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>Apple is dictating what I can tell my customers in "general communications" where Apple is not involved. That's not a free market, it's abusive. If a customer
by Despegar 6y ago
>Apple is dictating what I can tell my customers in "general communications" where Apple is not involved. That's not a free market, it's abusive. If a customer comes to my site from a search I should be able to say "Here are the purchase options. Please note that Apple takes 30% if you purchase through their store. If you purchase direct, our processing fees are only %2.5".
Everyone that argues against the rule that says you can't advertise in your apps ways to bypass the App Store for payment are basically arguing that they should be able to free ride on the platform, something discussed in this study.
>In addition, for their business model to be successful, digital marketplaces often have to
rely on rules that prevent customers from free riding on their services. Free riding involves
buyers and/or sellers avoiding fees after the platform has helped connect them, which
means that the platform is not compensated for the successful match and the use of the
platform’s technology, tools, and services to facilitate and promote valuable transactions
between buyers and sellers. A review of the policies and rules of large app stores and
online marketplaces that distribute physical goods and services — marketplaces for which
the risk for free riding is particularly high — shows that digital marketplaces routinely
forbid behaviors aimed at avoiding fees.
>In addition to the commission on paid apps and in-app purchases of digital content,
services, and subscriptions, Apple imposes guidelines that govern the use of the App
Store. Among those policies are rules about in-app purchases to prevent users and
developers from free riding on Apple’s App Store services and investments. Apps cannot
explicitly steer app users away from in-app purchases — for example, by providing external
links that bypass the App Store.
- mthoms 6y agoMy example was about communications with customers who come to me without Apple's help. Such as on a website that I paid for, and the customer comes to me via a Google search ad (or good SEO) that I paid for. Ultimately, a mobile app [0] will be purchased through Apple. Should they get a commission? Of course. But since they didn't provide the "discovery" or lead generation it should be much less. [0] I'll use mobile apps in this particular example because it's less ambiguous.
- supernova87a 6y agoHow are we to determine who came from what source the customer came from? Offer them a choice to say, "I found this book on my own and just want to buy it here, discount = -10%"?
- mthoms 6y agoReferral links have been around since the late to mid 90's.
- saagarjha 6y agoThat part is not going to be popular among developers, who understand that Apple "free rides" off of them too–without them there would be no platform. There are some "free" apps that are literally cornerstones of the iPhone, to the point where people might switch to a competitor if they didn't exist.