why does it cost so much for wincustomize subbscription?

A subscription to WinCustomize entitles you to unlimited downloads, ad-free browsing, and several free premium skins which equal way more than $30. 

I disagree, $30 is way too much after I already paid alot of money for severel renewels for the Object Desktop suite. I am not complaining I just refuse to pay for a subscription to what I see as a very buggy website when there are many other sites to download the same stuff from.  Just don't make it sound like it's a bargain while taking even more money from someone that aparently only has Objectdock and will only take advantage of a very tiny part of the website, it makes you sound like a true salesman trying to make that extra buck no matter what the customer needs.

It's a free market. If you don't feel it's worth it, just don't buy it. IMO your complaint is entirely misdirected (referring to teegger here, the OP doesnt complain about the site itself), you should complain about the bugs and slow site you're referring to, not about the price. I find the price fair, but I wouldn't pay it because of all the issues.

The original poster didn't say he only had OBjectDock.  He only mentioned ObjectDock.

And many of the skins available are only available here.

Lastly, the application fee pays for teh development and support.  The WC subscription helps pay for teh bandwidth of the site.  Very different. Also, curent Stardock customers have unlimited downloads (I think).  So what's to complain about?

I don't pay subscription for a site I can't rely on delivering what I want at a reasonable speed. It's the same thing as with going to a store. I won't buy their things if I have to stand in line 35 minutes to buy a loaf of bread. I could be willing to pay for entry to a store that *guarantees* that I won't have to stand in line at all, if the price is right.

meh. 

I won't, and YOU asked.

I hate to jump in on this, but is there a better site you can think of to download from?  Wincustomize is better than any site around... but if there is let me know...

I didn't say wincustomize is a bad place to download from, I just stated why I will not pay a subscription. Also, as an object desktop subscriber I feel I get less value from the subscription (as some features of the site "overlap"). It makes it even less appealing.

But a good site to download from; http://www.deviantart.com/ is well managed and usually a lot faster than wincustomize.

Personally my only complaint is the sudden increase in price without informing current subscribers.  It used to be $19.95 (or was it $29.95?) renewal for TWO years, which I forked out each time it came due.  Now, it's doubled in price, or even MORE than doubled without any warning?  Naff that.  A bit of common courtesy goes a long way guys.

The price went up a while ago and there was an announcement in the forums.  Members were compensated by getting free skins.

That's all good, but (as you can tell by how long it took me to reply to this!) I don't read the forums much.  Given that, how was I to know that the price had gone up?  I didn't get an email or any other form of communicae...

Also, $30 a year seems a bit rough considering what it used to be, and it being nearly half the cost of renewing Object Desktop itself - wouldn't $20 still be profitable, and a decent deal still?

Unfortanatly, it's what it is so that WC can remain in business.  What's it worth to you?