I have been using Solidworks for many years at a company I used to work for,then I retired and purchased my own seat. It was ok for awhile when I was generating enough income to substain the high maintenance fees but as time went by it became more difficult in this tanking economy. I just received a quote to renew my maintenance subscription, holy moly, $2,495, well that is really prohibitive for a small businessman like me.It has become apparent that Solidworks has become very greedy and seems to care little about their pricing issues. I have suggested several times that Solidworks is missing out on a very big market for their software. It is the area for those potential users who can't afford a seat of their own.but, could afford a seat at a reduced price from a current owner. In steps the current license holders who are not really able to use their seat but would sell it if possible. The incentive for Solidworks is to charge a fair transfer fee to the new owner and offer them a maintenance contract in order to become current. I belive there is a huge market out there for these buyers and at the same time it would allow current Solidworks owners a chance to recoup some of their investment. Everyone wins and it would show that Solidworks does care about its users and not just about money.
What version of SolidWorks do you have?
Is that the total cost of maintanance plus an add on cost by your reseller? I expect that there are two or more lines items on the quote. If there are, nothing says you have to purchase all the line items.
SolidWorks has not increased the pricing on maintanance as far as I know. At least here in the States.
Cheers,
Anna