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This article summarizes the epitome of my experience as an Apple developer. I'm 17 years old and a developer on the app store. The App Store feels opaque and li

by firloop 12y ago

This article summarizes the epitome of my experience as an Apple developer. I'm 17 years old and a developer on the app store. The App Store feels opaque and like a black box where I submit builds with little to no feedback or control. I get paid when Apple decides, and could be eradicated from the App Store at a moment's notice. I realized early on that being featured by Apple was unlikely, and have adopted a sustainable pricing model (a term I was unfamiliar with before reading this piece) to fund my development. I'm certain that by charging $14.99, I stay out of the bottom 47% of developers that make less than $100 a month from the app store. I do not rely on the app store for anything. From visibility to app discovery, I feel that Apple has failed me. When I get support emails, I cannot even refund a single paying user, which means I have to send $14.99 back to the user using PayPal and eat Apple's $4.50 fee for that transaction. It's immensely frustrating and a main reason why I allow users to sign up concurrently on my website using a card (Stripe). Every part of developing for Apple leads me to this conclusion: I do not matter. My app does not matter.

usaphp 12y ago
Those who purchase your apps are paying to Apple, why would YOU send them a refund? If they want a refund they have to figure that out with a marketplace not a seller.
- fiblye 12y ago
  When a user's disappointed with a product, they blame the creator of the product, not Apple. Not offering up good customer service would only tarnish his reputation. People will keep paying Apple no matter what, so they really don't care. People won't keep paying an unknown developer with 2 star ratings.
- bduerst 12y ago
  That's the point? Customer service is lacking this basic functionality, so this developer is providing it on the side at an increased cost.
  - bandushrew 12y ago
    Its not lacking. it is easily possible for users to get refunds from apple. I have no idea why the developer isn't just asking them to go to apple for a refund.
    - bduerst 12y ago
      It is very lacking, and I would not spin it as "easy" - unless you're talking about some other process than the "report a problem" path. I'm not this developer, but if so many users are reaching out to them for refunds, then there is a definitive gap in store functionality.
      - clarky07 12y ago
        It's not highly publicized, but it is in fact easy. And if there are lot of users reaching to him for refunds, he needs to improve the app because it's not as advertised. I doubt he's actually getting a ton of refund requests though. It is a thing that happens though, and when it does you inform that user how Apple's refund process goes. No reason to eat $4.50 every time.
- nakovet 12y ago
  Yes and no. For example, you buy some Sony stuff from Bestbuy, you run into a problem, yes you try to contact Bestbuy first, but they fail to you: "Well you must contact Sony now because yada yada...", you may even think "Alright, that's fair..., it's not their fault" and if Sony doesn't provide customer service nor support, I bet you, you will never buy something from the brand again, but you may buy again from the store. It may not seem right, but a very common customer behaviour.
  - usaphp 12y ago
    If I bought a Sony tv at bestbuy - I will request a refund from bestbuy not Sony.
    - eigenvector 12y ago
      The point is that if BestBuy refuses to make it right for you, a manufacturer who cares about customer service and their brand may step in and give you a refund/replacement even though they're not obliged to. Which is what OP is doing instead of saying "not my problem, deal with Apple" to his customers.
      - mobiplayer 12y ago
        No. Nobody will give you a refund. A replacement maybe, never ever a refund for the price you paid on the shop.
        nakovet 12y ago
        Okay, maybe it happened because it was something cheap, a 30$ Brita Filter, I bought at Canadian Tire and ran into issues, I've contacted them and got the cheque with full refund. It really depends on Customer Service, I would buy another Brita product for sure.
        mobiplayer 12y ago
        I would, too :)
shimfish 12y ago
Can't you direct users to the "report a problem" link in the email receipt that Apple sends to them? That's how I've always dealt with users wanting a refund on iTunes.
alexashka 12y ago
Nobody's really disputing that the App Store needs revision in a number of areas (discovery, refunds, trials, etc) It's a hard problem because curation is a hard problem. It is not unique to the app store - take a look at android's store or frankly, any online store that offers a wide array of products - curation is hard. I'm sure they're working on it. A time of fewer but higher quality apps may be coming - but then there'll be complains about the selection system. Curation is hard. The real complaint I hear most often is simply 'I thought I was going to make an app, publish it and make money! I haven't made money. I think the app store it broken' Most businesses fail, there was a false impression that the app store is somehow different - it'll solve the reasons most businesses fail. It won't. Your conclusion is correct - unless you've got great product-market fit (your product fits the need of many people today), you do not matter, to many people. Your app does not matter to many people unless it has got great product-market fit. Products that have great fit - do well despite some of the challenges, mostly through word of mouth. Just like most other small businesses.
- ksk 12y ago
  >The real complaint I hear most often is simply 'I thought I was going to make an app, publish it and make money! I haven't made money. I think the app store it broken' Where have you heard that most often?
- TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
  Well, that's... a point of view. I'm unconvinced it's an accurate one. Firstly, the app model is pure genius. It means Apple gets an army of developers producing software for Apple with zero health/unemployment/other benefits, no up-front advance payments, and a limited curation cost. The risks are entirely on the developer side. There is no downside for Apple. Secondly momentum creates the usual extreme power law, with most of the benefits going to a small minority of developers. What makes an app sell is some random combination of luck, faddiness, and marketing muscle. It certainly isn't inherent quality or "fit". In fact you seem to be using "fit" as a rationalisation for app successes, not as a useful description of the processes that make an app successful - some of which seem to random. Finally, there's the bottom line: devs like to that puts on a stage routine about having the right stuff, it's not unreasonable to expect it to do stuff right. The point: the benefits of keeping devs onside and treating them with more respect would be immense, and probably economically incalculable. Apple would have an instant army of fanboys/girls talking up the company to anyone who would listen. App quality would go way up to the point where iOS could potentially totally kill Android. App and hardware sales would increase further, and you'd get a classic virtuous cycle. Unfortunately when you have a war chest heading towards $1tn you probably don't feel any need to care about the little people, and "eh - whatever" is good enough for you. But that doesn't mean the opportunity wasn't real, or that it hasn't been squandered. It was and it has. And that's been a bad thing for everyone - including Apple.
Spooky23 12y ago
Your experience is the price of admission to gain access to a global audience. The low barrier to entry is why you're fighting for pennies. Twenty years ago when I was in high school, I worked at CompUSA. They sold a lot of software in their day... in my region of the country, 40% of software sold passed through our store's door. To sell software at CompUSA or similar retailers, you needed to interface with a publisher, who would then try to sell your software to a buyer at the store. Then you'd need to print collateral, get an attractive box, duplicate physical media in quantities sufficient to stock 500 stores. At your expense. And for all that, you'd be a box on a bottom shelf somewhere. If you wanted to actually sell software, you'd need to pay for premium placement on an endcap or display. I recall one vendor who paid over $2M for premium endcaps at each store for a handwriting recognition app. When customers were dissatisfied, or returned your software that wasn't supposed to be returnable, the store would withhold payment for your software (which was running 60-90 days late in most cases) and mail you back the resealed box at your expense, which may have contained a rock instead of your software. Fast forward to 2015, and you're paying $99 to sell software for $15 that nets you $10, which is paid promptly every month. Apple treats you like cattle, because you are in effect a cow to them... there are thousands of people like you!
- cbd1984 12y ago
  > Your experience is the price of admission to gain access to a global audience. Nothing they said was inherent to the process of getting a global audience. Apple has created all of their problems they mentioned; we know this because Apple could make them all go away.
  - prawn 12y ago
    Why would they bother when another cow will step forward? The developers' gripes seem to be about actual problems for them, but potential problems for Apple. Similar things happen with Google and AdSense publishers.
- chrramirez 12y ago
  You could also publish on Android or the web and have access to a "the global audience". Comparing the App Store with 20 years old methods is a fallacy. To be realistic you should compare using the Android/Mozilla/Windows/Web distribution methods.
superuser2 12y ago
> I'm 17 years old and a developer on the app store Then you probably committed fraud when creating your Developer account. Apple requires you to certify that you are at least 18 years old in order to join the developer program. So does every other means of receiving USD payment on the internet (Paypal, Stripe, BTC exchanges, etc). I hesitate to say it's impossible, but the system is set up in such a way that if you are an Internet entrepreneur under the age of 18 you are probably breaking the law. I've never heard of Apple doing this, but PayPal is known to freeze accounts it discovers are held by minors and walk away with their money. You probably don't want to advertise the fact that you're 17.
- spacehome 12y ago
  Maybe his or her parents signed?
- runjake 12y ago
  > I've never heard of Apple doing this An old example of this: http://slashdot.org/story/02/03/25/1759218/apple-cuts-off-under-18-darwin-developer http://slashdot.org/story/02/03/25/1759218/apple-cuts-off-un...
- firloop 12y ago
  My iTunes Connect account is in a different name than my own for the time being. For my Stripe account, an email from a guardian indicating consent is enough for me to have my account under their terms. I appreciate your concern and I have looked into all of these areas.
- conradev 12y ago
  > I'm 17 years old and a developer on the app store I did this when I was 14. Except, technically, my dad was the developer. It's really easy to make that work, and it's completely legal.
kybernetyk 12y ago
> When I get support emails, I cannot even refund a single paying user, which means I have to send $14.99 back to the user using PayPal and eat Apple's $4.50 fee for that transaction. Send them over to https://reportaproblem.apple.com https://reportaproblem.apple.com - there they can claim a refund.
jmbrook 12y ago
From my view of the world the "pre Apple" app marketplace was much worse. With our J2ME apps (doing apps since 2002) we would have to distribute to 30+ different middlemen (Telcogames et al) each with differing submission requirements, invoicing/non payment issues and the kicker was only getting 20-40% (at best) of the revenue (with the price not being set by us). The holy grail being placement on operator stores with the ever fickle decisions of their games teams. The amount of non payment, uncharged downloads, operator/distribution backhanders and outright fraud was striking. With Apple we get paid on time, I trust the download reports and it is ‘quite’ clear what the submission rules are. The Apple (and Android) appstore just reminds me of a very pure form of business in which the barriers are low, not everyone can be a 'winner' , and Surgeon’s law applies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law) I do however agree with your conclusion - neither you nor your app matter to Apple but that isn't unique to you/your app - it is just business.
drzaiusapelord 12y ago
>From visibility to app discovery, I feel that Apple has failed me. As a consumer you've failed me. The store is full of useless apps, lazy clones, and fad garbage that does me no good. Write the next Dropbox and people will come pounding at your door. I'm really getting sick of all the Apple/Google bashing. We live in a time where you can trivially publish software to hundreds of millions people dying for new apps without a publisher, without cutting deals with dozens of stores, and little to no investment out of pocket. What's so wonderful about your app? Go on, tell us. Why should it be the next success? Who exactly are you being wronged here other than the typical gen-y whining about not being a millionaire by 22.
madeofpalk 12y ago
The App Store feels opaque and like a black box where I submit builds with little to no feedback or control. I get paid when Apple decides, and could be eradicated from the App Store at a moment's notice. Every part of developing for Apple leads me to this conclusion: I do not matter. My app does not matter. Now that I'm doing iOS Development under my own company, I feel your pain. We recently had our iOS Developer Program terminated, for what I can only assume was a gross misunderstanding on Apple's behalf. And I can only assume because Apple won't actually tell us why they terminated our account. We just got a standard form reply with zero detail. Whenever we call Developer Support, they can't/won't tell us anything. We have absolutely zero information on why they permanently expelled us from the App Store. It's not infuriating, its soul crushing. (sitenote: if anyone within Apple developer relations or anyone else can help us out, PLEASE email me - details are in my bio)
- ghshephard 12y ago
  Is it reasonable to say you are pretty aware of why Apple terminated your account? Remember, that the hierarchy of interests that Apple follows (according to Gruber), Apple --> User --> Developer.
  - madeofpalk 12y ago
    We have our suspicions on why Apple terminated our account, that they misunderstood some things and never sought to clarify things and just went straight to the permaban. But they're only suspicions - we can't talk to anyone within Apple to at least get a reason, let alone explain things. Of course I am biased, but I am 100% confident in that we were not actually doing anything wrong, and especially did not deserve termination of our developer account.
    - deeje 12y ago
      what are your suspicions?
clarky07 12y ago
Don't send them refunds, send them to https://reportaproblem.apple.com/ https://reportaproblem.apple.com/ and tell them you are happy to refund them and here's how to do it. They can then go to Apple and they will process the refund for you. You and your app technically don't matter to Apple. The 30% feels high, but overall it's really a good deal. I've made several hundred thousand dollars on the app store without almost any marketing spend. That's a good deal.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- booruguru 12y ago
  Can you share more details? What do you sell? How much time do you spend (and money?) on development? Etc.
  - clarky07 12y ago
    I've made most of my money on fitness apps, with a few utilities sprinkled in early on. I've been doing it full time for a few years, with freelance supplementing the income. I've written up yearly reviews on my blog[1] a few times. I've spent a little bit on graphic design, and I've partnered and done a revenue split for some of the graphic design. That being said, it's far from being all roses. My sales have been down some the last few years despite continuing to update (some of the apps, not all) and making new apps. There is a ton of competition and there are definitely things I'd wish Apple would change. Mostly though you have to think of it as any other business. It's not Apple's job to sell my apps any more than it's Wal-mart or Lowe's job to sell your products. Being in the store is the only thing any of them promise, and that is a huge boost for lots of products. If you get featured (on the app store, or maybe end cap at walmart) it's gravy. I have to work to make a great product, I have to get the word out as much as possible, and I have to do a good job of ASO (or SEO if you prefer). [1] http://www.entrelife.com/ http://www.entrelife.com/
drawkbox 12y ago
Apple is providing one of the widest most open distribution markets ever available besides the internet/web, but here the expectations of gaining revenues is easier with one touch buying, no guarantee, but less hurdles. For the price of that we are all sharecroppers in a feudal market where Apple is the King.
coldtea 12y ago
>Every part of developing for Apple leads me to this conclusion: I do not matter. My app does not matter. Well, it's not any different for any other marketplace, including the general internet. There are millions of apps and millions of developers out there. Of course they don't matter...
andreamazz 12y ago
> I'm 17 years old and a developer on the app store. The App Store feels opaque and like a black box where I submit builds with little to no feedback or control. I've been pushing apps on the appstore form day one, there's a lot of room for improvements, but saying that you get no feedback is plain false. When an app is rejected the reasoning behind the refusal is always explained, and you have a chance to talk through the issue (sometimes I had the reviewer calling me on the phone). In the end it's just a matter of following the guidelines. > Every part of developing for Apple leads me to this conclusion: I do not matter. My app does not matter. We all like to think we're special, millions of developers do, that's true for the appstore, and the same goes for the open web.

by firloop 12y ago

usaphp 12y ago

Those who purchase your apps are paying to Apple, why would YOU send them a refund? If they want a refund they have to figure that out with a marketplace not a seller.

fiblye 12y ago
When a user's disappointed with a product, they blame the creator of the product, not Apple. Not offering up good customer service would only tarnish his reputation. People will keep paying Apple no matter what, so they really don't care. People won't keep paying an unknown developer with 2 star ratings.
bduerst 12y ago
That's the point? Customer service is lacking this basic functionality, so this developer is providing it on the side at an increased cost.
- bandushrew 12y ago
  Its not lacking. it is easily possible for users to get refunds from apple. I have no idea why the developer isn't just asking them to go to apple for a refund.
  - bduerst 12y ago
    It is very lacking, and I would not spin it as "easy" - unless you're talking about some other process than the "report a problem" path. I'm not this developer, but if so many users are reaching out to them for refunds, then there is a definitive gap in store functionality.
    - clarky07 12y ago
      It's not highly publicized, but it is in fact easy. And if there are lot of users reaching to him for refunds, he needs to improve the app because it's not as advertised. I doubt he's actually getting a ton of refund requests though. It is a thing that happens though, and when it does you inform that user how Apple's refund process goes. No reason to eat $4.50 every time.
nakovet 12y ago
Yes and no. For example, you buy some Sony stuff from Bestbuy, you run into a problem, yes you try to contact Bestbuy first, but they fail to you: "Well you must contact Sony now because yada yada...", you may even think "Alright, that's fair..., it's not their fault" and if Sony doesn't provide customer service nor support, I bet you, you will never buy something from the brand again, but you may buy again from the store. It may not seem right, but a very common customer behaviour.
- usaphp 12y ago
  If I bought a Sony tv at bestbuy - I will request a refund from bestbuy not Sony.
  - eigenvector 12y ago
    The point is that if BestBuy refuses to make it right for you, a manufacturer who cares about customer service and their brand may step in and give you a refund/replacement even though they're not obliged to. Which is what OP is doing instead of saying "not my problem, deal with Apple" to his customers.
    - mobiplayer 12y ago
      No. Nobody will give you a refund. A replacement maybe, never ever a refund for the price you paid on the shop.
      - nakovet 12y ago
        Okay, maybe it happened because it was something cheap, a 30$ Brita Filter, I bought at Canadian Tire and ran into issues, I've contacted them and got the cheque with full refund. It really depends on Customer Service, I would buy another Brita product for sure.
        mobiplayer 12y ago
        I would, too :)

shimfish 12y ago

Can't you direct users to the "report a problem" link in the email receipt that Apple sends to them? That's how I've always dealt with users wanting a refund on iTunes.

alexashka 12y ago

Nobody's really disputing that the App Store needs revision in a number of areas (discovery, refunds, trials, etc) It's a hard problem because curation is a hard problem. It is not unique to the app store - take a look at android's store or frankly, any online store that offers a wide array of products - curation is hard. I'm sure they're working on it. A time of fewer but higher quality apps may be coming - but then there'll be complains about the selection system. Curation is hard. The real complaint I hear most often is simply 'I thought I was going to make an app, publish it and make money! I haven't made money. I think the app store it broken' Most businesses fail, there was a false impression that the app store is somehow different - it'll solve the reasons most businesses fail. It won't. Your conclusion is correct - unless you've got great product-market fit (your product fits the need of many people today), you do not matter, to many people. Your app does not matter to many people unless it has got great product-market fit. Products that have great fit - do well despite some of the challenges, mostly through word of mouth. Just like most other small businesses.

ksk 12y ago
>The real complaint I hear most often is simply 'I thought I was going to make an app, publish it and make money! I haven't made money. I think the app store it broken' Where have you heard that most often?
TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
Well, that's... a point of view. I'm unconvinced it's an accurate one. Firstly, the app model is pure genius. It means Apple gets an army of developers producing software for Apple with zero health/unemployment/other benefits, no up-front advance payments, and a limited curation cost. The risks are entirely on the developer side. There is no downside for Apple. Secondly momentum creates the usual extreme power law, with most of the benefits going to a small minority of developers. What makes an app sell is some random combination of luck, faddiness, and marketing muscle. It certainly isn't inherent quality or "fit". In fact you seem to be using "fit" as a rationalisation for app successes, not as a useful description of the processes that make an app successful - some of which seem to random. Finally, there's the bottom line: devs like to that puts on a stage routine about having the right stuff, it's not unreasonable to expect it to do stuff right. The point: the benefits of keeping devs onside and treating them with more respect would be immense, and probably economically incalculable. Apple would have an instant army of fanboys/girls talking up the company to anyone who would listen. App quality would go way up to the point where iOS could potentially totally kill Android. App and hardware sales would increase further, and you'd get a classic virtuous cycle. Unfortunately when you have a war chest heading towards $1tn you probably don't feel any need to care about the little people, and "eh - whatever" is good enough for you. But that doesn't mean the opportunity wasn't real, or that it hasn't been squandered. It was and it has. And that's been a bad thing for everyone - including Apple.

Spooky23 12y ago

Your experience is the price of admission to gain access to a global audience. The low barrier to entry is why you're fighting for pennies. Twenty years ago when I was in high school, I worked at CompUSA. They sold a lot of software in their day... in my region of the country, 40% of software sold passed through our store's door. To sell software at CompUSA or similar retailers, you needed to interface with a publisher, who would then try to sell your software to a buyer at the store. Then you'd need to print collateral, get an attractive box, duplicate physical media in quantities sufficient to stock 500 stores. At your expense. And for all that, you'd be a box on a bottom shelf somewhere. If you wanted to actually sell software, you'd need to pay for premium placement on an endcap or display. I recall one vendor who paid over $2M for premium endcaps at each store for a handwriting recognition app. When customers were dissatisfied, or returned your software that wasn't supposed to be returnable, the store would withhold payment for your software (which was running 60-90 days late in most cases) and mail you back the resealed box at your expense, which may have contained a rock instead of your software. Fast forward to 2015, and you're paying $99 to sell software for $15 that nets you $10, which is paid promptly every month. Apple treats you like cattle, because you are in effect a cow to them... there are thousands of people like you!

cbd1984 12y ago
> Your experience is the price of admission to gain access to a global audience. Nothing they said was inherent to the process of getting a global audience. Apple has created all of their problems they mentioned; we know this because Apple could make them all go away.
- prawn 12y ago
  Why would they bother when another cow will step forward? The developers' gripes seem to be about actual problems for them, but potential problems for Apple. Similar things happen with Google and AdSense publishers.
chrramirez 12y ago
You could also publish on Android or the web and have access to a "the global audience". Comparing the App Store with 20 years old methods is a fallacy. To be realistic you should compare using the Android/Mozilla/Windows/Web distribution methods.

superuser2 12y ago

> I'm 17 years old and a developer on the app store Then you probably committed fraud when creating your Developer account. Apple requires you to certify that you are at least 18 years old in order to join the developer program. So does every other means of receiving USD payment on the internet (Paypal, Stripe, BTC exchanges, etc). I hesitate to say it's impossible, but the system is set up in such a way that if you are an Internet entrepreneur under the age of 18 you are probably breaking the law. I've never heard of Apple doing this, but PayPal is known to freeze accounts it discovers are held by minors and walk away with their money. You probably don't want to advertise the fact that you're 17.

spacehome 12y ago
Maybe his or her parents signed?
runjake 12y ago
> I've never heard of Apple doing this An old example of this: http://slashdot.org/story/02/03/25/1759218/apple-cuts-off-under-18-darwin-developer http://slashdot.org/story/02/03/25/1759218/apple-cuts-off-un...
firloop 12y ago
My iTunes Connect account is in a different name than my own for the time being. For my Stripe account, an email from a guardian indicating consent is enough for me to have my account under their terms. I appreciate your concern and I have looked into all of these areas.
conradev 12y ago
> I'm 17 years old and a developer on the app store I did this when I was 14. Except, technically, my dad was the developer. It's really easy to make that work, and it's completely legal.

kybernetyk 12y ago

> When I get support emails, I cannot even refund a single paying user, which means I have to send $14.99 back to the user using PayPal and eat Apple's $4.50 fee for that transaction. Send them over to https://reportaproblem.apple.com https://reportaproblem.apple.com - there they can claim a refund.

jmbrook 12y ago

From my view of the world the "pre Apple" app marketplace was much worse. With our J2ME apps (doing apps since 2002) we would have to distribute to 30+ different middlemen (Telcogames et al) each with differing submission requirements, invoicing/non payment issues and the kicker was only getting 20-40% (at best) of the revenue (with the price not being set by us). The holy grail being placement on operator stores with the ever fickle decisions of their games teams. The amount of non payment, uncharged downloads, operator/distribution backhanders and outright fraud was striking. With Apple we get paid on time, I trust the download reports and it is ‘quite’ clear what the submission rules are. The Apple (and Android) appstore just reminds me of a very pure form of business in which the barriers are low, not everyone can be a 'winner' , and Surgeon’s law applies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law) I do however agree with your conclusion - neither you nor your app matter to Apple but that isn't unique to you/your app - it is just business.

drzaiusapelord 12y ago

>From visibility to app discovery, I feel that Apple has failed me. As a consumer you've failed me. The store is full of useless apps, lazy clones, and fad garbage that does me no good. Write the next Dropbox and people will come pounding at your door. I'm really getting sick of all the Apple/Google bashing. We live in a time where you can trivially publish software to hundreds of millions people dying for new apps without a publisher, without cutting deals with dozens of stores, and little to no investment out of pocket. What's so wonderful about your app? Go on, tell us. Why should it be the next success? Who exactly are you being wronged here other than the typical gen-y whining about not being a millionaire by 22.

madeofpalk 12y ago

The App Store feels opaque and like a black box where I submit builds with little to no feedback or control. I get paid when Apple decides, and could be eradicated from the App Store at a moment's notice. Every part of developing for Apple leads me to this conclusion: I do not matter. My app does not matter. Now that I'm doing iOS Development under my own company, I feel your pain. We recently had our iOS Developer Program terminated, for what I can only assume was a gross misunderstanding on Apple's behalf. And I can only assume because Apple won't actually tell us why they terminated our account. We just got a standard form reply with zero detail. Whenever we call Developer Support, they can't/won't tell us anything. We have absolutely zero information on why they permanently expelled us from the App Store. It's not infuriating, its soul crushing. (sitenote: if anyone within Apple developer relations or anyone else can help us out, PLEASE email me - details are in my bio)

ghshephard 12y ago
Is it reasonable to say you are pretty aware of why Apple terminated your account? Remember, that the hierarchy of interests that Apple follows (according to Gruber), Apple --> User --> Developer.
- madeofpalk 12y ago
  We have our suspicions on why Apple terminated our account, that they misunderstood some things and never sought to clarify things and just went straight to the permaban. But they're only suspicions - we can't talk to anyone within Apple to at least get a reason, let alone explain things. Of course I am biased, but I am 100% confident in that we were not actually doing anything wrong, and especially did not deserve termination of our developer account.
  - deeje 12y ago
    what are your suspicions?

clarky07 12y ago

Don't send them refunds, send them to https://reportaproblem.apple.com/ https://reportaproblem.apple.com/ and tell them you are happy to refund them and here's how to do it. They can then go to Apple and they will process the refund for you. You and your app technically don't matter to Apple. The 30% feels high, but overall it's really a good deal. I've made several hundred thousand dollars on the app store without almost any marketing spend. That's a good deal.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
booruguru 12y ago
Can you share more details? What do you sell? How much time do you spend (and money?) on development? Etc.
- clarky07 12y ago
  I've made most of my money on fitness apps, with a few utilities sprinkled in early on. I've been doing it full time for a few years, with freelance supplementing the income. I've written up yearly reviews on my blog[1] a few times. I've spent a little bit on graphic design, and I've partnered and done a revenue split for some of the graphic design. That being said, it's far from being all roses. My sales have been down some the last few years despite continuing to update (some of the apps, not all) and making new apps. There is a ton of competition and there are definitely things I'd wish Apple would change. Mostly though you have to think of it as any other business. It's not Apple's job to sell my apps any more than it's Wal-mart or Lowe's job to sell your products. Being in the store is the only thing any of them promise, and that is a huge boost for lots of products. If you get featured (on the app store, or maybe end cap at walmart) it's gravy. I have to work to make a great product, I have to get the word out as much as possible, and I have to do a good job of ASO (or SEO if you prefer). [1] http://www.entrelife.com/ http://www.entrelife.com/

drawkbox 12y ago

Apple is providing one of the widest most open distribution markets ever available besides the internet/web, but here the expectations of gaining revenues is easier with one touch buying, no guarantee, but less hurdles. For the price of that we are all sharecroppers in a feudal market where Apple is the King.

coldtea 12y ago

>Every part of developing for Apple leads me to this conclusion: I do not matter. My app does not matter. Well, it's not any different for any other marketplace, including the general internet. There are millions of apps and millions of developers out there. Of course they don't matter...

andreamazz 12y ago

> I'm 17 years old and a developer on the app store. The App Store feels opaque and like a black box where I submit builds with little to no feedback or control. I've been pushing apps on the appstore form day one, there's a lot of room for improvements, but saying that you get no feedback is plain false. When an app is rejected the reasoning behind the refusal is always explained, and you have a chance to talk through the issue (sometimes I had the reviewer calling me on the phone). In the end it's just a matter of following the guidelines. > Every part of developing for Apple leads me to this conclusion: I do not matter. My app does not matter. We all like to think we're special, millions of developers do, that's true for the appstore, and the same goes for the open web.