Seller Engine will stop supporting its original Amazon software

Along with many other Amazon Marketplace sellers, I purchased a lifetime license to Seller Engine in 2003. The program enables sellers to reprice their inventory using a simple interface.

Several months later, Seller Engine began charging monthly subscription fees. But the company allowed its original customers, who paid $150 to $200 for their licenses, to continue using its software.

Now, Seller Engine says it will no longer support its original license holders, but they are welcome to pay $39.95 monthly for "Seller Engine Plus."

Here's how Seller Engine's Jack Keegan explained it to me in an e-mail:

"... We have offered free support and upgrades for Seller Engine users for four years now, and unfortunately the old Seller Engine program is built on a technology that is obsolete now which makes it very difficult for us to upgrade it and to keep up with the changes at Amazon."

The program I use every day is obsolete? I had no idea. But I'm not a programmer, so I'll refrain from calling Mr. Keegan a liar.

Perhaps it's just a huge coincidence that the Seller Engine folks decided they couldn't support their original customers at the same time they introduced a different product costing lots more.

In the past, I've consistently recommended Seller Engine on this Web site and in "The Home-Based Bookstore." In the future, I'll be sure to mention that Seller Engine stands by its promises only as long as it's convenient for them.