Underscore Price Dynamics

#1

Post by mh_ » Sat, Sep 28, 2013, 5:27 PM UTC

Underscore Price Dynamics
marco.org

Re: Underscore Price Dynamics

#2

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Sep 28, 2013, 6:17 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Underscore Price Dynamics

#3

Post by sami36 » Sat, Sep 28, 2013, 6:22 PM UTC

I never understood why in-app purchases have been branded as "evil" in the first place. As long as Apple doesn't offer developers a way to do trials, it's the closest way a customer can get a taste of an app's features, esthetics before deciding whether to pay or not for an app.

EX : I wouldn't have paid 10$ for flighttrack pro without the in app purchase option. I would go as far as theorize that the main reason why the average price for an app has remained stuck at 1$ is exactly that fear of paying for something worthless without much of a recourse.

in-app purchases all the way.

Re: Underscore Price Dynamics

#4

Post by gdubs » Sat, Sep 28, 2013, 6:24 PM UTC

I think one of the main reasons it's so hard for new developers to make money is that -- as has been said so often -- discovery is broken on the App Store. The "new" category basically doesn't exist anymore, and even if it did there are a ton of new apps being released _daily_.

For everyone's complaints about Apple's stringent review process, there's a ton of crapware on there, which makes customers really hesitant to buy.

In [some] ways you're better off charging _more_ money and targeting a highly specific user base. Then you at least have a good shot at reaching the top-grossing lists in niche categories and gaining visibility.

Edit: to be clear, there's a lot of different types of apps and the free or IAP route can be the right choice. But, IMO you need something that has mass appeal if you're going to rely on converting small percentages of free users to paid users.

Re: Underscore Price Dynamics

#5

Post by jarjoura » Sat, Sep 28, 2013, 6:28 PM UTC

It's all about value-add really regardless of whether someone assumes it "comes from Apple" or not. If it's obvious what the value-add for your application is in the app store, then pay-up-front works. One problem is, 5 screenshots and non-rich text descriptions really make that hard.

Re: Underscore Price Dynamics

#6

Post by Osmium » Sat, Sep 28, 2013, 6:29 PM UTC

Flip-side on the IAP suggestion: I despise ads, but if I have an app with ads I can't bring myself to buy an in-app purchase to remove them for an app I probably won't use that often. Whereas if the app was just $.99 to start with, and it looks decent, I'd happily buy it even if I don't use it much.

I wonder how this attitude would differ depending on whether you're an early adopter of the technology or whether you're just getting your first smartphone. I come from the Mac sphere where it's entirely reasonable to spend a lot of money on a good app (I'm considering paying $90 to upgrade to the latest OmniGraffle for example), so buying apps on a phone where most are super cheap doesn't seem so bad to me.

Either way, I think losing the paid app market is a Bad Thing. Quality apps are expensive to make, but I have an expensive phone; I don't then want to load it up with cheap, ill-designed apps. It doesn't matter how good the phone is if the apps are crap.

Re: Underscore Price Dynamics

#7

Post by radley » Sat, Sep 28, 2013, 6:30 PM UTC

On Android a common method is free / prime. A free version has basic features while a paid prime apk acts as an unlocker for advanced features.

Haven't heard of removing a free app and replacing with a paid. That doesn't make sense or work for anyone. That free app is an essential promotion. The only downside/difficulty is all the user support. Free users can be pretty rough.

Re: Underscore Price Dynamics

#8

Post by Kylekramer » Sat, Sep 28, 2013, 6:32 PM UTC

sami36 wrote: post #3

I never understood why in-app purchases have been branded as "evil" in the first place. As long as Apple doesn't offer developers a way to do trials, it's the closest way a customer can get a taste of an app's features, esthetics before deciding whether to pay or not for an app. EX : I wouldn't have paid 10$ for flighttrack pro without the in app purchase option. I would go as far as theorize that the main reason why…

Seems like an argument for a sensible trial system, not IAP. I've got no problem with using IAP for a sensible trial system, but it is much more commonly used for smurfberries.

Re: Underscore Price Dynamics

#9

Post by radley » Sat, Sep 28, 2013, 6:32 PM UTC

gdubs wrote: post #4

I think one of the main reasons it's so hard for new developers to make money is that -- as has been said so often -- discovery is broken on the App Store. The "new" category basically doesn't exist anymore, and even if it did there are a ton of new apps being released _daily_. For everyone's complaints about Apple's stringent review process, there's a ton of crapware on there, which makes customers really hesitant t…

It's not just discovery. The land grab is over and established apps are well entrenched. There was a huge first-wave advantage for mobile apps. We just barely caught the end of it ourselves, so we're doing ok.

Re: Underscore Price Dynamics

#10

Post by k-mcgrady » Sat, Sep 28, 2013, 6:36 PM UTC

In my experience it's gradually gotten worse over time. Up until someone in 2010 charging people $1-3 up front worked well for me. Then sometime in 2010 it slowly stopped working as more of the 'top' apps switched to a free with IAP model. Consumers didn't want to pay up front for an app from an unknown developer when people like EA were giving their apps away for nothing.