Cool idea! Sometimes I wish Stackoverflow had a similar functionality, where rather than getting help, I could literally offer a cash bounty for the solution. I realize the focus of SO is for education, but would be a nice option, particularly since it already has a very active community.
2) I personally admire email campaign sites like campaignmonitor.com and mailchimp.com. They have created great businesses centered around a very simple product. It also has a wide enough audience and viral loop.
I have kinda asked this to the group, but thought I would direct it at you. Do you think other sub-markets of eBay could flourish as a separate entity? Or was Etsy just able to find a really good balance of a good market with a good audience?
I think these guys have also done a great job in showing how to chip away at eBay. Do you see any potential markets/customers/products that could also benefit from a dedicated site?
Just to touch base on why we went with the monthly fee. A majority of other wedding sites offer both a flat fee and monthly. The monthly is nice because that way people don't feel committed. You also have to keep in mind that average engagement lasts 8 months and some brides might choose to keep their sites up after the wedding.
There are tons of other monetization ways - but right now we are trying to focus on the main revenue model.
Another question I wanted to bring up: What are options for ways to construct a SaaS business model?
1) 37 signals approach - which is a very limited hidden free plan and then numerous other paid options.
2) Squarespace approach - 15 day free trial, with no credit card required. If you don't upgrade then your account is canceled
3) Carbonmade approach - funnel everyone into the site via a free plan and then once registered try to get them to upgrade
4) And then another pretty common one is - credit card down on sign up with a 15 day free trial, which rolls into a paid plan if you don't cancel.
I've found the small team in charge of the app store/itunes connect customer support to be very helpful. You mention that you emailed them. What did they say when you called?
I think this really touches on something that Marco had mentioned in his blog as well about the dichotomy of the app store. We all know people who have Iphones and literally refuse to buy any apps that cost money, even ones that are a dollar. Usually they are less savy users with far different expectations. Pick any app in the top 25 that is under a dollar and you'll surely see a bunch of oddly worded reviews, mostly hyper-critical and complaining about what a waste of money it is.
Raising your app price will undoubtedly weed out these users and, while sales will be lower, it will be a more quality, educated user. JMO
You make a interesting observation. I think the reason it seems so popular right now is because every web app created these days caters to creatives/freelancers/webmasters. So they circulate in this area a lot. I mean I can name 20 different time tracking, invoicing, and project collaboration apps.
I see less "web apps" and more "consumer applications" in the next few years. Online software that is set out to meet a certain need in our lives.