what steps should be taken to lock up an app - to incorporate serial numbers? how are serial numbers generated? how long should a trial last?
any thoughts or opinions?
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macOS Serial Number Applications
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Outsource it. You really don't want the headaches of generating, keeping track off, mailing and most of all actually selling serials do you? There are a few ready-to-go solutions out there. Obviously they take a part of your sales, but in return you get to forget all about it.
One such solution is Kagi.
One such solution is Kagi.
really? humm, i would have totally though that most developers set up some sort of automated database or webpage or something to handle all that... is it really common to outsource apps?...
You're not outsourcing the app: you are outsourcing a non-unique, non-advantage bringing, non-differentiating piece of infrastructure that is not your apps core competency.
A customer buys your app for the functionality in the app, the design and "feel" of it. They don't buy it because of the cool serial generation code. Do you want to concentrate your limited time and effort on the stuff that will sell the app or the necessary, but not profit generating infrastructure that will let you sell it?
There is http://www.esellerate.net/ as well, ive never used one so I would be interested in people's feedback.
And this one http://www.aquaticmac.com/
And this one http://www.aquaticmac.com/
This is a support nightmare waiting to happen. Even with sales below 1000, are you equipped to handle the requests for a serial to be resent? How are you going to tell that this is a legitimate customer? You're now going to keep a sales database as well as the serial database? If someone moves, will they need to tell you their old address?
It is a solved problem, and perhaps not a technically involved one, but you will either have to:
1) spend a lot of time building out the infrastructure so everything is completely automated from purchasing to account and sale management to lost serial retrieval.
or
2) be prepared to manually intervene in all of these cases.
Back when Yahoo Widget Engine was Konfabulator and it was not free, it was sold through Kagi. The experience was good, and when I managed to lose my serial number, it was easy to get it back.
If you want to take a go at it on your own, more power to you, but I imagine it would be easy to spend more time working out a web "store front", sales management database, automated emailers, etc. than you did on your original app.
-Lee
i found THIS BLOG ENTRY comparing Kagi, Esellerate and Aquatic Prime in terms of revenue gains.
it seems that Kagi is better than Esellerate if one wants to outsource the registration process.
and thanks for all the replies everyone.
it seems that Kagi is better than Esellerate if one wants to outsource the registration process.
and thanks for all the replies everyone.