iPhone users really have come to expect a bargain. Odd considering how much cash they forked out for the phone. But so many people discounting their Apps in a desperate bid for popularity (it’s based on downloads, not downloads * price, which encourages $1 apps), the prices are generally undervalued (that – and there’s a lot of crap on the App Store).
I’ve had 2 people now review the free version of GPS Log (albiet with overall positive reviews) asking for a lower price. But it’s only $10. I’m trying to think of computer software I have bought for less than that, and I can’t. I’ve bought a dozen small utilities over the years, from screen capture tools, to newsgroup software, all in the $25 range (sometimes US).
lwb@sg writes, “Excellent GPS software. It’s easily one of the best geotagged-related programs I have tried on iPhone. If the full version is more reasonably priced, I would not hestitate to get it!”
So it’s better than all those other shitty apps. But it costs more than them.
hmm. lets think about that for a minute.
It’s better. But it costs more. That’s because it’s better! Maybe if those other devlopers were working on their apps full time they would be better too – but then they would also want more money, because hey – you have to pay for the food you eat!
So I don’t get it people. Reward quality with purchases, and you will encourage more quality. Set the bar at $1 and expect 8 pages of crap on your iPhone.
The thing is that you can’t make up for the low price with volume, unless your App has mass appeal. If GPS Log was $1 I would have the same number of people interested – but perhaps a small fraction extra would buy it because they are unwilling at the current price. But I would need 10x more purchases to make up for this! I know GPS Log doesn’t have mass appeal – I never intended it to – I want it to appeal to a small group of users who need the extact features it provides (such as me), and thus are willing to pay $10 for the privilage. So far this seem to be working.
I’m asking for $10 – and I’m keeping it that way.