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There is a massive difference between 15% and 30%. The latter could never be justified, I think the former probably could be with the services that Apple offer

There is a massive difference between 15% and 30%. The latter could never be justified, I think the former probably could be with the services that Apple offer as a vendor (particularly for small businesses). But it still feels too high. The 27% in the article is just mad, I think they could justify 10% when not using their payments, maybe. But it would be better to have an opt out where there is a set rate for app approval (this could easily be hundreds of dollars) and a download cost for app/data delivery and storage.

jacquesm 5y ago
PSPs typically charge between 1 and 5% depending on the amounts, the kind of transaction and the risks involved.
- samwillis 5y ago
  Quite right, however I do think Apple offer slightly more than just payment processing. If we say transaction costs are 3%, do I think apple can justify an additional 26%? No. Do I think they can justify 12% for the validating of apps, providing marketing tools in the App Store, data storage and distribution? Maybe yes, it still feels a little high. It's why I would like to see it broken down as line items and for them to make it optional to just pay the costs of each service directly rather than them charging a % cut.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    If it would be valuable enough then people would not be trying to avoid this particular part of their service.
    - samwillis 5y ago
      True, and I fully support the push back against the fees. Hopefully they will end up lowering them to a point where everyone is happy.
  - schmorptron 5y ago
    12% is the number Epic Games arrived at for their game store, which they heavily used to pressure steam. How realistic it really is for all of the services SteamWorks offers and how much of that 12% would change in the future once tencent loss-leader funding runs out remains to be seen, but based on the current (games) market it seems like a reasonable number, especially at the scale apple operates at.

jacquesm 5y ago

PSPs typically charge between 1 and 5% depending on the amounts, the kind of transaction and the risks involved.

samwillis 5y ago
Quite right, however I do think Apple offer slightly more than just payment processing. If we say transaction costs are 3%, do I think apple can justify an additional 26%? No. Do I think they can justify 12% for the validating of apps, providing marketing tools in the App Store, data storage and distribution? Maybe yes, it still feels a little high. It's why I would like to see it broken down as line items and for them to make it optional to just pay the costs of each service directly rather than them charging a % cut.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  If it would be valuable enough then people would not be trying to avoid this particular part of their service.
  - samwillis 5y ago
    True, and I fully support the push back against the fees. Hopefully they will end up lowering them to a point where everyone is happy.
- schmorptron 5y ago
  12% is the number Epic Games arrived at for their game store, which they heavily used to pressure steam. How realistic it really is for all of the services SteamWorks offers and how much of that 12% would change in the future once tencent loss-leader funding runs out remains to be seen, but based on the current (games) market it seems like a reasonable number, especially at the scale apple operates at.