I’ve been searching for an SMS marketing solution for my online store. I found this app called MessageSales that seemed promising at first. They offer automated text campaigns and cart abandonment recovery features.
But when I looked at their pricing, I was shocked. They charge a monthly fee of $35, which is okay. The real kicker is they want 15% of all sales generated through their texts. That’s insane!
For example, if you make $8000 from their SMS campaigns, they’ll take $1200. That’s way more than what you pay for your ecommerce platform or payment processing.
I get that SMS marketing can be effective, but this feels like highway robbery. There are other apps out there with reasonable flat rates or per-message pricing.
I’m curious if anyone else has come across apps with such aggressive pricing structures. It seems unfair to small businesses trying to grow. Are there better alternatives you’d recommend?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Is this becoming a trend with app pricing, or is this just one bad apple?
yikes, that pricing is bonkers! i run a small shop and use sendwave for sms. way cheaper, like $20/month flat fee. no crazy revenue cuts. messageSales sounds like a total ripoff tbh. keep lookin for better deals, plenty out there that won’t break the bank 
I’ve been in e-commerce for years, and I’ve never encountered such an aggressive pricing model. It’s completely unreasonable. While SMS marketing can be effective, there’s no justification for taking such a large percentage of your sales. You’d be better off investing that money in other marketing channels or even hiring a part-time employee to manage your campaigns.
Consider looking into platforms like Klaviyo or Omnisend. They offer SMS capabilities alongside email marketing, and their pricing is much more straightforward. You pay based on the number of contacts or messages sent, not a percentage of your revenue. This allows for better cost predictability and scalability as your business grows.
Always read the fine print and calculate the long-term costs before committing to any marketing platform. This MessageSales pricing seems more like a partnership agreement than a service fee.
I’ve been using SMS marketing for my small business for about 2 years now, and I can tell you that 15% of revenue is absolutely ridiculous. No marketing channel should eat up that much of your profits, no matter how effective it is.
In my experience, a good SMS platform should cost you somewhere between 1-3% of the revenue it generates, tops. I currently use SMSBump, which integrates well with my Shopify store and charges a flat monthly fee plus a per-message rate. It’s been working great for me, and the ROI is solid without breaking the bank.
My advice? Run far away from MessageSales. There are plenty of other options out there that won’t try to become your business partner. Do your research, read reviews, and don’t be afraid to try out a few different platforms before settling on one. Just make sure you’re not getting locked into any long-term contracts with unfair terms.
wow thats crazy pricing! i’ve used textblast for my store and they only charge like $0.03 per text. no % of sales or anything. maybe check them out? cant imagine paying 15% to anyone, that’d eat up all my profit lol. def keep looking for better options
I’ve been in the e-commerce game for a while, and that pricing model from MessageSales is absolutely outrageous. No SMS marketing tool is worth 15% of your revenue. That’s just excessive.
For my online store, I’ve had great success with Attentive. Their pricing is much more reasonable - a flat monthly fee plus a per-message cost. It’s scalable and doesn’t eat into my profits like MessageSales would.
One thing to keep in mind is that while SMS can be effective, it shouldn’t be your only marketing channel. I’d suggest diversifying your approach. Email marketing, social media ads, and even good old SEO can all contribute to your sales without demanding such a hefty cut.
Bottom line: There are plenty of fish in the sea when it comes to SMS marketing tools. Don’t settle for one that’s trying to become your business partner rather than your service provider.