It's a valid point. Putting months of engineering effort into something which sells for 1-3 dollars is economically illiterate unless you expect to sell thousa

It's a valid point. Putting months of engineering effort into something which sells for 1-3 dollars is economically illiterate unless you expect to sell thousands of copies. Considering the very niche nature of many apps, selling in large volumes is not something which could typically be expected to happen. Of course if you then expect to be able to sell ancillary services around your $1-3 app, as a sort of loss leader, then it's a different matter.