Envato Implements Item Support Policy for ThemeForest and CodeCanyon

In August of 2014, Envato announced a new initiative that would allow sellers on CodeCanyon and ThemeForest to inform buyers whether or not an item is supported. Earlier today, Envato implemented an Item Support Policy for sellers on ThemeForest and CodeCanyon.

When browsing items on ThemeForest or CodeCanyon, a blue badge indicates the seller provides support. There’s also a badge and text that informs potential buyers if an item is not supported.

This Item is Supported

According to the policy, buyers automatically receive six months of support from the date of purchase. If you need support for an entire year, you can buy an extension for a nominal upgrade fee. Envato takes 30% and gives 70% of the purchase to authors.

The price of a 6-month support extension for a Regular License is calculated as:

37.5% of the item price (30% of the list price) when purchased at the same time as the license;

62.5% of the item price (50% of the list price) when purchased during the support period; and

87.5% of the item price (70% of the list price) when purchased after the support period has ended.

Andrew Freeman, product manager for Envato, says the changes provide a standardized definition of support, “Buyers will know exactly what to expect from all purchases on ThemeForest and CodeCanyon.”

Buyers who purchased supported items before the new policy went into effect have six months of free tech support starting on September 1st.

Disgruntled Authors

In a forum thread with over 165 responses, sellers discussed the pros and cons of the policy while some expressed anger. Jonathan Atkinson, founder of Cr3ativ, who sells several items on ThemeForest, thinks the policy is not as good as alternatives offered outside of the marketplaces because of its confusing complexity for both authors and buyers,

I’m not sure why Envato chose this solution when we already have a well established support/upgrade system in place within most of the WordPress community where 12 months of support is included in the purchase and customers receive a 50% discount to continue receiving support and updates.

The policy is a work in progress, “We will be monitoring the impacts of this change very closely and will be tweaking, improving and enhancing the support tools over coming weeks and months,” Freeman said.

If you’re a buyer or seller on ThemeForest or CodeCanyon, let us know what you think of the support policy in the comments.