While not a stock photo site its self, AppSumo has been a valuable resource for us so we felt it deserved its own review. AppSumo offers a platform for companies to sell their products at discounted rates for limited time deals. They help companies (typically startups) find customers which helps promote their company and get customers to help them get early feedback to improve their products.
Our Use of Appsumo
We have been using AppSumo Since 2021 and have bought one twenty products through their site. Some of the deals we have bought have been for stock photos. We have bought deals for YayImages, IngImage and DepositPhotos. We have also bought deals for software specific for web development, even a few tools we use for this site.
We have saved a lot of money through Appsumo so have been pleased to come across them. That said not all our purchases have been good buys. Luckily most of the offers through the site have a 60 day refund policy which means you can try before you buy. This extra bit of security can give you an extra bit of confidence to buy a deal. Not many products would give you a full 60 days to get a refund.
Uncertainty of Products
One of the issues with the concept behind AppSumo is you are never quite sure what might be available on their site. This means you might have to check the site every so often to see if there is anything to temp you. Certain deals will also only be available once so if you miss it then you will be too late. Certain companies, such being DepositPhotos do seem to come back with deals at certain times of the year which might give you bit more of a chance of success. So check the site around Black Friday and Boxing Day.
Other Challenges
One of the other challenges with this type of service is that they play on the concept of fear of missing out (fomo). You’re never sure how long certain deals might be around so you might get one earlier than you might need which means to get something which isn’t really fit for purpose so if you don’t test it in the first to days to be able to get a refund then you might get stuck with a dud.
Not all companies that list their services via AppSumo survive. One stock photo site which we have seen on AppSumo only to close was StockUnlimited. The stock industry is very competitive so not all companies can survive. If you buy a deal via AppSumo factor in that the company might not be around forever.
There are normally discount codes floating around that allow first time customers to get 10% off their first purchase. They also offer discounts at certain times of the year like, Black Friday which normally means there is a further 10% off.
Conclusion
One of the other challenges with this type of service is that they play on the concept of fear of missing out. But as long as you are conscious on this you will be fine. Overall we highly recommend checking out AppSumo to see if you can grab yourself a bargain. There are other companies like PitchGround who offer similar services.
