Using Basecamp instead of Assembla
Well, I successfully distanced myself from Assembla today and moved my stuff to Basecamp. I had two projects that I closed out. Neither used very much space. One used about 2MB, and the other used about 25. It was a brief headache for me. All of my workers were used to Assembla and will now have to get used to Basecamp. I will still have to find hosting for my SVN repo. In the end, though, it’s worth it to me. Basecamp costs more, but it has a solid reputation. You know what you’re getting from them up front. They don’t say one thing, then switch directions. They don’t lure you in with a really great offer, and then take that away when you are used to using them. Assembla does, and I would rather not give money to a company that makes such rash decisions without considering the consequences to users.
The bait and switch isnt anything new (look at Vistaprint – free business cards right?) but i dont think this is the case with Assembla. they need to cover their expenses, thats all, and their prices arnt bad with their product offering. They can easily provide all the features that basecamp offers as well. why didnt you just use their project management tools and save the money and hassle of moving?
ryan
November 7, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Because I don’t think it’s a good idea to support businesses that use bait and switch methods. As much as I liked Assembla, I don’t like the way that they treated their “free” clients. “Free” clients are not just “free” clients, they are also potential pay clients. If a company treats you poorly when they are trying to get your business, they will treat you poorly when they actually get your business.
In short, grandfathering users would have cost Andy and company no more money or space. It would have turned their “free” clientele into advocates for their company. In the short term, their actions may make them a little money. In the long run, however, it will cost them money. They’ve turned advocates into adversaries. In the past, I have recommended Assembla to my developer friends. In the future, I won’t just not mention Assembla to people who are looking for a platform for their projects; I will tell people NOT to use them.
Jason Fowler
November 8, 2008 at 9:39 am
I really wouldn’t categorize what Assembla did as a “bait and switch.” I have always considered their previous revenue model completely untenable, so it came as no surprise to me that they adopted a pay model. My biggest concern with Assembla since day 1 was that they were headed towards fiscal insolvency, so the change to no more free closed-source projects is a change I welcomed.
In the long run, it won’t cost them money, because people like you and I weren’t paying to begin with. We’re an expense–not a benefit–so I don’t agree with you that their best course of action was to grandfather in projects. And to be perfectly frank, their prices are ridiculously reasonable. Consider how much I bill an hour for my work, assembla is an absurdly good deal. It saves my clients money and allows me to be far more competitive since I don’t have to manage setting up a rather substantial project infrastructure for each and every client I have.
I do agree with you that they handled the transition poorly (they should have given much more notice, and queried their community more before switching to a pay scheme), but fundamentally I think it was a move that was A) bound to happen and B) good for customers in the long run.
I do not work for assembla; I just think you need to consider how valuable their service is before you speak in haste. Again, I agree they handled the move poorly (need to spend some of that new $$$ on a PR person), but ultimately I see it as a benefit to my project’s stability.
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September 11, 2012 at 7:45 am