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Widget365

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 24, 2018
1
0
Western WA
How can the App Store allow corp-rats to so grossly monetize apps that were previously free or a dollar? I understand that the $0.99 days may be over, but the new average should still be under $3 and no adverts, not under $10 and sometimes still with adverts. No one should plan on getting rich through app sales, that's just ridiculous. And some of my 4-5 years old apps obtained legally through the App Store have recently been loaded with adverts (I presume during an iOS update). To get rid of ads on these older apps, I am asked to pay $4.99, which I consider an outrageous price for SOMETHING WHICH I ALREADY OWNED. The new generation of ad content is very tricksy, too, faking you into clicking on a link when you think you are closing the ad, flashing Vegas lights to trigger gran mal seizures, and so on. I stopped watching broadcast TV years ago due to adverts, now I can't get them out of even my calculator without paying a second time.

I can mostly figure out if I will get ads before I buy software, and am willing to go with that as a bridge to buying the software, or to not pay what I consider to be too much money for a given app. I wish there were more people willing or able to post free-to-try versions (ad supported, or feature- or time-limited models seem to work) so we can sandbox more apps to find out how much they are worth to us. But I do not want to pay for software and still have to endure ads, and I want that which I paid for to be mine. At a minimum, there should be plenty of warning that the business model for an app I already have will be changing to a more highly monetized version.
 

AlliFlowers

macrumors 601
Jan 1, 2011
4,542
15,756
L.A. (Lower Alabama)
No one should plan on getting rich through app sales, that's just ridiculous.

Why? App development is a job like any other job.

We are returning to the way things were before the app store. Back when we paid $30 for our mobile apps, and never questioned it because we were going to use them for several years.
 

Furzul

macrumors 6502a
Jan 13, 2013
778
399
Derbyshire, England
I bought an app a year ago ( weather live ). Got a new iPhone the other day, downloaded the app from my purchased section of the App Store. It is now a subscription for about £8.00 a year. Rip off, seeing as that I had already paid once, certainly will not pay again.
 
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xerxers

macrumors regular
Oct 24, 2008
198
60
Apple just loves the above situation.....30% of .99c is only 30c BUT 30% of $4.99 is about $1.48c. revenue. Guess what they want... The higer the price the larger is their profit.
 

cmaier

Suspended
Jul 25, 2007
25,405
33,474
California
How can the App Store allow corp-rats to so grossly monetize apps that were previously free or a dollar? I understand that the $0.99 days may be over, but the new average should still be under $3 and no adverts, not under $10 and sometimes still with adverts. No one should plan on getting rich through app sales, that's just ridiculous. And some of my 4-5 years old apps obtained legally through the App Store have recently been loaded with adverts (I presume during an iOS update). To get rid of ads on these older apps, I am asked to pay $4.99, which I consider an outrageous price for SOMETHING WHICH I ALREADY OWNED. The new generation of ad content is very tricksy, too, faking you into clicking on a link when you think you are closing the ad, flashing Vegas lights to trigger gran mal seizures, and so on. I stopped watching broadcast TV years ago due to adverts, now I can't get them out of even my calculator without paying a second time.

I can mostly figure out if I will get ads before I buy software, and am willing to go with that as a bridge to buying the software, or to not pay what I consider to be too much money for a given app. I wish there were more people willing or able to post free-to-try versions (ad supported, or feature- or time-limited models seem to work) so we can sandbox more apps to find out how much they are worth to us. But I do not want to pay for software and still have to endure ads, and I want that which I paid for to be mine. At a minimum, there should be plenty of warning that the business model for an app I already have will be changing to a more highly monetized version.

If apps are added it’s because you updated the app, not the iOS.

And if something was previously free and it adds ads, you have nothing to bitch about.
 

tarsins

macrumors 65816
Sep 15, 2009
1,197
859
Wales
Trying but failing to see that £8 a year is a "rip off" for something that, presumably, you use every day.
 

Paco II

macrumors 68020
Sep 13, 2009
2,288
706
If when you bought it there were no ads, I would reach out to the Developer to see what they can do for you. I have apps that have gone subscription but grandfathered those who purchased it. That is what should be happening. All bets are off if there has been a major version bump.

But I have already paid for it once, and now they want me to pay again. Think I will stick with the BBC app.
 

RecentlyConverted

macrumors 6502a
Oct 21, 2015
906
652
I am happy to pay higher prices for great apps, BUT we need a trial period, not a lite version, to test that the apps perform as promised. I also hate buying apps and having adverts, that’s just greedy, and I want apple to stop developers sucking up my personal info, much, if not all they don’t need.
 
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Furzul

macrumors 6502a
Jan 13, 2013
778
399
Derbyshire, England
I am happy to pay higher prices for great apps, BUT we need a trial period, not a lite version, to test that the apps perform as promised. I also hate buying apps and having adverts, that’s just greedy, and I want apple to stop developers sucking up my personal info, much, if not all they don’t need.
I agree. I have absolutely no problem with paying for apps. I have a couple of subscriptions also (1Password and AnyList) I just object to paying, then, being charged a couple of years later, for a subscription.
 
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