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I generally do not pay for shareware, not because I'm cheap, but because it is too much work. See, I'm 13 years old (I.E. creditcardless) so I have to ask my dad every time I want to buy something online. However, I don't pirate. I either give in and ask my dad, or I use it for the trial period and find a freeware alternative.

One thing that you really have to keep your eyes open for now a days is what free/OS software is coming out.
You dont want to be in the position of putting alot of work into an app and then suddenly discover a nice, free app of the same type just came out on sourceforge.
For example. I lost my SN for Transmit years ago but carefully nurtured the registered install I had untill I upgraded to OSX. I was just about to bite the bullet and register so I could get the OSX native version when I discovered CyberDuck. Its not uite as nice as Transmit but its totally free and works great.
Then I needed an inexpencive wysiwyg html editor and was thinking about buying Freeway when I found Nvu and went with that.
Its brutal out there now with all the great freebies mutating out of the Linux open source movement.

This topic has been idle for a bit, but a few thoughts…

As an avid shareware user (and I register), I think the major problem is one of perspective. I do not doubt the countless time and effort these developers put in to their apps, but the function has to justify the price. Many shareware authors claim 10,000 downloads & one donation, but I try a lot of shareware and never even use it for 3 minutes. Others, I use, but when the demo expires and they want $20 for something that is mostly eye candy, I am out.

I have donated to a few developers, even ones not asking for donations, because of the functionality and usefulness of their product. I have also stopped using or found cheaper or free alternatives for some of the more "expensive" stuff. $20 is not expensive for shareware, if it is something that will be useful to you. However, I find a lot of shareware has no intrinsic value beyond a "neat!" factor, and almost never purchase anything like that over $5.

$10 to $15 is a sweet spot for functional stuff—apps that do something that you just can't do with any other app, and enhances your productivity or enjoyment of using your computer. Cosmetic enhancements or gizmos need to be cheap, because most of them are things the user can—and will—do without unless it's cheap. And by cheap I mean $2 or $3.

Of course, this is all from a user's perspective, having no real gauge on what is involved in bringing these apps to life. When things like Quicksilver, iSnip, Growl, Sidenote, Spark, FinderPop, MenuMeters and Textpander are free, it's hard to justify $10 for some doodad that does something you may use very rarely.

Some software I feel has the right balance of price to function, all of which I have registered, are Awaken, Compost, xGestures, Unison and Default Folder to name a few. And Default Folder is pricey to me, but I used it so much that it just became worth it, and not only that I wanted to foster further development. And some of the above-mentioned freebies I would have gladly paid for or have donated to. But honestly, I have not donated to all that I should have. Perhaps I should get to that soon.