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Maybe costing 30% more isn't worth centralizing the subscriptions

by rkk3 5y ago

nerdjon 5y ago
I fully understand that I am... maybe closer to people here but in the grand scheme of things financially I am in a better state than most people. But so I was curious, I have $762 worth of subscriptions a year through Apple. So I could save $228.60 if they were all 30% less. To me that is worth it. But I would also like to point out, that many of the apps I am subscribed too. I am only subscribed too because it was easy through Apple and I knew that I could cancel. I have a number of expired ones that I used for 6 months or a year but I didn't need anymore. A few that I have right now fit this but I am still actively using them. If it wasn't for this central subscription, they would have never gotten my money to begin with.
- forty 5y ago
  What if there was another payment system available on iphone with similar subscription centralisation service, with only 10% fee? Would you use that instead? IMO the main problem is the lack of competition. If Apple were forced to accept other payment platforms, you'd soon find the same service for cheaper.
  - nerdjon 5y ago
    I don't necessarily care that its Apple. But the only reason that this works the way it does, is because a developer has to use it. If there really was a third party offering that was just as easy to use sure, why not. But I just don't see companies willingly making it easy to cancel a service without trying to send the customer through some retention workflow.
- OmahaBoy69 5y ago
  How the hell did you manage to rack up $762 in yearly subscription fees...?
  - nerdjon 5y ago
    About $360 of that is Apple One Premier. Disney+, Budget app, weight management, couple yearly apps. Not that hard to get to that point I don't think.
- aeontech 5y ago
  Right, but it seems like many people here are assuming the 30% cut is for subscription management / payment processing only, ignoring that arguably it also covers all the other benefits the access to centralized App Store gives. Neither company is going to say “oh, you’re using another payment processor? Ok, our cut is now 0.” Much more likely the argument will be “oh, you’re using another payment processor? That’s fine, industry standard payment processing fee is 3 percent, our cut will be correspondingly 27%”
fragmede 5y ago
Maybe it's worth it for no-hassle cancelling though. While 30% is steep, and you should check website pricing vs Apple in-app pricing for something you end up keeping, being able to cancel from a predictable UI is worth something compared to phone, mail in or in-person-only cancellation policies.

Maybe costing 30% more isn't worth centralizing the subscriptions

by rkk3 5y ago

Maybe costing 30% more isn't worth centralizing the subscriptions

I fully understand that I am... maybe closer to people here but in the grand scheme of things financially I am in a better state than most people. But so I was curious, I have $762 worth of subscriptions a year through Apple. So I could save $228.60 if they were all 30% less. To me that is worth it. But I would also like to point out, that many of the apps I am subscribed too. I am only subscribed too because it was easy through Apple and I knew that I could cancel. I have a number of expired ones that I used for 6 months or a year but I didn't need anymore. A few that I have right now fit this but I am still actively using them. If it wasn't for this central subscription, they would have never gotten my money to begin with.

forty 5y ago
What if there was another payment system available on iphone with similar subscription centralisation service, with only 10% fee? Would you use that instead? IMO the main problem is the lack of competition. If Apple were forced to accept other payment platforms, you'd soon find the same service for cheaper.
- nerdjon 5y ago
  I don't necessarily care that its Apple. But the only reason that this works the way it does, is because a developer has to use it. If there really was a third party offering that was just as easy to use sure, why not. But I just don't see companies willingly making it easy to cancel a service without trying to send the customer through some retention workflow.
OmahaBoy69 5y ago
How the hell did you manage to rack up $762 in yearly subscription fees...?
- nerdjon 5y ago
  About $360 of that is Apple One Premier. Disney+, Budget app, weight management, couple yearly apps. Not that hard to get to that point I don't think.
aeontech 5y ago
Right, but it seems like many people here are assuming the 30% cut is for subscription management / payment processing only, ignoring that arguably it also covers all the other benefits the access to centralized App Store gives. Neither company is going to say “oh, you’re using another payment processor? Ok, our cut is now 0.” Much more likely the argument will be “oh, you’re using another payment processor? That’s fine, industry standard payment processing fee is 3 percent, our cut will be correspondingly 27%”

fragmede 5y ago

Maybe it's worth it for no-hassle cancelling though. While 30% is steep, and you should check website pricing vs Apple in-app pricing for something you end up keeping, being able to cancel from a predictable UI is worth something compared to phone, mail in or in-person-only cancellation policies.