You must have come across free web scraping tools or browser plugins. Have you ever thought
how they are managing to give you these free web scraping tools for free when they have costs in developing, maintaining and running these things?
Pricing is one of the most common objections you’ll hear from a potential buyer. People are naturally attracted to products that are cheaper. This psychology is used by companies to trick people into buying products that are priced cheaper but ends up costing them more than the
most expensive item.
Here is an insider secret in the printing industry. Most printer companies sell them at zero or even negative margin? They sell millions of units every year.
Doesn’t make sense, right?
Well, the printer companies make the profit on ink because printers can’t function without it.
The person who bought the cheapest printer might end up spending more money than a guy
who bought the most expensive printer because a cheaper printer might need more ink.
Keep this in mind the next time you are buying a printer:
Is it really free or there is a cost?
People worry about price, not cost. The cost comes in terms on the time investment need to operate the free web scraping tool. The price may be Zero but there are investments in terms of time. So the cost can be more expensive than the most expensive scraping solution in the market.
There is a steep learning curve.
The web scraping tool may be free, however, there is a steep learning curve to use it properly.
You have to spend time learning the tool and configuring it. Time is money, my friend.
These are for-profit businesses.
Getting the initial traction is very important to establish the business viability. The feedback from users is also very important in the product development. The best way to do this is to offer the product free for some time and letting people try it. Many of these free web scrapers are funded start-ups. They can afford to give it free for some time, however, at a later stage, they all have to make money. From where do you think they are going to make money? From customers like you and me.
You are on your own.
Pretend you have a fantastic business running on the free web scraping tool. If the tool is not able to extract data for some reason, you need immediate support. The free web scraper has no obligation to support you because you are not paying them – You are on your own.
You might have saved nickels by choosing a free web scraping tool, but it will cost you a lot of $$$’s, sometimes your business. Need help? Get in touch now – We won’t bite. 🙂