That doesn’t seem fair at all
When a customer refunds your paid app, Apple refunds its 30% cut [edited]
391–400 of 583 posts
Re: When a customer refunds your paid app, Apple refunds its 30% cut [edited]
#392Earlier quoted context omitted.
What options are there? Google Play, Apple App Store. How much do they take? 30% and 30%. Is there an option where they take less than 30% or where someone can compete on that cut? No. Is there a different store you can use with the same privileges as these two stores? No. Can you take your payments outside of the store and manage payment fees yourself so as to not give them 30%? No.
I doubt it's news to you, but Android openly allows app stores other than Google's.
It's does, but between Google's certification process putting restrictions on device manufacturers and the fact that usually those alternative app stores can't be installed from Google Play, asking side the untrusted sources scare tactic against users, and Google Play protect so closely integrated in the OS now, theyre not really viable market places.
At best I guess we could say Google has a carrot approach where Apple prefers the stick.
Re: When a customer refunds your paid app, Apple refunds its 30% cut [edited]
#393Payment processors generally don't refund fees on payments when the payments are refunded, this isn't new. It's remarkable mainly because (a) it's 30%, not 3% and (b) the App store doesn't position itself as a payments processor the way Stripe does, so it sounds really weird that they would act like one. If the app store took a 3% chunk and never refunded it regardless of the ongoing status of the transaction, that w…
> Payment processors generally don't refund fees on payments when the payments are refunded, this isn't new.
This is new, and in fact PayPal and Stripe enacted this policy only this (or last year if I recall correctly).
Some payment processors like Affirm or Amazon Pay have not changed their policy on this yet.
Re: When a customer refunds your paid app, Apple refunds its 30% cut [edited]
#394Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple doesn’t take a cut from advertising, which funds the vast majority of apps.
That’s true, and makes a weird incentive for advertisements. Ads revenue is apple-tax free
No, you just aren't seeing the 'tax' the same way. Google (and Facebook, and admob, etc) all take a cut of ad revenue, and it's even higher than 30% - in some cases much much higher.
Re: When a customer refunds your paid app, Apple refunds its 30% cut [edited]
#395A Statement of Tim Cook for the House of Representatives claimed that "For the vast majority of apps on the App Store , developers keep 100% of the money they make." [1] How can this be even remotely true if Apple takes a 30% commission for every sale in the App Store? [1] https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU05/20200729/110883/HHRG...
He's referring to the fact that most commerce on the App Store is for physical goods and services (Airbnb, Amazon, Uber, food delivery, etc). Apple doesn't take a cut of those transactions.
Yeah, they also don't take a cut of the regular day job salary of an app developer who writes an app on the side, or his inheritance from his mother, or his niece's dog.
Re: When a customer refunds your paid app, Apple refunds its 30% cut [edited]
#396Had a look and it seems that Google do refund the transaction fee, which I think adds weight to the argument that is unfair behaviour by Apple: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answ... "Google will return the transaction fee to you. You'll see the returned transaction fee on your next earnings report."
"which I think adds weight to the argument that is unfair behaviour by Apple"
Apple takes back from the developer exactly what they gave the developer. This has been verified by a number of people, and this submission is just farcically wrong.
How is this nonsense front page on HN? Is this community this clueless?
Re: When a customer refunds your paid app, Apple refunds its 30% cut [edited]
#397Earlier quoted context omitted.
The tweet claims that step 4 is "Apples takes back $100 from me." So you have to cover Apple's share in the refund.
The tweets claim is false.
This is Apple's US terms for developers of paid apps:
> You shall reimburse, or grant Apple a credit for, an amount equal to the price for that subscription. Apple will have the right to retain its commission on the sale of that subscription, notwithstanding the refund of the price to the End-User.
If you disagree, please cite a source.
Re: When a customer refunds your paid app, Apple refunds its 30% cut [edited]
#398Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple takes back $100 from you. You now owe them $30 more than they ever paid you.
Nope.
This is Apple's US terms for developers of paid apps:
> You shall reimburse, or grant Apple a credit for, an amount equal to the price for that subscription. Apple will have the right to retain its commission on the sale of that subscription, notwithstanding the refund of the price to the End-User.
If you disagree, please cite a source.
Re: When a customer refunds your paid app, Apple refunds its 30% cut [edited]
#399Has anyone confirmed this is true (or is this tweet the only source...)? https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/105454 "Apple has the RIGHT TO withhold" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23989256 It seems you can only get a refund by reporting a problem, which means if your app works as described you shouldn't be able to request a refund.
I have requested several refunds by reporting a problem saying that the app didn’t work the way I thought it would. Automatically approved and refunded.
Takes like 10 seconds.
Re: When a customer refunds your paid app, Apple refunds its 30% cut [edited]
#400Payment processors generally don't refund fees on payments when the payments are refunded, this isn't new. It's remarkable mainly because (a) it's 30%, not 3% and (b) the App store doesn't position itself as a payments processor the way Stripe does, so it sounds really weird that they would act like one. If the app store took a 3% chunk and never refunded it regardless of the ongoing status of the transaction, that w…
Credit card companies (i.e., Visa, Mastercard) absolutely do refund fees on payments when the retailer processes a refund. This is why retailers generally require you to use the same method of payment to get your refund. It's uniquely online processors that do not refund fees.
> It's uniquely online processors that do not refund fees.
It sorta makes sense, since the online processors are usually middlemen that only make money on the fees they themselves charge. I could see their perspective being "we provided the service; that service is not un-provided because the customer returned the item and you sent them a refund... in fact, you used us even more because we had to mediate the refund transaction!"
I think if the fees were just a few percent, I wouldn't have too much trouble accepting that logic, but from Apple, where it's 30%... not so much.
The card issuers don't care quite as much about keeping the fees in a refund scenario, I guess... though I believe you don't get everything back during a refund, regardless.