Hi Jeff
I've often thought about the business side of creating and selling WordPress themes and decided that it's almost impossible to create the theme and offer a lifetime of support for a one-off payment.

The business model used by Elegant Themes where you pay a yearly fee makes much more sense that a one - off purchase fee.

As to my thoughts about the letter... I guess it's a way of announcing a change of direction and explaining why they've done it. A nice way of doing it and I wish them well.