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Absolutely. And it's actually rather odd. People are tend to spent more money on a coffee they buy at starbucks than they're willing to pay for an app they use

Absolutely. And it's actually rather odd. People are tend to spent more money on a coffee they buy at starbucks than they're willing to pay for an app they use e.g. every week. Maybe it's because a lot of users have absolutely no idea how much work it takes to write an app. All they know are the Angry Bird and Minecraft success stories thinking that app makers must shit golden bricks every time they build their code. It's not only a trend among average consumers though, it's also sadly a trend among us developers: not a lot of developers are willing to spend even a single dollar on software they have to use every day. "Do you have a free version?" "Why do I have to give away the application I spend years full time on writing? Do you work for free?" I don't think this will end well. If we less and less value software on its true worth, it will become less and less attractive (or even possible) to write the software we need in a society which more and more relies on software. Watch this great presentation by Erik Meijer [1] where he addresses this problem (and others ;)) [1] http://vimeo.com/110554082 http://vimeo.com/110554082

jes5199 12y ago
If I felt like it was possible to get refunds from the App Store when I bought something that promised more than it delivered, I would be more likely to spend money there. As it is, way too often I've lost $1 or $2 to an app that I immediately uninstalled. It makes me very hesitant to pull the trigger on a bigger purchase.
ethbro 12y ago
> Maybe it's because a lot of users have absolutely no idea how much work it takes to write an app. I think part of it is the trust proposition too. Why do people pay {BIG NAME DEVELOPMENT COMPANY} {>$1} for an app in the desktop world? Support and upgrades. What are the two things that the app store has more or less excised from customer expectations w/ regards to a purchased app? Support and upgrades. Best of breed (aka Panic) aside, obviously. But you have to admit there are a lot more fly-by-night app developers than on desktop. Edit: It'd be interesting to see how "each feature costs $1" IAP would play out. (Odd parallels to the arguments cable companies are having re: a la carte pricing)

jes5199 12y ago

If I felt like it was possible to get refunds from the App Store when I bought something that promised more than it delivered, I would be more likely to spend money there. As it is, way too often I've lost $1 or $2 to an app that I immediately uninstalled. It makes me very hesitant to pull the trigger on a bigger purchase.

ethbro 12y ago

> Maybe it's because a lot of users have absolutely no idea how much work it takes to write an app. I think part of it is the trust proposition too. Why do people pay {BIG NAME DEVELOPMENT COMPANY} {>$1} for an app in the desktop world? Support and upgrades. What are the two things that the app store has more or less excised from customer expectations w/ regards to a purchased app? Support and upgrades. Best of breed (aka Panic) aside, obviously. But you have to admit there are a lot more fly-by-night app developers than on desktop. Edit: It'd be interesting to see how "each feature costs $1" IAP would play out. (Odd parallels to the arguments cable companies are having re: a la carte pricing)