Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

US developers can offer non-app store purchasing, Apple still collect commission

macrumors.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

521–530 of 1001 posts

Re: US developers can offer non-app store purchasing, Apple still collect commission

#521

Post by bsjaux628 »

nevir wrote: post #469
remus wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also think apple's 30% cut is excessive, but I don't think this line of argument helps. We should discuss the points on their merits, not based on who's making them and how much money they have.

Here's a little story / timeline from 2009-2010 (from my perspective as a dev on Kindle for iOS): * we submit the Kindle app ...including an in-app bookstore... to Apple for initial app review (Note: multiple ebook readers with in-app bookstores are already on the app store at this point) * several weeks pass with no response * Apple announces in-app purchasing (to be released several months later) * Apple rejects ou…

That sounds a lot like price fixing and the same thing that Amazon is being grilled on with FBA

Re: US developers can offer non-app store purchasing, Apple still collect commission

#522

Post by lozenge »

toasterlovin wrote: post #258

Some perspective: we sell on Amazon as a 3rd party seller. Amazon takes about 9% of the sale price of our products as their commission (it’s actually 12%, but includes credit card processing). To which you might be inclined to reply, “Ah, but 9% is a reasonable commission, so that’s okay.” But we sell physical goods, which cost money to produce. It’s typical for our products to have 20-25% gross margins. So as a shar…

Amazon customers are still available on other platforms. They use credit cards and they can put their details into any site, and I imagine most of them frequently do. Their shipping address is also accepted by every company.

iPhone users don't carry a second Android phone, and their purchasing decision has committed them to only buying on the App Store for at least a few years at a time. And the crazy part is they are paying the Apple Tax even for services like Spotify that they might primarily consume on other devices. You can't make a store that ships to Apple users - only Apple can.

Re: US developers can offer non-app store purchasing, Apple still collect commission

#523

Post by shaan7 »

guax wrote: post #466
toasterlovin wrote: post #258

Some perspective: we sell on Amazon as a 3rd party seller. Amazon takes about 9% of the sale price of our products as their commission (it’s actually 12%, but includes credit card processing). To which you might be inclined to reply, “Ah, but 9% is a reasonable commission, so that’s okay.” But we sell physical goods, which cost money to produce. It’s typical for our products to have 20-25% gross margins. So as a shar…

I think the difference is that amazon is not a platform. You sell on Amazon because it is where everyone is and they did that by burning lots and lots of cash to ensure everyone margins cannot be larger than a paper atom. Now that they're trying to capitalize on it they're becoming worse as a store and I can't remember last time I used them (in NL). If you buy an iphone there is no one to compete, Apple does not have…

> If you buy an iphone there is no one to compete

This. The problem is not the 30%, the problem is that iPhones do not have an option to buy apps from, lets say a Amazon Store or Epic Store.

Re: US developers can offer non-app store purchasing, Apple still collect commission

#524

Post by kelnos »

LeafItAlone wrote: post #92
ncallaway wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, in a regular browser you can make purchases on Amazon like normal. If you attempt to purchase a kindle book from within the kindle app, you will not be able to. Nor will there be any messaging explaining how to make a purchase (because apple does not allow such messaging). You’ll just be mysteriously confused about why you can’t buy a book.

Why can I buy an Audible audiobook directly in the app on iOS (and for cheaper than listed on Amazon), but not a Kindle book?

Because the Audible unit at Amazon set their own policy on this, and decided it was better for them and their users to pay Apple's 30% cut.

No idea why the price through the app was better than the price on the website. Maybe some kind of promotion? Weird.

Re: US developers can offer non-app store purchasing, Apple still collect commission

#525

Post by lynx23 »

andersa wrote: post #373

It's incredible that there are actually people in this thread arguing in favor of Apple. You don't need to defend the trillion dollar company. They are not your friend, they do not care about you, your work or your life. All they do is steal 30% from society that could be used for more productive purposes than make a few people who already have everything even richer.

"They are not your friend, they do not care about you"

I beg to differ. As a blind user relying on accessibility, Apple was actually the first company that decided that accessibility should be an inherent part of the OS, not just an expensive add-on. Since the iPhone, blind users can just buy the product and turn speech output on, without having to install expensive extra software as was the case with Windows, for instance.

So keep your generic accusations for yourself, they are far from correct.

Re: US developers can offer non-app store purchasing, Apple still collect commission

#526

Post by az226 »

pritambarhate wrote: post #504

I think all developers should start charging 30% more (op top of the price for which it sells on website.) if user is purchasing via In App Purchases. Slowly all users will come to know that if you buy on web generally it's cheaper and they will change their behaviour and IAP sells will drop significantly.

but that might not happen because of how onerous the rules are for non-IAP. it's an awful user experience, 1) the link isn't where you normally buy, 2) you are warned about leaving, 3) you get switched to a different app, 4) you then got to log in, 5) you got to find what you wanted to buy because no such information was carried, and 6) you got to fill out your card and billing information. Unless you are buying something very expensive, it simply won't be worth it. Especially for subscriptions.

Re: US developers can offer non-app store purchasing, Apple still collect commission

#527

Post by DeathArrow »

lijok wrote: post #506
DeathArrow wrote: post #475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Apple spent billions of dollars creating an app platform with a clear monetization model I don't want their platform forced down my throat. On my PC I can download and install software from wherever I see fit. Had I not being a MacBook Pro user for the time being, I would have a chance to upgrade RAM and SSD without paying twice on the damn device. If anything, I consider Apple being an anti consumer company. What i…

Why did you buy a Mac then? You clearly knew the drawbacks, so I'm interested to hear, in this competitive market where both Windows and even Linux machines are now available, what made you decide to buy a Mac?

>what made you decide to buy a Mac

Battery life.

Re: US developers can offer non-app store purchasing, Apple still collect commission

#529

Post by kelnos »

xyst wrote: post #282

Once side loading finalizes (couple of years?) the predatory 27-30% fee will come down really fast. F Apple for this monopoly bs. From the anti-repair shenanigans to their locked down ecosystem. It’s all designed to pump as much money from the consumer AND developers inside the wall.

Why would they? Most iPhone users still won't install third-party stores, so, in practice, if you want to exist, you need to sell through the App Store.

Google allows third-party stores and side-loading, but they're still able to charge a 30% cut on the Play Store.

I personally make use of third-party stores and side-loading on Android, but I don't personally know anyone else who does.

Re: US developers can offer non-app store purchasing, Apple still collect commission

#530

Post by az226 »

app_boi92 wrote: post #77

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this. Consider the following scenario: Developer puts out ads on Facebook (or some other way of getting traffic). Traffic flows to the developer's checkout page, where they buy access to in app content on an external website. Then they are linked to the app store where they can download the app and access the content. Apple is paid no commission on this transaction. They only r…

I think 30% commissions for Apple are fair if the customer found the app through the app store. If they clicked a deep link that took them to the app directly, the commission should be much lower like 10%. And in categories where Apple has competing digital services it should always be 3% to not be anti-competitive.
Post reply on HN