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Software Hardware Technology

Cricut Decides To Charge Rent For People To Fully Use the Cutting Machines They Already Own (hackaday.com) 174

Posted by BeauHD from the surprise-update dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Hackaday: Probably the best known brand of cutter comes from Cricut, and that company has dropped a bombshell in the form of an update to the web-based design software that leaves their now very annoyed users with a monthly upload limit of 20 new designs unless they sign up for a Cricut Access Plan that costs $9.99 on monthly payments. Worse still, a screenshot is circulating online purporting to be from a communication with a Cricut employee attempting to clarify matters, in which it is suggested that machines sold as second-hand will be bricked by the company.

We'd like to think that given the reaction from their online community the subscription plan will backfire, but unlike the world of 3D printing their market is not necessarily an online-savvy one. A crafter who buys a Cricut from a bricks-and-mortar warehouse store and uses it with Cricut cartridges may not balk at being required to pay rent to use hardware that's already paid for in the same way a member of our community with a 3D printer would. After all, Cricut have always tried to make their software a walled garden. However if the stories about second-hand models being bricked turn out to bear fruit that might be a different matter. UPDATE 3/18/21: Cricut has decided to reverse its decision and allow every member to upload an unlimited number of images and patterns for free.

"Right now, every member can upload an unlimited number of images and patterns to Design Space for free, and we have no intention to change this policy," a Cricut spokesperson told us in an email. "This is true whether you're a current Cricut member or are thinking about joining the Cricut family before or after December 31, 2021."

They addressed these changes in a letter to the Cricut community, which you can read here.
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Cricut Decides To Charge Rent For People To Fully Use the Cutting Machines They Already Own More

Cricut Decides To Charge Rent For People To Fully Use the Cutting Machines They Already Own

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  • What is a cutting machine? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Fly Swatter ( 30498 ) on Tuesday March 16, 2021 @08:12AM (#61164272) Homepage
    I had to look it up. It cuts card and paper stock sort of like how a printer operates except with knives. And as for bricking sold machines or limiting what was once a free resource, well that's just scummy. If my laser printer did this it would be in the trash bin within minutes.

    • Re:What is a cutting machine? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Smidge204 ( 605297 ) on Tuesday March 16, 2021 @08:23AM (#61164292) Journal

      Also vinyl sheets for making decals, which I'd wager is one of the most popular uses for these machines.

      Also, this isn't just scummy, it's bordering on criminal. Literally extortion. "That's a nice machine you bought, be a real shame if something were to happen to it. Real shame..."
      =Smidge=

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Rei ( 128717 )

        I suspect that this would be a direct violation of the implied warranty of merchantability.

      • You're using hyperbole to make a point in trying to infer something is criminal. You may not like it, but it's not "criminal", which literally has to be in violation of a law. If they change the terms of service, tell people to opt in and discontinue the old terms, that's still within UCC. Further second-hand bought systems don't buy into the terms of service, and therefore have no rights under UCC because the second-hand buyer didn't agree to the terms.

        So it's not "criminal". It's bad business and

        • Re: What is a cutting machine? (Score:5, Interesting)

          by mpoulton ( 689851 ) on Tuesday March 16, 2021 @12:00PM (#61165144)

          That's not so clear yet, and depends on a lot of facts we don't know. The criminal laws potentially at issue here would relate to fraud. Cricut's business practice has been to sell hardware, and encumber that hardware with restrictions which compel buyers to spend more money to keep using what they already bought. This isn't uncommon, and isn't fraudulent by itself - but it can be dangerous territory. This new change which reduces the functionality of hardware already sold, compelling owners to spend more money just to continue using functionality which was previously free, could be a real problem depending on the details. For example, hypothetically, this change could have been planned in advance when the hardware was first designed, but kept secret from buyers. If that were the case, there is an argument to be made that the initial sales involved fraud in the failure to disclose that a subscription would later be required to use the equipment. That type of consumer fraud (if that were to occur) may be a violation of criminal laws in some states, and if it's done in interstate commerce (especially with any aspect involving mail) then federal statutes may also apply. So there are some possible factual scenarios where this could end up being a criminal matter, depending on the details.

        • I'd also note that I'm pretty sure these aren't UCC transactions. I'm not seeing any aspect that would put them within it's scope, unless I'm missing something.

      • A CNC with a dragknife can do the same.

    • If I had one of these machines and they bricked it I would be suing them in small claims for the cost of the unit plus my court costs immediately. Odds are wildly against them responding.

      • Re:What is a cutting machine? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Oligonicella ( 659917 ) on Tuesday March 16, 2021 @09:29AM (#61164564)
        For those who think a non-response isn't much, it's an automatic court win and there have been companies lost for that reason.

    • I had a quick look as well, this is the company that did the Cuttlebug, an incredibly overpriced plastic die cutting machine of a kind that's been around for decades. Cricut discontinued it. Then they added a motor, jacked up the price, and because it was based on Flash, discontinued it. Now they've got their current version, which isn't discontinued yet (but just wait...), however they're turning it into ransomware.

      So I ask you: Given their history, and the fact that you can buy these things from any n

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Entrope ( 68843 )

        So they're something like the Google of their industry?

      • What's a plastic die-cutting machine? That sounds like it already requires a powerful motor, if it's cutting molds to make plastic things with! It sounds really interesting to make molds and pour plastic for limited edition runs fo things.

    • They want you to throw away the machine instead of selling it. That way they make more money in the short term.

      Of course, losing a customer for life loses them a pile of money in the long term, but when have executives every done anything other than chase short term profit.

      They will likely reverse direction on this after the public backlash, then pat themselves on the back on how generous they are.

    • Cutting Machines, 3D Printers, Laser Etchers, CNC machine... 2 or 3 stepper motors that move an arm with some type of tool in 2 or 3 dimensions. A lot of people make these with a Raspberry Pi kit. So being a dick about your product, just doesn't seem like a good plan.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Z00L00K ( 682162 )

      Not the trash bin - it would be sent with the cheapest possible freight alternative to the manufacturer - filled with something sticky like silicone oil so it comes out everywhere when they open it.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Thelasko ( 1196535 )
      My wife wanted one about 10 years ago. This is how it went down:

      Wife: Can I get one of these Cricut machines?
      Thelasko: That's cool! How do you program it?
      Wife: You buy these special catridges, or use proprietary software.
      Thelasko: It doesn't use G-code? [wikipedia.org] Why would you want that?
      Wife: *Angry stare*
      Thelasko: You can have one, but only if you let me try to hack it to run G-code.
      Wife: Forget it!

    • Re:What is a cutting machine? (Score:5, Informative)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Tuesday March 16, 2021 @11:43AM (#61165078) Homepage Journal

      Funny you should mention printers, because HP already did this with theirs.

      https://mashable.com/article/h... [mashable.com]

      People paid for "free ink for life", and then HP cancelled it.

    • Bricking sold machines isn't happening - it was a rumor that the company denied. As for limiting a free resource - well, it does rely on a webservice, and as we all know web services don't really have any kind of ownership or stability like if you own the hardware.

      If you want to toss one out, please give it to me. I'm willing to bet this backfires and I can get a fully unlocked opensource driver next week for a better machine than what they originally sold.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

      Sounds like someone needs to make a retrofit controller module for it.

    • " If my laser printer did this it would be in the trash bin within minutes."

      If it gets bricked it will end there anywhere, even if it is not a laser printer, without any decision of yours.

    • My Wink device ended up in the egarbage bin after their BS. Plus ça change ...

  • Their software is already so full of bugs, I’m amazed anyone can use their products anyways.

  • Cartridges (Score:5, Informative)

    by JBMcB ( 73720 ) on Tuesday March 16, 2021 @08:22AM (#61164290)

    This doesn't effect the old cutting machines that use cartridges. It only effects the newer machines that download patterns from the web, or if you use the new software to do that with the old machines. The solution is not to use the new software with the old machines. My sister-in-law has both.

  • Nowhere does it say anything about having to 'pay rent to use hardware they already own'. It says they have to buy a plan to be able to use their service to DESIGN more than 20 plans a month. You can use your 'hardware you already own' as much as you want.

    At least they already updated TFA to say that sales of machines are NOT prohibited, but the new purchaser will need to buy their own plan.

    • To use the machine you have to upload designs to their cloud service. What else would you call them charging a fee to use hardware you already paid for?

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

        • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

          by kbralten ( 2809565 )
          You want their competitor Silhouette [silhouetteamerica.com] who makes what seem to be better machines/software in every way but is less popular, marginally more expensive, and bad at marketing. Not open, but not evil.
          • Comment removed based on user account deletion

          • Another vote for Silhouette. I've had my Cameo for years, and it still is going strong cutting vinyl & other assorted materials. There's not much in the way of vendor lock-in - even replacement blades are widely available from third parties at a substantial discount from the Silhouette-branded parts.

        • There are lots of other options. This stuff used to be done on bog-standard plotters with a knife attachment replacing the pen. You can also laser-cut paper.

    • Re:Misleading (Score:4, Informative)

      by Junta ( 36770 ) on Tuesday March 16, 2021 @08:47AM (#61164404)

      Other sources are saying that there is no offline way to design things anymore, so you have to pay to use it because they don't offer a way to do designs and load offline.

      It's one of the many many companies going to 'software as a service' to move from transactional income that will dry up as their target market saturates to recurring revenue to force their customers to keep paying.

      • Other sources are saying that there is no offline way to design things anymore, so you have to pay to use it because they don't offer a way to do designs and load offline.

        It's one of the many many companies going to 'software as a service' to move from transactional income that will dry up as their target market saturates to recurring revenue to force their customers to keep paying.

        Cricut has the name recognition but there are alternatives that are far less closed.

  • Time for an charge back

  • Bait and switch (Score:4, Informative)

    by djb ( 19374 ) on Tuesday March 16, 2021 @08:45AM (#61164390) Homepage

    I expect they will loose a class action suit pretty soon over this. Bait and Switch marketing like this is not going to sit well with the courts

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by bobbutts ( 927504 )
      "Loose" is an adjective used to describe things that are not tight or contained. It can be used as a verb meaning to set free or release â" (i.e. the hounds have been loosed) â" but it is rarely used this way. "Lose" is a verb that means to suffer a loss, to be deprived of, to part with or to fail to keep possession of.
  • Sell the customers an ink subscription service based on their guess of how many pages they print per month. If they go over that limit, stick them with a big bill. If they're way under the limit, don't give them any page credits that they can carry-forward.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sjwest ( 948274 )

      I do not like drm but you mischaracterise instant ink as some count is carried forward per month.

      The cartridges supplied in instant ink are larger than the ones you can buy. - not defending it

    • Sell the customers an ink subscription service based on their guess of how many pages they print per month. If they go over that limit, stick them with a big bill. If they're way under the limit, don't give them any page credits that they can carry-forward.

      With HP, you can either buy the ink cartridges in stores that will work until they run out of ink or dry up OR you can buy a subscription where they send you cartridges every month with DRM to only work on X number of pages printed or until a certain date. Buy cartridges from the store and you'll be fine.

      If this article is true, Cricut allows people to upload a maximum of 20 designs per month without a subscription. The subscription does give rights to some copyrighted material (such as Avengers) which migh

  • Call it Cricut 365 and everyone will open up their wallets and shower them with cash.

    They could get Cardi B. to do some marketing for them.

  • You've always needed an account (Score:3)

    by idontusenumbers ( 1367883 ) on Tuesday March 16, 2021 @10:50AM (#61164864)

    I bought one of their cutters and when I first tried to use it, it became apparent that one needed to use their software which required creating an account on their systems. No thanks. I returned it.

  • They also have it so that for each coordinate that your machine moves the knife, it must make a round trip to their server in order to encrypt the coordinates that the cutter uses. (I heard that they now have an offline version). I ordered one of these on Amazon before realizing how horribly they treat their customers. Needless to say, after it arrived I immediately returned it for a full refund. That was a year and a half ago. Since then I bought a Silhouette and can hack it as desired.

    "At Cricut th

  • I guess they don't understand the concept of ownership and product sales with regular use.
    This will easily make people pirate their own legally owned product, or jail-break them.
    Then there's the pirate source sites that will pop up.
    All in all, it will leave a bad taste in peoples' mouths over that attempt to rent back something already paid for and owned.

  • Here, again, we see why 'The Cloud' is a bad idea for everyone but shithead companies that use it to extort their customers.

  • Same old story (Score:4, Interesting)

    by stikves ( 127823 ) on Tuesday March 16, 2021 @11:15AM (#61164944) Homepage

    Guy loves girl, dragon kidnaps girl... Sorry, wrong story...

    Company releases product, consumers love the product, company realizes they are a monopoly, and decides to seek rent from sales.

    So many variations:
    Romance: This nice Photoshop you use here. Would be a shame if you don't pay us $20/month, and no longer continue your photography business?
    Action: This nice gaming console you bought from us. Would you want to be able to play online games, you know the ones free on the PC? We are generous, just $5/month would do it.
    Suspense: This nice Tesla is a good looking car. Maybe you can pay us $10,000 up front for our beta software. You know, we will make it a monthly payment in the future, right?

    Ah.. the stories..

  • This is why I avoid cloud based services. Eventually they decide to monetize you. HP does it with printer ink now which is why we stopped buying HP at the business level

  • Guys, seriously... Don't buy cheap hardware. If it is cheap, it is either shit, or the company is selling at a loss and expecting to make up with that by the cost of consumables and/or software use.

  • Everything about their business model is awful (Score:5, Informative)

    by ip_vjl ( 410654 ) on Tuesday March 16, 2021 @12:46PM (#61165308) Homepage

    Vinyl cutters have been around for quite a while in the sign industry. Cricut just puts a "friendly" face on them and markets them toward home crafters. They don't look "industrial" and fit in a "craft room."

    Even supplies for them are outrageously overpriced. You can buy small rolls of vinyl at the craft store that measure about a foot by three feet for more than I pay for a 10 yard roll of 15" vinyl from sign supply stores.

    You can get an entry-level industrial vinyl cutter for about $400. That's more than the entry-level Cricut, but about the same as the fancier models. But, this machine will cut material much larger, and not be locked down to single owner only.
    https://signwarehouse.com/prod... [signwarehouse.com]
    It just won't look as "cute" sitting in the corner of your dining room.

  • If my wife hits an issue like this, her response will be to throw it out and spend our money on a competing device. Our Cricut machine has been gathering dust for a while.

  • There is no reason the cricut or it's software ever had to depend on the cloud other than that the manufacturer wanted it that way. It's not that the task at hand required more power than a typical desktop PC could muster, the process of translating a design into low level instructions to the machine (known as ripping in the old printing world or slicing in the 3D printing world) can easily be managed on the desktop without phoning home.

    I believe TFA makes it amply clear WHY the wanted it that way, though h

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