You have probably seen the term LTD or ‘Lifetime Deal’ in articles, comments, forums or discussions around the web, especially pertaining to software products. But what does it actually mean, and how can it be advantageous to you? We explore those details in this article.

What does Lifetime Deal actually mean?

A Lifetime Deal (LTD) pertains to a deal or license that is offered to the users to use the product or service over the ‘lifetime of the product’. This means that, as long as the product is still available, it will be accessible to you as your have purchased a lifetime license.

Advantages of investing in a lifetime deal:

• Price advantage

  The best advantage to you as the end-user is that you do not require to pay monthly or annual recurring charges for using the software.
  
  

• Product direction

  As early adopters, lifetime deal investors often influence the direction of the product by discussing ideas and requirements with the founders. This often results in excellent growth of the products which means you get more value for your earlier lifetime investment.
  
  

• Stacking options

  ‘Stacking‘ is an option you have to buy multiple codes/licenses and stack them to increase the limitations that apply to your account with the service. Not all deals allow stacking.

  For example: Let’s say a project management tool offers 3 users with 1 license. It may allow stacking to let you onboard a larger team onto the platform. Thus 2 licenses might allow 6 users, 3 licenses might allow 10 users and so on.

Caveats to consider before investing in a lifetime deal:

• Know the limitations

  Most LTDs come with limitations on user of certain features or allowed users. Each LTD is structured differently as per its own feature set. These usage limitations may not be suitable for your use case. We think these limitations are often justified as they strike a balance between a one-time payment model and an expectation of reasonable-use. As such, you should know these limits before you invest in an LTD.
  
  

• Know your risk appetite

  As the idea of The LTD Model goes more mainstream, the risks associated with buying software products and services from providers that you know nothing about have reduced. Still, there is no guarantee about the lifetime of the product. The company may collapse due to insufficient revenue, competition or various other problems. In some other cases, a bigger company may acquire the product you got an LTD for, and the lifetime commitment may not be honored by the acquiring firm. At such times, you may lose the money you put into the software.

• Try not to buy due to FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)

  We have been there. As very regular deals investors, we have purchased deals out of FOMO. Some of them worked out, some are still awaiting the day when we can actually utilize them.

  It is easy to buy due to FOMO. In case you don’t have the use of a product right now or do not foresee a need in the near future, we would recommend that you discuss the use-cases of the software with the community. They might have thoughts and ideas which would help you take an active decision about the purchase rather than a making FOMOed decision.