Quote - Actually they never promised DS4 wouldn't be offered at a lower price.

True--and I wouldn't argue that point.  Their marketing did suggest that DS4Pro at the price offered last fall was an outstanding value at its discounted price.  Some might consider this 100% off sale as pushing that value to zero.    There was no literal "lie" to point to (or at least I have never seen convincing evidence of such), but I can understand how some consumers feel decieved that the "value" (e.g. the price they paid last fall) is now somewhat less than advertised.   It's the difference between perception of misdeed and the breaking of a law or contract.

My advice to DAZ would have been to quickly and quietly address that perception.   Instead they took some time fumbling around after the free offer announcement to start handling it through customer support.   Smart marketing might have planned for this reaction a little better than letting 40+ page thread of disatisfaction spread in their forum.

I agree with Jan that it will be a tough sell for DS5 after the price volatility we saw in DS4--that's just consumer behavior (I've hear it called the "once bitten, twice shy rule of upsells".)

-K