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View Full Version : App Store Refund Policy Sounds Pretty Bad

Vincent Ferrari
03-26-2009, 08:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/25/apples-iphone-app-refund-policies-could-bankrupt-developers/' target='_blank'>http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/2...upt-developers/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Apple must have the sweetest distribution deal in the entire retail universe, if a report published Wednesday at TechCrunch is to be believed. The AppStore refund policy allows purchasers a full refund up to 90 days from the date of download of any application purchased in the iTunes AppStore."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1238069664.usr18053.jpeg" /></p><p>Wow.&nbsp; I don't know if Apple's ever employed this refund policy against a developer, but the idea that they get to keep their commission while making you return the money for the app...&nbsp; Just wow...</p><p>Although I do have to wonder...&nbsp; If they have this return policy, why was there all that uproar over the I Am Rich app?&nbsp; If a return policy was in place, it should've been trivial to do the return.</p><p>It'll be very interesting to see how this plays out and if Tech Crunch is right about this.</p>
Ilium Software
03-27-2009, 02:01 PM
I'm not worried. Here's why.

1. I see nothing that suggests Apple really is loosening up their return policy. Right now it says right on their site:

REFUND POLICY
All Sales and rentals (as applicable) are final.

So I don't really see this impacting most developers.

2. This is only a problem if EVERYONE returns your application. For our non-Apple apps we've had a "Return it in 30 Days, No Questions Asked, Full Refund" policy for the past 12 years. This has never hurt our business - in fact, sometimes it's been a reason people prefer our applications over others.

What I ACTUALLY think this is about is "I Am Rich". When a bunch of people get scammed by a broken/crappy/false application, Apple wants to recoup the cost of the fall out from the developer.

Could this get abused by Apple? Maybe, but I doubt it.

Should Apple not let the crappy apps in first? Sure, but they've proven that, like everyone else, they aren't perfect.

The moral of the story is, if you write good apps that people don't return you have nothing to worry about. If you try to dupe Apple and customers with a crappy application, get ready to pay for it.

Marc Tassin
Ilium Software
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