P: Photoshop pricing structure is too high

http://www.adobe.com/education/purcha...

Edit: If one were to open a carpenter’s shop acquiring the necessary tools would appear to be a necessity and due to their haptic nature most people are likely to not contend that their prices correspond to some actual value.
With software many people seem to have somewhat of a disconnect – by copying the software the proprietors of the intellectual property does not suffer a reduction of any material possessions so they appear to have suffered no damage.
But if a creative professional’s copyright is infringed upon – by unlicensed and unpaid use or re-use of their photographs, illustrations, layouts, animations etc. – they might appreciate the point more.

Dear Adobe Gripe #2503

"Please lower the prices for Photoshop. Do you really think that poor students who want to use your software pay $999? We don't have that money, and saving for it takes years, which will make us have no jobs because lack of software."

Dear Adobe,
This is the 3rd time I am taking the time to write to you on this topic.
I’m an art photographer, advanced amateur level, once had some buzz around me & currently trying to get back to it. I was a film & paper type with my own B&W darkroom; where I printed & toned my images to hand color. Digital came along & I was a hold out. I bought a used computer that had Photoshop on it. I think the version was 7.0. I liked it very much. I could still shoot on Plus-X & then scan my negatives. I could also scan my older negatives that I did not have the talent to produce a good image from in the dark room. It was great. I started digging thru family photo albums to find old, beat up photos to scan and restore. Photoshop opened some new doors for me. I moved into a new home in farmland, water here is well & septic. Not good or safe for a traditional darkroom. I was embracing digital & making all types of new creative images. I invested in a high end Epson printer to improve the quality of the prints for gallery showings.
As time passed, technology grew & my computer was left behind. Everyday life events stood in the way of my “art career” and it went to the back burner. Recently, I decided to try to resurrect my art photos. I went out and bought a new tower, scanner and monitor. I then went out to buy the newest version of Photoshop. The version I have was out dated when I got it, I could not wait to see what the new software could do. Research showed it was beyond my expectations. I saw new programs and software bundles. Not just photo software, but web site tools, effects, design. Also art graphics, digital illustration & many more possibilities. CS 5 has it all. Actually way more than I need and more than I’d probably ever use. Then I saw the price. I looked at stripping it down to Photoshop only, but I must admit, it was very steep for my budget.
The Adobe website had links to package discounts. I saw that educators and students can get the software at great discounts. Places like E-bay, Overstock, Amazon, etc, carry the software at huge discounts over Adobe as well. But, any site other than Adobe warns the software cannot be registered and might not be able to activate to work. It did not sound legit to me. I was doing more research when it was suggested to me to have one of my nieces or nephews who are active students or one of my friends that are teachers to buy it for me. I’m sure many people do this, but that type of thing is not my style. If there is some problem, it could backfire & since it would not be a legit purchase, I would prefer not to do it and keep to the high road.
I saw that the Adobe site ran a contest, download the trial version of the program to explore for 30 days & get a chance of winning a home office make over. The down load was a nightmare. The amount of data used up the allowed amount in the agreement with my internet service provider. I had to stretch it out over two billing period and still incurred extra costs. The worst part was that after all that, I was unable to open or activate the download to try it out. I understand this is on me. The overages, the extra costs, all on me. Why it would not open is on me as well probably because of not being able to download in one attempt.
This brings me to why I’m writing. Artists don’t tend to make money like commercial users.
We can’t afford the commercial rate. So Adobe shuns the honest people who don’t use connections to get the software. Shuns the money we want to spend to get the software. If you are going to discount to some groups, why turn away others. More artists would submit Photoshop creations to Adobe to use in advertising to allow Adobe to attract more artists and more business. Unless of course the economy does not affect your revenue.
This is what I think every time you send me an e-mail. I’m sure plenty of people are currently taking advantage of your discount program. Your current pricing guarantees this practice will continue.
Consider the market you are missing out on.
If you are someone who is important enough to make changes in Adobe and you are reading this, follow the path this message took to end up in front of you.
From the customer service person who gave it to their supervisor to the person who handed you the printed copy, and every hand that moved to closer to you in between.
These are the Adobe employees who care about the company and are team players. Find them, reward them, they are Adobe’s future.
I’ve sent this before and I will continue to send it until I hear a response.
Thank you for your time.
R. Sinkus

A few ideas:

Adobe offers upgrade pricing for users who own a copy within 3 versions back (So currently, users of Photoshop CS2, CS3 or CS4 can upgrade to Photoshop CS5 for $199 vs $699 for the full version)

Student Pricing - Students get an amazing discount on Adobe software.

Subscription License - Great for people/businesses who only need software on a project basis.

Photoshop Elements is very powerful version of Photoshop for non-pros is available for only $99 (the Editor is available on its own from the Mac App Store for $79).

I do agree that the product/pricing structure for Suites is complicated. It's something I'd like to see simplified for our users.

It would be nice if Photoshop and after affects cost less so more people would have the money to buy it

I find it frustrating that having been a loyal, paid-up user of Photoshop for years, there's no sliding scale that recognises that I've paid for all those earlier versions! By now, I reckon it should be much cheaper for me to update my CS4 to CS5! And why are UK prices (apparantly) dearer than US ones?