Cricut Decision

“Thank you for your candor” makes me think of Divergent. 🤣

All they have to do is make it more appealing, then everyone wins.

They were essentially trying to force users to get the sub, which is why everyone got upset.

I really like Cricut Access and don't have a problem paying for it if the content is good. I cancelled my subscription as I didn't find myself creating many of the projects on a regular basis. But I love how easy it is to find and make projects.

you know what they say....you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all the people, all of the time.  

there will always be grumblers and some of those grumblers will grumble loud.  it's those grumblers that might turn off any new users.  

but i agree, if you throw enough incentives at it, you may get a good number of people on board.  i thought the unlimited uploads given under the proposed subscriptions was a pretty good incentive but i guess not.  i don't know what else they could throw in but i guess we'll see.  i don't have a cricut myself but i know many who do.  my only skin in the game is what one company does, other's will always follow. 

I have seen how excited many Peas got about the small size of the Joy and also wondered about Silhouette releasing a similar machine, but after thinking more about it, I don't think Silhouette will do so. I completely get that the small footprint and portability of the Joy can be a plus, but it has so many limitations due to its size. Right now, the Silhouette Portrait is $200 and the 12" Cameo 4 is $300. I think part of the price difference there can be attributed to the Cameo 4's increased motor capabilities for its second tool carriage. If Silhouette released a smaller machine, many of the most expensive parts (motor, motherboard, etc) would still need to exist. It seems that the only thing (materials wise) that would cost less would be how much plastic is used in the width. Although in general I think Cricut charges a premium for their products, I think their pricing of the Joy reflects the fact that even a smaller machine is expensive to produce.

These are all just my speculations, but I can't really see Silhouette releasing a smaller machine than the Portrait, because it seems like it would have to be priced quite a bit lower to make sense to Silhouette customers. If I can get a machine that cuts 8.5x11 for $200, would I spend $150 for a machine that can only cut 4" wide? In that scenario, I personally would only be willing to pay $99 or less for a 4" Silhouette.

I also think that Cricut has a track record of releasing trendy machines and discontinuing them and Silhouette, although not perfect, really stands behind their machines. I do think that part of the appeal of the Joy is that it's small and cute...not that it's the most functional. I'm not saying some crafters wouldn't get their use out of it, I personally just don't see it being a machine that is still being used regularly in ten years. (And I'm speaking as someone who has had my Cameo 1 for ten years and am still cutting with it today!)

Now, I absolutely think that Silhouette should improve their mobile app so that the Portrait can be used with only the app, which would be a great way to compete with the Joy. (I know you can send cut jobs with only the app, but from what I've read, it's not great for designing. I think the simplicity of just using your phone + a machine is really appealing, so Silhouette should jump on that.)

Since users haven’t had any limits to their uploads before, it was taking away something they’ve had all along unless they subscribed, which is the issue that upset people. Those who use it for educational purposes or for a business, suddenly felt like they had had the rug yanked out from under them. Cricut apparently thought that offering the long hoped for offset function would be enough incentive. Not to me.

Offset is a very basic feature, that most graphic design programs include with no strings attached. Since Cricut users have been asking for it for literally years, to have it tied to a subscription, plus limiting uploads (which had never been an issue before) was stupid and unreasonable.

However, Cricut has backed off on the limited uploads, at least for now.

When I said they should make their subscription more appealing, I was thinking more along the lines of the Silhouette sub, which allows me to buy designs of my choice for pennies on the dollar. I pay $12 to buy $150 in designs that are to my taste. Temporary use of a large pool of designs at about $10/month is more expensive for me than paying the price of a few files for my current project. I’ve bought a few Cricut Disney designs while working on a Disney album (but not that many), and even at $1/file, it was less expensive than subscribing for one month to Cricut Access. Disney files are not included with Cricut Access, anyway.

I’ve had a Silhouette subscription for years and have more files than I will ever use, simply because their sub appealed to me, while Cricut’s did not. My Silhouette sub also lets me buy the SVG version of the file if I choose, which I can then import into the Cricut software. That would have been an issue with the proposed change in uploads. Buying the SVG of a Silhouette file costs me additional credits, but it is only useful if it is (1) leather I want to cut or (2) extremely detailed. The Explore does cut finer details than my Cameo, and while the Cameo can reportedly cut leather, I’ve done it with my Explore. My Cameo will do as well as my Explore for everything else. I don’t care for the Cricut Design software much, either. I view it with only slightly less distaste as their business practices over the years.