to keep. I am positive that craftsy will make sure that their customers can still access their classes without having to pay a monthly subscription fee. This change just opens the door for those of us who are interested in experimenting with other creative media. I am thrilled that craftsy has provided the opportunity for customers to expand their horizons and yet keep the same platform in place for those who do not wish to step outside of their comfort zones. I know I will most certainly be taking advantage of the opportunity to pay a subscription fee in order to have access to over 1200+ classes in everything from cooking Mexican food to perspective drawing to sewing form fitting pieces to knitting toe up socks. I dont know how anyone could see this as a negative thing ESPECIALLY when they are not being forced to change or alter their current process in any way. I think it is futile to try to borrow trouble to worry about. Don’t we have enough actual things to worry about already instead of the ” what- ifs”?
I am also concerned about losing access to the on-line classes that I’ve already purchased. And like so many others have already stated, there is too much content that I’m not interested in, so I would not want to subsribe. This is obviously a decision being made based soley on profit margin and not on customer satisfaction. I hope they are looking at all the angles and understand that they will most likely lose a lot of their current customer base.
No, it isn’t! It is based on a test run they did in October 2015, when you could buy a month for 10€. People loved it! And did love it, too! It made me buy a lot classes I wouldn’t have bought without being able to verify there is an instructor I love and content I need to learn. I did binge watch the whole weekend, it was tremendous fun.
Furthermore any bought classes will still have the lifetime access, the subscription is just another option. Craftsy made that very clear!
You should give it a try, it is really fun to binge watch in your holidays.
I must admit I did enjoy binge watching recently. It gave me the opportunity to watch classes I wouldn’t normally have thought to buy. However, in this world of pay a little subscription here, another there…….pretty soon a little becomes one heck of a commitment !! $14.99 is too much. $4-5 might be worth considering, any more and I am not interested.
Abby, I see no mention about how this will affect Affiliates. I regularly recommend particular classes to followers. Because of this, a chunk of my income comes from being a consistent affiliate.
I agree that we don’t know the answer to this yet, nor do we know how it will affect instructor income. For instructor income the letter said it would “incremental.” What that means exactly we don’t know yet.
Believe me it will not work out to be in the affiliates favor.
There was one time about 2 years ago that Craftsy offered some customers access to all classes for one fee. I didn’t know this had been offered until I couldn’t watch the classes that I had paid for because the site was so overloaded and bogged down. If Craftsy is going to a subscription fee they are going to have to increase their bandwidth to be able to accommodate the extra traffic this will generate.
I personally think this is a very bad idea.
It sounds from the letter that they are going to put the steps in place to allow for an uptick in traffic. Remember that the majority owners are now a massive media company.
Will current class owners be required to pay subscription fee to view those classes? I don’t do subscriptions.
I can’t imagine that they would.
“I can’t imagine” is not reassuring or binding.
You’re right. I don’t work for Craftsy and they haven’t announced those details yet. This is just my conjecture.
I’m also uneasy about this. I to have purchased a lot of classes and hate to see the a la carte feature go away. The membership subscription means I will pay for the class twice. Once to stream another if I want “own it”. Sometimes progress is not always good. Alas all good things must come to an end. Ugh!
I have lots and lots of classes on craftsy and will like to view them, without paying any additional amount, I have already paid lots. If craftsy changes the policy and require at anytime more money for these courses I will have to terminate my relationship with them. I think most people will feel this way.
I dont subscribe. I have many Craftsy classes that I own and want to continue to purchase and own classes. It is disappointing for me to see this. Hopefully the option to own one class will still be available. Who did they survey??!! The CEO’s of NBCUniversal?
I think they will lose a lot of customers. I won’t pay a monthly fee. And hope I don’t lose the classes I’ve already paid for.
The way I see it, we have a contract with Craftsy that we have bought classes with the understanding that they are ours to keep. I do not believe that NBC can change the terms of a contract without our agreement, even if they change the format or am I wrong? I’m a Brit, so how would that legal aspect be addressed?
Again, I really don’t think anyone is going to lose access to classes they’ve purchased.
Do you mean acces to our paid for classes only if we subscribe? I would not subscribe for something I use intermittently. As someone else has already stated I also believe we have a contract with Craftsy for permanent unrestricted access. I neither like nor want this change at all.
I never comment on these things, but there is no indication any of us will lose our classes! It also sounds like it’s an opt-in situation. Just because Craftsy was bought by NBC doesn’t mean they’re suddenly going to start screwing their customers over, that wouldn’t be very smart! Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt before everybody gets all up in arms, assuming the worst. Let’s just wait and see what they say. Now, it’s time to get back to Suzy Furrer…
Hear hear! Nicely put Carol L. Some people just like to stir the pot. It’s totally still in development stages.
I did the survey and I was emphatic that I would not use a subscription service and I still am. I do not use Creative Bug for this reason.
With all the other things I pay every month I can’t afford another monthly commitment but I’ve paid many hundreds of dollars to Craftsy in months when I can afford it to own my classes outright and subscription free.
I add my voice to those who hope we won’t have to pay for membership to watch what we already own. I won’t be giving any more money to this company unless this will still be an option.
I also only buy knitting classes – access to every subject area is not something I would be interested in.
I don’t think Craftsy will take away access to what you’ve already purchased.
I am not a fan of Craftsy becoming subscription. I prefer the la crate feature! I am not a fan of subscription sites in general though. At this point in y life I have to consider each and every “monthly expense”.
I don’t want to pay a monthly fee to be able to access what I already “own” .
That being said. I am hopeful that the ‘powers that be ‘ will take everything that they read in these comments into consideration and that all will be well. I cannot criticize or make any decisions about Craftsy until I know the full plans for the revised website.
I sure hope that the classes I’ve spent $$$ on will still be mine to view at my leisure. We were told we would have access at any time and I hope they stay true to their statements when working up their new contract with NBC. If not, there will be a lot of unhappy consumers. I am not a fan of a subscription membership as I’m not interested in some of the other categories.
I wrote to craftsy about this and they were very quick to respond to all my inquiries. This is what I was told:
“Thank you for reaching out to us. I completely understand your concern, but rest assured, the subscription option is simply another option for our millions of members.
Customers who sign up for the Membership program will have streaming access to the full Craftsy catalog for a monthly fee, and if they want to purchase a class to keep forever, they will still have the option to do so using an “Own Forever” feature within Membership.
More information will be available as it comes but we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop. If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to ask.”
An additional inquiry got this response:
“You do not need to subscribe to buy a class. A subscription simply allows you access to all of the classes but if you only want one class at a time that option is still available!”
I feel much better about the coming changes!
Thank you for this, Gabby!
That’s great to hear, thank you!
Thank you, Gabby! That eases my own worries. But I’m still going to chime in with a comment elsewhere.
I too, have bought many Craftsy classes. I certainly do not want to purchase them again, and I won’t.
As I recall when we purchased our classes we were promised they were ours forever without a recurring fee. . Can’t see how they can take them away now. I would think it would breach the “contract”.
Abby, Thank you for this information. I sure hope classes already purchased will be accessible with or without monthly subscription fee.
I will look elsewhere for on-line classes. Like so many others, I can’t afford a monthly subscription fee for something I don’t use on a monthly basis. Too bad they can’t offer unlimited access for those who want to see all the classes and an a la carte for those who only use occasionally.
They will offer exactly what you’ve just described.
Given the 100% negative response to the idea of a monthly membership fee, I wonder who participated in the consumer insights study they claim to have conducted!
I’m not keen on subscriptions idea at all! I would not like lose my already purchased classes or have to pay to see them again!
I personally think it’s a bad move unless you address these issues very clearly!
You will not lose them or have to pay for them again.
You are not being clear by not addressing membership fees to already own purchases.
We aren’t affiliated with Craftsy. Craft Industry Alliance is a trade association and we are just reporting on this story. If you have questions for Craftsy please direct them to customer service on Craftsy.com.
I agree with what everyone so far has said, except for the one that liked the idea, so no need for me to be repetitive. They had something that worked for the consumers and now they are messing with it. It will probably come back to bite them in the rear…
I do not like the idea of a subscription service. I never joined creativebug because of it, or Quilter’s Circle. I hope the subscription service is optional and that I will still have access to all the classes I have purchased. I don’t want to pay monthly to view what I already paid for. The subscription should be an option for people who want that, otherwise it is a terrible idea.
You will.
I hope they will not block the classes already paid for if we do not scribe. I have purchased classes that I thought I was going to have access to for longer than 2018.
And you will.
I share the concerns of many on here. I’ve bought a lot of classes over the years some with the intention of taking them in the future. Some I’m only halfway through and others I want to watch again or refer to. Not sure a monthly subscription would fit my budget or that I would use it every month.
For me, it all depends on the actual monthly fee. I enjoy Creativebug. For $4.95 a month, I have tried many different things than I would not have tried if I had to buy individual classes. And, every month, I get a credit to keep a class in my library, for forever access, even if I stop paying monthly. I do own a handful of Craftsy classes and have been mostly happy with them. And I try to buy them on sale. But for the amount of Craftsy classes I own, I still haven’t quite paid that much to Creativebug. If the monthly fee is reasonable to me, I would totally consider signing up because there are topics it would be fun to try, without buying. I am interested to see how it goes.
I have bought a number of classes, sewing, bag making, knitting, and each have been wonderful. I intend to subscribe as I love the classes, and anticipate with such a purchasing structure I will finally be able to take classes that have interested me but not enough to justify the cost, most specifically the cooking classes.
Bravo on the change!
Coincidence or what? 🙂 I’ve been subscribing to Creativebug for about 2 years and buying classes from Craftsy of much longer. I just this week decided to cancel my Creativebug subscription as I rarely use its content. I’ve come to feel that much – but by no means all – of its content is rather lightweight and general magasine level eye catching/simple. The platform feels a tad clunky and some classes come over as lackingin production values. Whereas Craftsy delivers high quality – often in-depth – material from a very broad team of teachers who have already acheived distinction in their field well beyond the Craftsy platform. So I will become a subscriber in due course but with a layer of trepidation that this change could mark the commencement of a dumbing down process for its current superb content. We shall see…..
I think that’s a great question. Will working to appeal to a broader NBCUniversal audience change the caliber of the content over time?
Anyone remember the Netflix debacle when they shifted their pricing. Still am not a Netflix customer. As long as I keep my forever classes I don’t care what they do, unless the go out of business and I lose them all. I won’t be subscribing
I’m also not interested in getting a subscription… Why would you take someone that it’s unique and model it after something that is already out there? Makes no sense… Usually to gain market share your want to me unique not the same as everyone else 🤔
Since this has just happened…and I personally have not had a chance to use what I have bought…will not buy anything more, and it will be a disgrace if the do not honor our contracts..
Now that I’m retired, I’ve opted out of all of the online subscriptions for tutorials, etc. I don’t see myself subscribing.
I have purchased nearly 40 classes and they had better remain mine as that was how they were advertised! I will not subscribe to a subscription of any sort with craftsy as. Like to pick and choose! I need to be figuring out how to download my classes!