Comments on: If a developer lowers the price of an app are we entitled to a partial refund? http://www.macgasm.net/2009/12/24/if-a-developer-lowers-the-price-of-an-app-are-we-entitled-to-a-partial-refund/ Apple Tips, Apple News, Apple Everything. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:24:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Mark Bernstein http://www.macgasm.net/2009/12/24/if-a-developer-lowers-the-price-of-an-app-are-we-entitled-to-a-partial-refund/#comment-11481 Mark Bernstein Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:57:38 +0000 http://www.macgasm.net/?p=11135#comment-11481 If you have a 7-day cutoff, then the guy who bought the thing 8 days before feels bad. If you have a 3-day cutoff, then the guy who bought the thing 3 days before feels bad. If you have a midnight cutoff, the guy who bought the thing at 11:00 feels bad. (I sympathize with that guy: I lost the wild card in my fantasy baseball league, after 162 games of hard work, because I submitted a final free agent draft at 11:03 and the draft closed at 11:00. I thought it closed at midnight.) There's no ethical question involved, unless you think it's unethical to negotiate a price and settle on something more favorable to you than your "final offer" price. Are you saying that every Priceline transaction is unethical? If that's the way you feel, OK: I hear you. Let me know where to join you on the barricades. Otherwise, we have a happy buyer and a happy seller. In any case, I don't know many developers (not hobbyists) to whom sales are really important. We do a lot of sales at Eastgate, but we could live without them. If you have a 7-day cutoff, then the guy who bought the thing 8 days before feels bad.

If you have a 3-day cutoff, then the guy who bought the thing 3 days before feels bad.

If you have a midnight cutoff, the guy who bought the thing at 11:00 feels bad.

(I sympathize with that guy: I lost the wild card in my fantasy baseball league, after 162 games of hard work, because I submitted a final free agent draft at 11:03 and the draft closed at 11:00. I thought it closed at midnight.)

There’s no ethical question involved, unless you think it’s unethical to negotiate a price and settle on something more favorable to you than your “final offer” price. Are you saying that every Priceline transaction is unethical?
If that’s the way you feel, OK: I hear you. Let me know where to join you on the barricades. Otherwise, we have a happy buyer and a happy seller.

In any case, I don’t know many developers (not hobbyists) to whom sales are really important. We do a lot of sales at Eastgate, but we could live without them.

]]> By: Joshua Schnell http://www.macgasm.net/2009/12/24/if-a-developer-lowers-the-price-of-an-app-are-we-entitled-to-a-partial-refund/#comment-11480 Joshua Schnell Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:32:29 +0000 http://www.macgasm.net/?p=11135#comment-11480 If I charged you 100.00 for a month of advertisements starting on Jan.1, and then on Jan. 2 changed the rate to 50.00 per month, I would refund you half. That would be the ethical thing to do. I'm not advocating a complete discount for everyone who has ever purchased an app. Maybe it came off that way, if so, I should clarify. I think there needs to be a certain cut off day. If prices change with in a week, then the consumer who purchased the app during that buffer zone is entitled to a partial refund. I'm not sure what US Law stipulates for sales prices, but up here consumers are entitled to sales prices, and partial refunds, so long as the purchase was made a short period before the item went on sale. If I charged you 100.00 for a month of advertisements starting on Jan.1, and then on Jan. 2 changed the rate to 50.00 per month, I would refund you half. That would be the ethical thing to do.

I’m not advocating a complete discount for everyone who has ever purchased an app. Maybe it came off that way, if so, I should clarify.

I think there needs to be a certain cut off day. If prices change with in a week, then the consumer who purchased the app during that buffer zone is entitled to a partial refund.

I’m not sure what US Law stipulates for sales prices, but up here consumers are entitled to sales prices, and partial refunds, so long as the purchase was made a short period before the item went on sale.

]]> By: Mark Bernstein http://www.macgasm.net/2009/12/24/if-a-developer-lowers-the-price-of-an-app-are-we-entitled-to-a-partial-refund/#comment-11479 Mark Bernstein Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:12:14 +0000 http://www.macgasm.net/?p=11135#comment-11479 The natural response of developers and publishers, of course, is simply not to have special offers, or to cloak them in thickets of coupons and "invitations" for plausible deniability. A willing buyer, a willing seller: a fair bargain. (PS: will you give me a refund if you lower your ad rates for someone else next year?) The natural response of developers and publishers, of course, is simply not to have special offers, or to cloak them in thickets of coupons and “invitations” for plausible deniability.

A willing buyer, a willing seller: a fair bargain.

(PS: will you give me a refund if you lower your ad rates for someone else next year?)

]]> By: Joshua Schnell http://www.macgasm.net/2009/12/24/if-a-developer-lowers-the-price-of-an-app-are-we-entitled-to-a-partial-refund/#comment-11472 Joshua Schnell Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:38:07 +0000 http://www.macgasm.net/?p=11135#comment-11472 Yeah that a great idea. As you can see by my post, I'm not a big fan of apps suddenly going free. I think it's a bit of a slap in the face to those people who have paid for the app. There needs to be some sort of compensation. Yeah that a great idea. As you can see by my post, I’m not a big fan of apps suddenly going free. I think it’s a bit of a slap in the face to those people who have paid for the app. There needs to be some sort of compensation.

]]> By: imajoj http://www.macgasm.net/2009/12/24/if-a-developer-lowers-the-price-of-an-app-are-we-entitled-to-a-partial-refund/#comment-11463 imajoj Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:21:06 +0000 http://www.macgasm.net/?p=11135#comment-11463 another example of this is the recently free dogfighting game "F.A.S.T." by SGN. They made the game free but made the features for the original paid version a $0.99 upgrade. According to the support page they made the base upgrade free for the users who have bought the app before it went free. If only TTR3 went a similar path, even just a free song pack for the people who paid for it would be nice. another example of this is the recently free dogfighting game “F.A.S.T.” by SGN. They made the game free but made the features for the original paid version a $0.99 upgrade. According to the support page they made the base upgrade free for the users who have bought the app before it went free. If only TTR3 went a similar path, even just a free song pack for the people who paid for it would be nice.

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