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A key point that many developers miss is that IF you are marketing your own apps, the split is not 70/30, but 77/23. In explanation, you join the iTunes affili

A key point that many developers miss is that IF you are marketing your own apps, the split is not 70/30, but 77/23. In explanation, you join the iTunes affiliate program, which gives you a 7% cut on sales in the app store. I really don't understand why this isn't more widely known.

SwellJoe 12y ago
If I could sell it directly from my website the cut would be 100/0. I hate the indentured servitude imposed by the Apple App Store, and have opted out of mobile development thus far because of it. It's like shooting off my nose to spite my face, I guess, given the growth of the mobile market, but I truly hate the shape of our industry these days, when it comes to how indie developers are able to connect to their users...yes, it's better than it's ever been, but not because of Apple. It's better because of the open web, and Apple and Google are using their near-monopoly powers to impose the old gatekeeper model long past when it should be relevant.
- matheweis 12y ago
  Not likely... I actually do sell direct on my site, and even there the cut for the ecommerce provider (fastspring) is 8.9%. Also, I have to manage the distribution chain myself, which is a surprising amount of overhead.
  - SwellJoe 12y ago
    I sell software for servers directly on my site, as well. I do pay merchant service fees (which I'm also somewhat grumpy about how high they are), but the total amount of "fees" I pay is remarkably lower than 30%. If I factor in colocation costs, server costs, etc. I end up with ~11% total. (But, we're also supporting Open Source projects with a million+ users, so we have a lot higher infrastructure costs than we would if we only had to serve our few thousand paying customers.) Even if I add advertising costs (because some people allege the app stores provide a customer base), it's still less than 20%. But, I could distribute dozens of times the amount of software I'm selling with the same hardware and colo (if the market wanted to buy dozens of times the amount of our software currently sold). So, it's true that there are costs no matter how you sell your software to customers. And, I might be willing to pay more for things that would make my customers lives easier. But, 30% is...it's just outrageous, to me. Apple and Google are among the richest companies in the world. Their margins on running these stores is obscene.
dirtae 12y ago
Is it possible to take advantage of the affiliate program for sales on in-app purchases? Our app (like many) is free with in-app purchases, so I don't think we can generate affiliate revenue from our sales, but I'd love it if I were wrong.
- matheweis 12y ago
  I don't have in app purchases, but Real Mac Software says yes: http://realmacsoftware.com/blog/itunes-affiliate-program http://realmacsoftware.com/blog/itunes-affiliate-program

SwellJoe 12y ago

If I could sell it directly from my website the cut would be 100/0. I hate the indentured servitude imposed by the Apple App Store, and have opted out of mobile development thus far because of it. It's like shooting off my nose to spite my face, I guess, given the growth of the mobile market, but I truly hate the shape of our industry these days, when it comes to how indie developers are able to connect to their users...yes, it's better than it's ever been, but not because of Apple. It's better because of the open web, and Apple and Google are using their near-monopoly powers to impose the old gatekeeper model long past when it should be relevant.

matheweis 12y ago
Not likely... I actually do sell direct on my site, and even there the cut for the ecommerce provider (fastspring) is 8.9%. Also, I have to manage the distribution chain myself, which is a surprising amount of overhead.
- SwellJoe 12y ago
  I sell software for servers directly on my site, as well. I do pay merchant service fees (which I'm also somewhat grumpy about how high they are), but the total amount of "fees" I pay is remarkably lower than 30%. If I factor in colocation costs, server costs, etc. I end up with ~11% total. (But, we're also supporting Open Source projects with a million+ users, so we have a lot higher infrastructure costs than we would if we only had to serve our few thousand paying customers.) Even if I add advertising costs (because some people allege the app stores provide a customer base), it's still less than 20%. But, I could distribute dozens of times the amount of software I'm selling with the same hardware and colo (if the market wanted to buy dozens of times the amount of our software currently sold). So, it's true that there are costs no matter how you sell your software to customers. And, I might be willing to pay more for things that would make my customers lives easier. But, 30% is...it's just outrageous, to me. Apple and Google are among the richest companies in the world. Their margins on running these stores is obscene.

dirtae 12y ago

Is it possible to take advantage of the affiliate program for sales on in-app purchases? Our app (like many) is free with in-app purchases, so I don't think we can generate affiliate revenue from our sales, but I'd love it if I were wrong.

matheweis 12y ago
I don't have in app purchases, but Real Mac Software says yes: http://realmacsoftware.com/blog/itunes-affiliate-program http://realmacsoftware.com/blog/itunes-affiliate-program