Beware of Predatory Pricing – Osmo World Review

I love Osmo, it’s a great concept that combines screen time with tactile, real world play. Here’s what I don’t love: Tangible Play know it has a good thing so it keeps jacking up the prices. During the COVID lockdown they undoubtedly saw a huge surge in purchases. Rather than lower their prices to make their product more accessible to more parents, they had the temerity to raise their prices to the point where buying every set will cost you hundreds of dollars. Worse, they have recently begun the practice of charging existing customer yo “upgrade” whenever they release a new app. This “upgrade” costs $25 an app and up, an unheard of pricing scheme on the App Store where at MOST apps cost $7.99. And you can bet that their executives are plotting how to turn to a subscription pricing model. I don’t begrudge this company for trying to maximize profits, but this is to the point of price gouging. Parents are already paying $50-$100 for a box of little plastic pieces, but on top of this they need to pay an additional $25 each time a new app comes out. I for one will not be rewarding them by paying these obscene “upgrade” fees. A kid out of college who studied marketing knows that you achieve market penetration by pricing your product fairly, not gouging your early adopters once you’ve “trapped” them. It is only a matter of time before cheap ripoffs from China come to the market—Osmo had best learn not to p*ss off their loyal customer base now before that happens.
Review by H to the Chi on Osmo World.