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You're effectively taking the position of "fuck the business for trying to survive". Amazon makes billions, why didn't they just pay the 30%? Because their marg

You're effectively taking the position of "fuck the business for trying to survive". Amazon makes billions, why didn't they just pay the 30%? Because their margins are 5% at best. Survival. Not even wealth. And the argument you're making can ONLY be used to support the position that "well then why isn't Apple just the only company in the world and everyone is forced by law to use them?" Because that's the long-term outcome of the thinking you are describing. People have options, people want options. One of the things Apple does is refuse to allow developers to use specific banks to receive payments! So now they get to tell people what bank to use? And the bigger they get, the bigger they will bully themselves into literally every market decision on the planet. Oh but it's all OK because it's a closed platform. Bully for you that your experience with Apple/In-App payments has turned out well, but the companies I work with ABSOLUTELY HATE THEM. Customer service, when it is necessary, is absolutely impossible. Refunding pro-rated amounts is also impossible, which means they're forced to refund all or nothing - and Apple still keeps its cut. Mobile devices are used now more than websites, so mobile presence is REQUIRED for survival. This has given the two monopolies, Apple and Google, alot more power than frankly they deserve.

veilrap 6y ago
Apple users bought into the ecosystem. It's not the only ecosystem in town, it's not even the biggest ecosystem in town. Consumers can choose the platform they want to buy into.
selykg 6y ago
Not really the stance I'm taking. If your product has such a high overhead that the listed price for that product is so high that if you add the 30% back in no one would buy then you're probably doing a poor job of pricing your product, or your overhead is too high. Basecamp makes money hand over fist. DHH has some of the most expensive sports cars in the world. I would hazard a guess that even at $100/yr, Hey costs less than 50% of that to actually run. Similar email services cost around $50/yr give or take $10, and they're making profit at that cost. I don't particularly want to line DHH's pockets even more. Now, admittedly Basecamp pays their employees pretty well so that's a consideration, too. I'm all for the normal employees getting paid well, but I don't think someone like DHH should be making money like he is. Every time I see him bitching about this topic on Twitter I immediately think "oh, he's going to buy himself another one off Koenigsegg from the profits of this" Na. DHH gets no love from me. I'd feel more sorry for the smaller developers, but DHH, nope, not gonna be on his side ever.
- TheCoelacanth 6y ago
  This feels like crab mentality to me. Basecamp makes peanuts compared to a behemoth like Apple.

veilrap 6y ago

Apple users bought into the ecosystem. It's not the only ecosystem in town, it's not even the biggest ecosystem in town. Consumers can choose the platform they want to buy into.

selykg 6y ago

Not really the stance I'm taking. If your product has such a high overhead that the listed price for that product is so high that if you add the 30% back in no one would buy then you're probably doing a poor job of pricing your product, or your overhead is too high. Basecamp makes money hand over fist. DHH has some of the most expensive sports cars in the world. I would hazard a guess that even at $100/yr, Hey costs less than 50% of that to actually run. Similar email services cost around $50/yr give or take $10, and they're making profit at that cost. I don't particularly want to line DHH's pockets even more. Now, admittedly Basecamp pays their employees pretty well so that's a consideration, too. I'm all for the normal employees getting paid well, but I don't think someone like DHH should be making money like he is. Every time I see him bitching about this topic on Twitter I immediately think "oh, he's going to buy himself another one off Koenigsegg from the profits of this" Na. DHH gets no love from me. I'd feel more sorry for the smaller developers, but DHH, nope, not gonna be on his side ever.

TheCoelacanth 6y ago
This feels like crab mentality to me. Basecamp makes peanuts compared to a behemoth like Apple.