UX Power Tools

1. Lame design 2. Deceptive business model/practices 3. Worthless customer support 4. Company is run by greedy guys who don't care about their customers or the community, they only care about making a quick buck I bought UX Power Tools when it first came out, probably 2 or so years ago. I used it a little bit, but quickly outgrew it because I can make my own design system. I mostly used it for reference. One year ago, they released an update, UX Power Tools 2.0. I got the announcement email, and because I liked Jon Moore and wanted to support them, I bought the (discounted) upgrade. I opened the file the day I bought it, saw that they redesigned everything in a way that I didn't like (looks like 2012 Web 2.0 style), and I never looked at it again. Fast forward to a couple days ago, and I received an email about a charge from Gumroad. Turns out, I was unknowingly signed up for a subscription to this product. I contacted them on Twitter and asked for a refund, and they messaged me back and said no. I guess I'll just take the support I've shown you guys and shove it, right? Thanks for the reciprocity! The only mention of this subscription was in the very last sentence of a very long email, and it was deceptively phrased "free updates when you subscribe." I didn't even see this, but let's break it down. First of all, if I'm paying a subscription fee, the updates aren't free, are they? Second, there was no mention that "subscribing" cost money; the words "free updates" were bolded, and there was no explanation of what subscribing entailed. I have never, nor would I ever, intentionally subscribe to something like this. Why would I? Especially when the "free updates" that I'm paying for (lol) seem to be nonexistent? The product is the same as it was when I bought it a year ago. The only thing that has changed is I've once again paid for a product that I don't use and doesn't even get "free updates." Jon should be ashamed of himself. He writes articles on UX best practices, even writes specifically about dark patterns, and then he runs a business that deals in deception and some of the worst dark patterns I've ever seen. They've done an *ok* job of explaining this subscription on their website now, but one year ago, going straight from their marketing email to the Gumroad checkout, the subscription was never made clear, I was not given a chance to opt out of buying a subscription vs one-time download, and I received no warning that the subscription was about to renew for a product that I don't even use. I guess when your product sucks this bad, you have to trick people into paying for it. I'll be able to live without that $48, but I hope Jon has a hard time living with the fact that he's a dishonest hypocrite.