That sounds like an argument to change how to make freemium more successful-- it doesn't sound like a counter-argument against the fact that they can be.
Why don't more freemium services allow one-shot addon purchases instead of subscriptions?
I know one of our sites is going to help soothe the pain of purchases by buying "credits" in batches that can be spent in different ways rather than requiring a CC# every single time they want to buy something.
The other poster is right: half of the reason people BUY these things in MMOs and on the SA Forums is because of social status. I doubt many people would buy a shiny Sword of Infinite Destruction +5 in their MMO if they were the only ones who got to see it. People are by nature vain creatures, and if you give them a chance to pimp out their gear and appear more elite than the rest, it's a big bump to the incentive to purchase.
This works great in social networks or game worlds - not so great if you're running a site that does poll aggregation technologies.
I concur; if you study MMOs carefully (okay, not even that carefully), you will notice that the most successful ones tend to be loot-oriented ones, and after a player has hit the level cap, the reason they keep paying their subscription is e-loot, and to a lesser extent, e-friends.
Except for the up-front $10, the Somethingawful Forums do this. A few bucks for an avatar, a few bucks to change your avatar subtitle, etc.. It's all a la carte and all one-time purchases.
They have the advantage, though, of having a huge community and thus a good deal of peer pressure incentive to get the extra bling. That, and your avatar is a "stupid newbie" picture until you buy your own.
Why don't more freemium services allow one-shot addon purchases instead of subscriptions?
I know one of our sites is going to help soothe the pain of purchases by buying "credits" in batches that can be spent in different ways rather than requiring a CC# every single time they want to buy something.