It is true obviously that our pricing has changed, but so has our content. You don't know what our site was like back in 2010, but I can assure you the price changes were definitaly a reflection of a couple things. First, we primarily focus pricing on the value of topics covered, and in what depth. At that time we only had 2 video series and about 100 quiz questions. We now have around 10 topics and nearly 10,000 questions which represents years of additional work.
It is also a reflection of our cost increases. At that time we used a server that cost around $45/month, now it costs nearly $7,000/month for servers. I used to do much of the programming and customer service myself, or used part time contractors. Now we have multiple full time programmers, and a dedicated customer service person (both groups do a much better job than I ever did). This ensures that any problems you have had with your service can be resolved quickly instead of me scratching my head trying to find someone that understands how to help.
By expanding our customer base, I am now able to justify and finance things like:
Mobile Apps (which cost as more than my first house, but we offer them for free to all our members)
National Boards Prep for once you get into school
Patient SMS Reminder service for when you graduate
Dental Xray software for when you setup your first practice
Expanding into other topics like MCAT specific videos, and we hope to keep growing.
When we started CourseSaver, you didn't have options like DAT Bootcamp, DATqVault, and many other affordable options. In other words, we didn't set our prices to compete with them, they set their prices to compete with us. When we started, our only competition were companies such as Kaplan / Princeton Review. Our users on average spend around 5% of one of those programs, AND the average reported DAT score for our users is 24 in General Chemistry AND in Organic Chemistry making us not only the most affordable, but also very effective.
Back in 2003 I worked for a company that flat out told me to charge as much as I could on each customer, because they would never see that customer again. I can tell you I didn't last long there because my philosophy is to provide extreme value, hoping you will come back for years to come. So every year our student base grows significantly which results in increased opportunities for us to help you in the future, which is my greatest goal. I hope to be working with you in the many years ahead.
Dr. Alan Halls D.M.D.
CourseSaver - CEO
