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"Since most users who request a refund do so within minutes of purchase, we will reduce the refund window on Market to 15 minutes" I'm concerned that's gone to

by sadiq 16y ago

"Since most users who request a refund do so within minutes of purchase, we will reduce the refund window on Market to 15 minutes" I'm concerned that's gone too far the other way. Twenty four hours was too long for a utility/short game but at fifteen minutes, you're cutting it fine if you have installation problems or need to properly evaluate the app.

dannyr 16y ago
I think this is fair. If you end up using the app for more than 15 minutes, I think you have to pay for it. This is still generous compared to the App Store which doesn't give you an easy way to refund your app purchase.
- dpcan 16y ago
  I completely agree. Too many users will purchase an app to play for the evening somewhere (while on a trip, for example) and just refund the next morning. It's unfair to the developers. 15 minutes is ample time to determine if the app is something you want to keep or not. As a developer, I still think this is better than the App Store, as buyers deserve the opportunity to return a purchase that is defective or not what they were expecting. EDIT: I just thought about this another way.... With only 15 minutes, we're asking users to make pretty short snap decisions as to whether or not they want to keep the app. Just as purchasing an app is usually a spur of the moment decision, now canceling may work under the same conditions - causing MORE cancels.
  - lambda 16y ago
    With only 15 minutes, I'm a lot less likely to buy an app. For instance, I recently purchased Alchemy Premium only because of the 24 hour return policy; I'm not willing to use the ad-supported version, so I tried out the pay version. It wasn't interesting enough to me that I would have kept it on my own, but my girlfriend got enough of a kick out of it when I showed it to her an hour or two later that I did decide to keep it. Had there been a 15 minute return policy, I would have returned it and never again gone back to it. Another example would be 8pen. Interesting idea, so I decided to try it out. But it's something that takes enough learning you need more than 15 minutes to decide if it will be worth it and you'll be dedicated enough to learn it. Turns out that it didn't really click with me, so I returned it; but had it been a little more appealing, I might have kept it. Without just a 15 minute return window, I wouldn't have enough time to make an effective decision and would most likely not buy in the first place or just return it because of that. I, for one, will be much less likely to buy apps with only a 15 minute window.
    - enjo 16y ago
      For every time you do that, there are users who download apps trying to accomplish one task. I've had several friends do exactly that. They'll download the app, use it do whatever they want, and refund it. This way at least you have to do whatever your doing quickly.
      - lambda 16y ago
        What apps are there that are particularly useful for a single task? Most apps that I download I do so because they'll be useful in the future, not just once.
        dpcan 16y ago
        Games. If you just want to kill some time playing a new game, you can, then just refund.
        dannyr 16y ago
        How about backing up your text messages, call history, etc so you transfer it to another phone? This is a one-time task. If it's 24 hours, I can easily finish the backup and get refund. If it's only 15 minutes, I won't have enough time.
      - zmmmmm 16y ago
        They'll download the app, use it do whatever they want, and refund it That is tempered by the fact that Google only allows the refund once - next time they need to do the same task they have to make a permanent purchase, and the app they used last time is in poll position to be the app they use (assuming it's any good).
    - dannyr 16y ago
      I think this works both ways. With only a 15-minute window, less people will buy your app but there will be less cancellations. With a 24-hour window, more people will buy your app but there will be more cancellations. I don't have any data to back things up but it's possible that the number of downloads will be the same. And according to Google's stats, most refunds happen within 15 minutes. However, having a shorter refund window is more beneficial to developers in terms of handling their business and will reduce abuse.
- zmmmmm 16y ago
  I'm not sure about "fair" but as a practical measure I think it's counter productive. I've never asked for a refund but every single purchase I've made has been partly because I could rationalize that I could return the app if I really didn't like it. With only 15 minutes to try it that logic won't work for me any more - I think I'll be doing way less purchases. I don't understand why Google wouldn't just drop it down to an hour which would accomplish the same (stated) purpose but be a lot more reasonable.

by sadiq 16y ago

dannyr 16y ago

I think this is fair. If you end up using the app for more than 15 minutes, I think you have to pay for it. This is still generous compared to the App Store which doesn't give you an easy way to refund your app purchase.

dpcan 16y ago
I completely agree. Too many users will purchase an app to play for the evening somewhere (while on a trip, for example) and just refund the next morning. It's unfair to the developers. 15 minutes is ample time to determine if the app is something you want to keep or not. As a developer, I still think this is better than the App Store, as buyers deserve the opportunity to return a purchase that is defective or not what they were expecting. EDIT: I just thought about this another way.... With only 15 minutes, we're asking users to make pretty short snap decisions as to whether or not they want to keep the app. Just as purchasing an app is usually a spur of the moment decision, now canceling may work under the same conditions - causing MORE cancels.
- lambda 16y ago
  With only 15 minutes, I'm a lot less likely to buy an app. For instance, I recently purchased Alchemy Premium only because of the 24 hour return policy; I'm not willing to use the ad-supported version, so I tried out the pay version. It wasn't interesting enough to me that I would have kept it on my own, but my girlfriend got enough of a kick out of it when I showed it to her an hour or two later that I did decide to keep it. Had there been a 15 minute return policy, I would have returned it and never again gone back to it. Another example would be 8pen. Interesting idea, so I decided to try it out. But it's something that takes enough learning you need more than 15 minutes to decide if it will be worth it and you'll be dedicated enough to learn it. Turns out that it didn't really click with me, so I returned it; but had it been a little more appealing, I might have kept it. Without just a 15 minute return window, I wouldn't have enough time to make an effective decision and would most likely not buy in the first place or just return it because of that. I, for one, will be much less likely to buy apps with only a 15 minute window.
  - enjo 16y ago
    For every time you do that, there are users who download apps trying to accomplish one task. I've had several friends do exactly that. They'll download the app, use it do whatever they want, and refund it. This way at least you have to do whatever your doing quickly.
    - lambda 16y ago
      What apps are there that are particularly useful for a single task? Most apps that I download I do so because they'll be useful in the future, not just once.
      - dpcan 16y ago
        Games. If you just want to kill some time playing a new game, you can, then just refund.
      - dannyr 16y ago
        How about backing up your text messages, call history, etc so you transfer it to another phone? This is a one-time task. If it's 24 hours, I can easily finish the backup and get refund. If it's only 15 minutes, I won't have enough time.
    - zmmmmm 16y ago
      They'll download the app, use it do whatever they want, and refund it That is tempered by the fact that Google only allows the refund once - next time they need to do the same task they have to make a permanent purchase, and the app they used last time is in poll position to be the app they use (assuming it's any good).
  - dannyr 16y ago
    I think this works both ways. With only a 15-minute window, less people will buy your app but there will be less cancellations. With a 24-hour window, more people will buy your app but there will be more cancellations. I don't have any data to back things up but it's possible that the number of downloads will be the same. And according to Google's stats, most refunds happen within 15 minutes. However, having a shorter refund window is more beneficial to developers in terms of handling their business and will reduce abuse.
zmmmmm 16y ago
I'm not sure about "fair" but as a practical measure I think it's counter productive. I've never asked for a refund but every single purchase I've made has been partly because I could rationalize that I could return the app if I really didn't like it. With only 15 minutes to try it that logic won't work for me any more - I think I'll be doing way less purchases. I don't understand why Google wouldn't just drop it down to an hour which would accomplish the same (stated) purpose but be a lot more reasonable.