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I was expecting this to go in a different direction when I read the headline, which is this: a decision to buy and experience an app does not have a guaranteed

I was expecting this to go in a different direction when I read the headline, which is this: a decision to buy and experience an app does not have a guaranteed ending. The app could easily command more of my attention than I want it to, which--not to get all self-important here--is valued at way more than $0.99. I personally don't buy apps because I feel attention-saturated by the ones I already have. I do buy cups of coffee regularly, though, because I know where they start and end.

carbocation 9y ago
I believe they address this in the first major heading, where they say: > Fact: Starbucks Coffee is a Trustable Experience
- ambivalents 9y ago
  Fair enough. By "different direction" I mean I was surprised by the upshot of the article: just build your apps to be more like the Starbucks model! Not, you know, that many apps are deliberately designed to capture and keep our attention, and it can be hard to discern where an app stands before trying it.
ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
I was expecting it to go in a different direction also. But mostly based on the price of coffee. I don't know anyone in my professional/social circle that drinks coffee that costs less than a dollar. I think its time to start equivocating $5.00 purchases with a cup of coffee.
- freehunter 9y ago
  And even then, saying "this is the cost of a cup of coffee" is basically asking me to give up a cup of coffee to pay for their app. If you break out the whole logic argument, it's saying "I don't want to pay for this app", at which point the value proposition is "you know that money you were about to spend on coffee? Spend it here instead". I know they want to say "look how cheap it is", but what I hear as a budget-oriented person is "if you don't want to spend the money for it, just stop buying something else". My aversion to buying an app isn't how expensive it is, but rather how much I'm going to use it. Stop insinuating that I'm too poor to buy your product. And like you mentioned, coffee is actually pretty expensive. Even at $1, if you drink a cup a day that's $30/mo which is more than the cost of GitHub Enterprise. If it's $5 for a cup and you drink one per day, that's $150/mo which could get me an absolutely massive Digital Ocean droplet. We pay an assload for coffee. Bad comparison. And not to mention coffee is addictive; many people drink it because they feel like they have to, not because they necessarily want to. Comparing your app to coffee is just an awful comparison all around.

carbocation 9y ago

I believe they address this in the first major heading, where they say: > Fact: Starbucks Coffee is a Trustable Experience

ambivalents 9y ago
Fair enough. By "different direction" I mean I was surprised by the upshot of the article: just build your apps to be more like the Starbucks model! Not, you know, that many apps are deliberately designed to capture and keep our attention, and it can be hard to discern where an app stands before trying it.

ghostbrainalpha 9y ago

I was expecting it to go in a different direction also. But mostly based on the price of coffee. I don't know anyone in my professional/social circle that drinks coffee that costs less than a dollar. I think its time to start equivocating $5.00 purchases with a cup of coffee.

freehunter 9y ago
And even then, saying "this is the cost of a cup of coffee" is basically asking me to give up a cup of coffee to pay for their app. If you break out the whole logic argument, it's saying "I don't want to pay for this app", at which point the value proposition is "you know that money you were about to spend on coffee? Spend it here instead". I know they want to say "look how cheap it is", but what I hear as a budget-oriented person is "if you don't want to spend the money for it, just stop buying something else". My aversion to buying an app isn't how expensive it is, but rather how much I'm going to use it. Stop insinuating that I'm too poor to buy your product. And like you mentioned, coffee is actually pretty expensive. Even at $1, if you drink a cup a day that's $30/mo which is more than the cost of GitHub Enterprise. If it's $5 for a cup and you drink one per day, that's $150/mo which could get me an absolutely massive Digital Ocean droplet. We pay an assload for coffee. Bad comparison. And not to mention coffee is addictive; many people drink it because they feel like they have to, not because they necessarily want to. Comparing your app to coffee is just an awful comparison all around.