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Why are people so reluctant to spend for apps?
- Thread starter yalag
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Well I don't mean $5 exactly, but a few dollars is definitely not something people would care about when purchasing items. People buy drinks, snacks, coffee, candies, whatever. I mean just what can you get for 0.99? Nothing really. And compare to how much research they would go into before purchasing an app, it's just not proportional.
1. Lots of teens that probably don't have a whole lot of money and want to ration their iTunes dollars.
2. People that have spent a bunch on apps because they were 'only' $1 or $2 and have gotten burned.
2. People that have spent a bunch on apps because they were 'only' $1 or $2 and have gotten burned.
its all about priorities, some spend $1.60 pack of gum that may last a day or just sits in the car while others dont have a problem spending 0.99 cents on an app that will last longer, hopefully 
Stupid Buyers
I'm sorry, but if you can spend $230 - $600 on your apple mobile device, plus $70 a month for your bill, plus $9.95 for software updates, and you can't spend $0.99 on an app?
I'm sorry, but if you can spend $230 - $600 on your apple mobile device, plus $70 a month for your bill, plus $9.95 for software updates, and you can't spend $0.99 on an app?
Well this is kind of like a 'free market' (or better yet Perfect competition) in action.
You put out an app, with a limited functionality or purpose that can be readily duplicated by other developers, and you have a group of consumer that are aware of (or can easily check) the prices of similar applications the deciding factor is price.
Even if you're the only one on the block with the app to date (say like the ifart app or whichever the first one was called), people might still not accept the price. Consumers may expect someone else will produce a similar application that is cheaper and in a small enough time frame to make deferring the purchasing decision worthwhile.
Now developers can counteract this immediately in a few ways, like collusion or differentiating themselves on quality. The former is hard to maintain and there's an incentive for developers to 'cheat', and quality isn't really where the market is right now.
Give the app store and the application market time to mature and I'm sure we'll see some better apps and better prices.
You put out an app, with a limited functionality or purpose that can be readily duplicated by other developers, and you have a group of consumer that are aware of (or can easily check) the prices of similar applications the deciding factor is price.
Even if you're the only one on the block with the app to date (say like the ifart app or whichever the first one was called), people might still not accept the price. Consumers may expect someone else will produce a similar application that is cheaper and in a small enough time frame to make deferring the purchasing decision worthwhile.
Now developers can counteract this immediately in a few ways, like collusion or differentiating themselves on quality. The former is hard to maintain and there's an incentive for developers to 'cheat', and quality isn't really where the market is right now.
Give the app store and the application market time to mature and I'm sure we'll see some better apps and better prices.
this is the answer. i've gotten burned with some lame $5 apps before. completely waste of money. and it wasn't even worth $0.99...
What device is it that you have that gives you a monthly bill AND a fee for software updates?
I can easily spend $.99 on an app. But I'm not spending $.99 on 50 apps. I've actually purchased quite a few for $.99 or more. But I'm not wasting money on every app that catches my eye.
Perhaps some other questions that need to be asked along with this is are the apps worth the price being asked? Is there demand for the app? And are people aware of it? I constantly run across apps that have been around forever that I would have purchase had I known they existed.
Give me something I can't live without and I'll pay your price.
Because those people are noisy cheapskates. Best to ignore them.
I'm an iPhone app developer. After experimenting with low prices, I raised the price of my apps well above 99c (even the trivial ones), and am now making more money by ignoring the whining idiots, and pricing my apps for just those customers willing to pay more.
If the whiners think an app should be 99c or free, let them write that app themselves.
imho.
Some people don't mind spending a few dollars on apps, other people don't mind spending $4 for a cup of coffee from Starbucks. People don't mind spending money on the things they like. I personally don't mind spending a few dollars here and there for a nice app. The only time people not buying apps bothers me is when they complain about free apps not being high quality. If you aren't willing to put any money towards the product, don't complain when it sucks.
Why do people ask if an "app is worth it"?
It depends on the app. There are many POS apps that aren't worth $.01 and some for $.99 that are worth 100 times that.
I use AppSniper and there are hundreds of new apps everyday. I want an app that I'll be able to use, is well-developed or has the potential, and won't want to delete as soon as I buy it. What people are really asking is "Is this a good app?". They aren't reluctant if others have bought it and use it.
It depends on the app. There are many POS apps that aren't worth $.01 and some for $.99 that are worth 100 times that.
I use AppSniper and there are hundreds of new apps everyday. I want an app that I'll be able to use, is well-developed or has the potential, and won't want to delete as soon as I buy it. What people are really asking is "Is this a good app?". They aren't reluctant if others have bought it and use it.
the reason for not spending .99 on an app and spending 600 on the phone is because you can actually use the phone before you buy it. you have to buy the app based on the description, screenshots, and reviews; which are never that reliable. once you have bought the app, if it sucks, you cant return it because its software and easily duplicated. this is why people ask if its worth it, because if they buy it and its not, they are SOL. ALL software purchases, no matter how inexpensive, are based on what others say. this is why cracked software is available, so people can try before they buy without having a crippled app (lite versions). Apple needs to figure out a way to allow trial periods. they are missing out on a lot of revenue because of this. so to everyone who hates the people who are asking if a .99 app is worth it, shut up! not everyone is willing to throw money at something they aren't able to try out
Like others have said, the biggest problem is that there are no demos or return policies. I was impressed by Apple's vow to test and validate all app submissions to ensure the quality of the closed "ecosystem", but Apple never delivered on that promise. Most apps are a crap shoot and some developers quickly discovered that they can make some money off the early adopters with shoddy apps before the word gets out.
The other problem is the trend of app prices bouncing around. I bought an early app at $4.99 and a month later it was $2.99. Now it is 99 cents and at one point it was free. When i see an app I like now, I just wait. Either it, or a similar app is likely to be free at some point. I am much more willing to experiment with a free app than with a pay app at any price.
The other problem is the trend of app prices bouncing around. I bought an early app at $4.99 and a month later it was $2.99. Now it is 99 cents and at one point it was free. When i see an app I like now, I just wait. Either it, or a similar app is likely to be free at some point. I am much more willing to experiment with a free app than with a pay app at any price.
It's not that the app is 99 cents or $1.99 or whatever. It's the fact that you can't try a full-featured app before you buy it. I probably have 10 or so apps that I don't use at all that I paid for. Luckily, most were no more than $2. But after getting burned that much, you really want to wait to see if stuff is worth it.
What a lot of us have also noticed is some apps will start out at $10 then drop to 99 cents in about 2 months. I know it's just capitalism, but why pay $10 for some game when the trend has been it will drop that much in price in a short time period?
I think Apple is going to have to keep loosening the strings on the SDK to encourage more expensive apps. They should allow trials (24-hour trials would be great), background processes (at least on a limited basis) and access to video.
What a lot of us have also noticed is some apps will start out at $10 then drop to 99 cents in about 2 months. I know it's just capitalism, but why pay $10 for some game when the trend has been it will drop that much in price in a short time period?
I think Apple is going to have to keep loosening the strings on the SDK to encourage more expensive apps. They should allow trials (24-hour trials would be great), background processes (at least on a limited basis) and access to video.
I posted about this 'schizophrenic pricing' on the AppCubby developer's blog. They went from $10 to $5 to $1 to $10. It got them some publicity, but total revenue wasn't much changed. Reviewers are going to publicly complain about these price drops, and feedback will suffer.
Exactly. Buyers' behavior is going to demand lower pricing. It's like buying a car at retail... we're trained to expect Employee Pricing, plus Rebates, plus 0.0% financing, etc.
Personally, I priced my app where nobody can say they didn't get a good value ($0.99). I even named it 100sounds but you get several hundred. UNDERcommit and OVERdeliver. I say price an app at what it's worth and keep any price fluctuations down to $1 either way in one month time period.
Also, I wonder if Apple might be forced to honor the lower price. Imagine a class action suit if an app goes from $10 to $1, like the AppCubby apps, and thousands of users demand $9 back. Apple already gave in when they dropped the iPhone pricing. This could really backfire.
There is no way to preview an application or make a return if something is bad enough to need it.
I don't buy applications without seeing them on a friend's phone or reading extremely detailed reviews on major trustworthy websites. I'll download a free application without a second thought, but anything requiring even $0.99 needs to be well reviewed first. A "Lite" version isn't good enough for me as it doesn't let me see what an application really is.
Why do I have this attitude? $1 is still $1 and it has value. A $0.99 application has no value if it is a bad application.
I've done that. I didn't have enough market research information to guess at what price one of my apps at would sell the best, so I tested selling it at different price points. It didn't bring in more money per week at $1, so I took the price back up to where it did the best.
Furthermore it got better reviews at the higher price points. This suggests that at the higher price, a higher percentage of my customers think that the app is worth the price. Win win.
So, in summary, people are not reluctant to spend more for apps. There are just less of those types of people.
ymmv.
I've spent a load on apps, and my main reason for not buying many apps these days is the lack of time to get into games (and that through a lot of trial and error I've found the apps that best suit my needs). The other reason is I don't have much space left on my 16G iPhone for more apps, so I've got to be choosy in what I put on there.