It’s messed up because I, and am sure others, thought you guys were genuine and would honor the deal and more importantly your word. It’s short sighted because if you really want us to succeed with Pickaxes and monetize them ( you get your cut right? ) why would you nickel and dime us OG users who were there from the start. And we are not asking for special treatment, we are asking you to honor the deal we agreed to.
7 Likes
Hi all,
Sorry to hear you feel this change in our system was an unexpected limitation on your LTDs. Our agreement with LTD providers is to provide the same limitations to them as we do our Gold customers (with some minor differences). We continue to uphold that commitment, but as our platform has changed a lot over the last few months, we have made changes across all tiers as well. We’re in the process of improving the way we store documents, in the future we may relax these restrictions. For now, unlimited documents are available to folks on the Pro tier. Subscribing to the Pro tier is orders of magnitude more supportive of Pickaxe than any LTD. If you love Pickaxe, and hope to see it improve in the way that Clay did (as @nestor mentioned), consider upgrading. It is our abiding goal to support our customers in making amazing things. Meanwhile, for those that don’t upgrade, we’re committed to continuous improvement of the product.
Some benefits LTD subscribers have now that they didn’t have when we did the deal are as follows:
Access to (1) user memory (previously it was 0).
Access to Pickaxe chaining (just released yesterday)
Access to many of the new models like 4.1 mini, claude 3.7, and others.
Automatic AI generated summaries of conversations in the dashboard
And a host of other improvements, all made and available to LTD folks since our sale.
6 Likes
Lol, that says it all right there. So ungrateful. Who is going to market for you? Your unsupportive LTD’s? C’mon man!
Even I could have put this through ChatGPT and prompted “Here is my original statement. How can I sound more human and stop pissing off our bedrock initial supporters?”. Since I don’t nickel and dime, you can have that prompt… On me.
Now, I get it. The hope of all LTDs is for them to upgrade. I mean, I did it and it has been an iffy experience, but what LTD user in their right mind would ever trust you enough to upgrade now?
5 Likes
Many of the owner’s previous responses have made your intentions clear to me. In fact, this kind of attitude scares me away. However, I want to remind you, as a business owner, that your customers aren’t simply investing in you out of love for you or your product.
We are taking a risk as early adopters, expecting the benefits you’ve promised to give us, including performance improvements, bug fixes, and new features update over time. You cannot simply reduce the quota from the deal you have already made as a contract just because you adding some new features update. (And please don’t confuse the word “features” with the word “quota.”)
As early adopters, we understand that if things don’t go as planned, we risk losing our investment. We are not investing in you simply because we want you to succeed; rather, we want to see our benefits realized. That’s why we genuinely want you to succeed. Therefore, your success should not come at the expense of our benefits.
Please be honest with us. Don’t try to be tricky, as that will cost you your reputation. Branding is important and costly in business .
I encourage you to listen more attentively to truly understand, rather than just listening to argue.
Thank you for understanding.
7 Likes
Even though there were a campaign selling Add-Ons to LTD customers, there are still conditions and time constraints that complicate the purchasing process. If there is a genuine intention to help LTD succeed in business together, the policies, pricing, and campaigns for purchasing Add-Ons should reflect a greater sense of responsibility. At least, I want to see “Anytime Upgrade Campaign” for LTD customers?
You probably had a different purchase term. Maybe updates are not included for you, that’s why you had to buy.
My purchase terms were All future updates included and All future models 
I had several LTDs. They don’t tell me I have to be grateful for the updates they gave me because that’s part of my purchase. They are not even being “smart” about the updates they give me. What they promise, they give.
That’s why I campaign for them. In LTD groups, if someone asks for chatbot, I campaign for my other LTD. I even saw someone telling to stay away from Pickaxe and recommend another chatbot.
2 Likes
Hey folks,
I’ve been a Pickaxe customer since before OpenAi announced the “GPT store.” When that announcement happened, I had barely started my work relationship with the guys as the Pickaxe Evangelist when that happened — for me that moment felt like it must be for iOS Developers when their amazing new tool is built into the new version of iOS.
That said, it’s important to be clear that what follows is my own words and not that of the company In any way and should not be construed as speaking on behalf of Pickaxe. And back to our story…
That was a long time ago and both products — Pickaxe and ChatGPT have continued to evolve along on their own unique paths.
Both are critical tools in my day-to-day work life.
The point here is that Pickaxe today isn’t the same product I started working with a couple years ago.
As part of the switch to the new domain, the software went through a complete rebuild. I don’t really know the particulars about why the decision to do a complete overhaul happened — but as a result of that change it did become a somewhat different product.
And as much as I was happy with the product before the latest transformation — even in my role as evangelist, it’s absurd for me to ask the guys to keep everything the same. Not just software, this is ai, and the world is moving faster than anyone can track.
My point is that what you purchase a lifetime deal for is basically no longer the product that’s now for sale.
If it’s not usable in its current form, I’m sure the team would love to hear why it’s not working and will do what they can to improve upon it.
If, after engaging in these forums and joining the office hours and even setting up a call with the team, there’s truly no way that Pickaxe can continue to meet your needs as a lifetime subscriber, I imagine Pickaxe would be open to ending your account prematurely and offering some sort of partial refund.
After all, its lifetime subscription — not a marriage.
But instead of focusing on how Pickaxe can meet your needs, I’m hearing how you are unhappy with recent changes.
With the base unit now being a Studio, instead of a Pickaxe, this means that all of your additional information for that tool set can be shared across Pickaxes. This is a great opportunity, but it does mean that things are tabulated differently.
I can’t promise results, but I think if folks were able to describe exactly how many more documents they would need included and why there aren’t any known workarounds to the current limitations, we might start seeing more progress than trying to hold Pickaxe to the promise that it continue to be the same Pickaxe you first fell in love with months ago.
3 Likes
The term LTD is antiquated and needs to be updated. We’re not really buying a lifetime deal on ■■■■■■■ or anywhere else, we’re supporting ideas, builders, and dreamers. The entire concept needs an overall and should be named something different.
LTD = Fallacy
With that said, Pickaxe is a top tier product that is on a develop journey of unprecedented velocity. The speed at which AI sector is developing is lightning fast.
Stop taking these needed development changes so personally. You’re not owed anything btw - read the fine print.
If you truly want Pickaxe to succeed subscribe to the Pro tier. If your business cannot afford that tier, I’m sorry but your business is underperforming.
Take a page from the team here.
Evolve or die.
“You’re not owed anything btw - read the fine print.”
The information you provided is a very important piece of information. Can you please share an attachment of this fine print? Curious about this and would like to read. TIA
1 Like
As an Pickaxe builder, I would assume you could find a way to get this information yourself. Are you going to support this company and ensure they don’t become part of the 92% that fail? Or keep pissing and moaning that someone moved your cheese?
This is AS article defining what a lifetime deal is. This talks about LTD software in general in it’s lifetime. It’s not about feature limitations.
And not all LTD software rescinds purchase terms.
This thread is about Pickaxe rescinding purchase terms (via feature downgrade) and not LTD software in general. Even the OP is talking specifically about Pickaxe, not LTD software in general.
Even you said this “Stop taking these needed development changes so personally. You’re not owed anything btw - read the fine print.”
I’m assuming you are talking about needed development changes of Pickaxe? Because that’s the thread is about - the changes, the “limitations”.
So it’s clear this is not about general LTD software, this is about Pickaxe.
I’m genuinely curious because where a seller made an offer, and a buyer had given consideration, if a seller don’t owe a buyer anything, then that’s fraud. And I don’t think Pickaxe is a fraud. I’m surprised you shared a print from AS and not from Pickaxe.
So you’re right, I could find a way to get the information because I’m a Pickaxe user, but I can’t find a fine print where Pickaxe said they don’t owe us anything.
So, can you please kindly share the fine print where it says they don’t owe us anything? Thank you.
2 Likes
Hello everyone,
Regarding the recent changes, I’d like to state that my position is neutral. This is because the changes have little direct impact on me personally, and more importantly, I sincerely hope that the pickaxe community continues to thrive for a long time. I believe the management team made these changes because they deemed them necessary for the service’s continuation.
However, I also understand that some users are experiencing inconvenience due to these changes. Past promises should be honored. On the other hand, if the alternative is the discontinuation of the service itself, then accepting the changes might become necessary.
What’s crucial is a thorough explanation during this process and an effort to find mutual understanding and compromises through dialogue with users. Early adopters have invested in this community knowing the risks. Every choice and action has a reason behind it. I believe an explanation of the reasons for these changes that everyone can either agree with or at least understand was necessary.
It pains me to see the negative trend in the ■■■■■■■ reviews.
1 Like
I understand that it makes far better sense for documents to be managed at a studio level than at a pickaxe level. It also makes sense that 1 web link = 1 document.
But where this new system runs into problems is when pickaxes inside one studio have very different information needs (little to no overlap in document access), and when the limit of studios themselves within a plan adds to that problem.
Previously, Gold plan and all LTD tiers: 50 documents x unlimited pickaxes = basically unlimited documents
Now, Gold plan and LTD Tier 1: 50 documents x 3 studios = 150 documents total
Now, LTD Tier 2 & 3: 50 documents x 50 studios = 2500 documents total
Since I got Pickaxe with the intent to embed my pickaxes inside my course platform, I didn’t plan to use studios for a while. But I could see their value for standalone projects in the future, and since I was very happy with Pickaxe, I upgraded from Tier 1 to Tier 2 on the LTD. The current limitations do not affect me or my business at all. And I can see how the limitations protect the longevity of Pickaxe.
But, with unlimited pickaxes on all tiers, it’s easy to see why people planned to do far more with Pickaxe. 50 studios (Tier 2 & 3) could equal 50 clients for an agency. And if you planned to solely embed pickaxes instead of using studios, even Tier 1 and the regular Gold plan could work, despite their 3 studio limit. (Although I do believe, once a company gets some traction in this space, the Pro plan is going to serve them much better. I feel the Gold plan and LTDs are better suited for one company selling their own tool access, and/or just getting started with an agency model.)
I’m not sure what the solution is for those who feel cheated by these changes. I don’t think the redundancy of having to upload the same documents for multiple similar pickaxes was helpful either (not to mention the inefficient usage of Pickaxe’s storage that caused). But very different pickaxes that need to reference a lot of documents are now having to be siloed in separate studios, vs. being put together and sold in one (one example would be any sort of offer that needs to reference policies in a specific state or country). This could also cause Pickaxe to miss out on studio revenue as users would have to use their own system and embeds to unify those siloed pickaxes across multiple studios.
Here are a few ideas I have for compromises (not knowing if any of these are feasible within Pickaxe’s new UI, and also acknowledging that the changes have been for the most part very welcome and have added lots of new functionality):
-
Providing additional documents per studio: What is the average number of pickaxes inside a studio? 3? 5? Maybe make the studio limit reflect that with a higher number of documents allowed. Or tally the number of pickaxes inside a studio and times that by 50 for the limit.
-
Spreading document limits over the account instead of by studio. While this wouldn’t be as helpful for Gold plan and Tier 1, it would allow Tiers 2&3 to have the ability to have several high document pickaxes without going over the 2500 account total.
-
Document-only studios that don’t count against the studio quota. With the current setup, you can’t have pickaxes outside a studio like you did before, and Pickaxe is not going to undo months of work to bring that back. But perhaps having a (unlimited or limited) lower tier of studio that is primarily for document storage of embedded pickaxes could be an option, so it sort of functions like an unassigned pickaxe did in the past?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Both things can be true: 1. The Pickaxe update organizes things better and adds in additional capabilities that make the product more valuable, and the main focus should be on staying competitive and sustainable in the current market. 2. Switching the number of documents to per (limited) studio instead of per (unlimited) pickaxe goes against what was promised in the LTD.
2 Likes
As a company evolves, it must make necessary adjustments to remain viable. If offering too many documents per bot becomes too costly to sustain the business, adjustments must be made. Often, founders may not know at the beginning how things will unfold or what developments to pursue. We should avoid rocking the boat or creating a negative perception, as we will all be affected if the company suffers. We are literally all in the same boat.
I believe in supporting companies that are performing well because the money invested will be used to develop more features for users. I trust the founder will honour us as the first backers, recognising the significant input we have provided in improving the products. However, this must be done sensibly.
I would appreciate it if the founder were more transparent about any future changes and how they affect us. Please do not leave us behind, as we are a main pillar of your business. Reputation and branding are too costly to ignore.
1 Like
If you are looking around, there are no many products like Pickaxe. If you were here 12 months ago, I’m sure you appreciate how much the product has improved. This wouldn’t be possible without a clear vision and a commitment to excellence.
Obviously, to have the best possible product in the fast-changing world we are in means you have to make decisions that make the product more robust, scalable, and adaptable.
Yes, there are some features that are slightly different from when you bought the LTD, but you also have new features that were not available then. Would you rather have Pickaxe V1 or have a product that offers the latest features and functions?
By the way, if the 50 documents per Studio are a limitation, I can think of at least three workarounds:
- Change the model to the new GPT 4.1 Mini which has a larger context window (1M tokens - equivalent to approx 1500 pages)
- Use a custom action that connects to an external DB like Pinecone that gives you unlimited storage
(How scalable is the knowledge base? - #3 by ab2308) - Merge some of the documents and compress them to add more text in each file. Or summarise / restructure some of the content.
I haven’t seen many chatbots using 50GB of data (50 documents x 100MB each) but if you have one, let me know as I’m curious. Happy to offer some ideas on how to handle the knowledge base.
8 Likes
It seems like the Pickaxe team has made some frustrating changes to their document-fetching policy. What used to be a limit of 50 documents per pickaxe, meaning with three pickaxes you could fetch up to 150 documents, has now been changed to a limit split across pickaxes. Plus, links are now considered documents and it’s really toned down the usefulness of the tool. I can see why users are frustrated as it feels more like breaking their original terms rather than a change due to a policy update. It may be worth it to contact support for clarification or for a potential rollback.
3 Likes
While I understand how the change can be frustrating — I think it’s important to acknowledge that the fundamental way the Pickaxe ecosystem operates shifted fundamentally with the change.
For the most part, I think the best solution for most instances would just be to consolidate the documents into fewer larger documents.
Is there a reason this isn’t a viable solution for most users?
It appears that there has been a drastic shift in the terms of the offer in terms of document limits. Initially, the 50-document limit was per pickaxe, i.e., with three pickaxes in a studio, you would have been able to retrieve 150 documents. But the new limit now comes for all three pickaxes together, which dramatically cuts down the usability. And with every link being counted as a document, the pickaxe has become virtually useless. This alteration appears rather unethical, particularly given the annoyance that it has brought to users, evident throughout social media. Numerous individuals are understandably irate about this policy change.
4 Likes
Yes, that change makes the entire platform useless for me. I regret purchasing a paid plan. It is an unethical change to make retroactively.