Look in the App store-but DON’T BUY IT FROM THERE!
The App Store on your Mac is a great place to find new software. It’s easy to browse, it’s easy to check out the features, it’s easy to buy, and it’s easy to install. It sounds like the App Store has it all, but wait! You may be able to find that much needed software cheaper than what Apple is offering it. How you ask? Read on past the break to find out how AND to see proof.
You see the Apple Inc. takes a little cash from every sale from the developers on every sale. It’s there fee for letting the developers put there software in the App Store, so often if you go to the developers website you can find the exact same software from the source for less price. Take for the app Voila made by Global Delight for example. It is a screen capture program (it lets me take pictures of my screen for my blog posts) and in the App Store it will set you back a cool $29.99. Check out the picture-I can’t make this stuff up.
You may have overlooked or just not cared about the two links in the right side of the page. One will take you to their support page and the other will take you to the developers home page. Click on the latter and you will see that Voila is being sold directly from the developer too. Not sure where those links are, check out the picture below.
At first glance Voila is the same price as the App Store, but dig a little deeper and you will that they offer an educational license for $19.99. A ten dollar savings, they even have a YouTube video showing Voila in action and at the end of the video they have a promotional code that takes and additional five dollars. So, if I bought it from the App Store I would have paid nearly thirty dollars, but I ended up paying only $14.99 for a great app.
Need another example? Try the educational software Planbook from Hellmansoft. It is powerful software that lets you write your lesson plans (duh). In the App Store it will cost you $34.99 in the App Store, but go to the developers website and you’ll find it for $30.00. Now I know it is only five dollars, but in these times every little bit counts. Now this isn’t always the case.
Another advantage to checking out the developers website is they often offer free trials, so you can try out the software and decide if it’s right for you or not worth the cash. The App Store does not offer this (at least not to my knowledge). Both of these developers DO offer a free trial, so plug away.
Don’t get me wrong the App Store is a great place to peruse some great software and it is also a nice place to read reviews, check out features and to quickly compare competing software. I love the App Store, but I love saving money a little more. So be sure to check the developers website for free trials, deals, and a little savings.
Technology in the Classroom 
[…] was browsing through the App Store (remember my buying advice? If not check it out here) and came across this lesson planning program and thought I’d give it a try. Of course you […]
[…] Want cheaper Mac software? Look in the App store-but DON’T BUY IT FROM THERE! The App Store on your Mac is a great place to find new software. It’s easy to browse, it’s easy to check out the features, it’s easy to… Source: itbabble.com […]
This is a great idea. Thanks for pointing it out.
No problem. I figured many people just shop at the App store and call it a day. Going that one step further can save you or at least give you more info about the product which is never a bad thing. As the school year starts what type of technology do you think you’ll be using? Just curious. Thanks for stopping by.