So honest question: why is Apple the bad guy here? You can bypass the 30% by offering purchases on a website and Apple is out of the loop. Also why is Google getting the free pass as their Play store (or whatever it’s called) has the exact same 30% fee structure?
So honest question: why is Apple the bad guy here? You can bypass the 30% by offering purchases on a website and Apple is out of the loop. Also why is Google getting the free pass as their Play store (or whatever it’s called) has the exact same 30% fee structure?
Probably because Apple is the one already on defense, an easier target. Plus there are other Android app stores to buy from, several AAMOF including Amazon.
As I understand it, Facebook basically wants to allow small businesses to receive donations through the platform, without taking a cut and wants Apple to do the same. It doesn’t seem like an unreasonable suggestion to me. Are there no App Store fee waivers for donations?
Facebook is likely tracking and monetizing all the "donators" information from these transactions. That's their secret cut.
None of these companies understand their are costs to doing business that have to be factored into your price. The list is long and always grows.
My example of this is my storefront is in the mall, which is the most desirable location. If I want to be in there I have to meet the demands of the landlord and follow the rules set forth by them. My choices are to pay the price or leave the mall for a less desirable location that will significantly impact my revenue.
I cannot demand lower rent because I do not like the existing amount. Negotiate too hard and the landlord can choose not to renew. The landlord can also refuse to negotiate (or price me out) when my lease expires forcing me to leave. stir up too much trouble and I could be kicked out. Add to that every tenant having different lease agreements and no one knows what the other tenants are paying.
It is about as lopsided a relationship as there is. The App Store is easy street. Some simple rules at a flat fee that is known upfront. This is something every store owner dreams of.
If anything comes of this the consumer will be the only loser. I have yet to hear one iPhone user complain about the App Store. I’ll add that if any of the App Store haters believe things will be cheaper if the rules are changed they will be unpleasantly surprised when new rules are put in place such as -minimum app pricing -higher development kit costs -submittal and review costs -per download costs charged to the app owner
These seem absurd now, but nothing is off the table once the the rules change.
I agree. But I, as a user, do have complaints about the App Store. Not about prices or the way it controls what is installable on my iOS devices (except for when older iOS versions are blocked).
I think the discovery of apps is poor. The categories suck, the many tons of garbage apps (and opportunists selling the same junky open-source ports) need to be deleted, and the search-result ads need to be dropped.
No question about your comment. The store itself is a mess, especially the search. I rarely go looking for apps to download and instead see what other people are recommending. The gems usually float to the top. Apple has created the first turnkey and affordable solution for selling applications and the developers want to take a crap on it. Were there a second store it's use will be limited as all but a handful of nerds will stick with the frictionless and protected App Store.
Love all these pathetic leech like companies, embarrassingly taking advantage to pile up and shit on Apple. Just pull your fucking app from the appstore if you don't like the terms. Nobody is forces these companies to do business there. Especially since Android has so much "marketshare". Consumers don't need to be hit over the head about who's getting what when they're making a payment, they don't care. Especially when language is sued to make Apple look bad. Not surprising Apple blocked this.
So honest question: why is Apple the bad guy here? You can bypass the 30% by offering purchases on a website and Apple is out of the loop. Also why is Google getting the free pass as their Play store (or whatever it’s called) has the exact same 30% fee structure?
If you look at other coverage of the same story, it indicates that businesses get 100% of the revenue for Android users, and 70% for iOS users. So, Google is getting a free pass because they're not charging 30%.
Does Facebook consider themselves a "small" business? Generally "small business" refers to company size, not the amount of respect they have for the privacy of their customers.
It’s ridiculous that Apple can decline an app submission based on someone saying where the money goes to.
It is not up to Apple to have an opinion on ‘relevancy’. Facebook, whether we like them or not, wants to tell where the money goes to. Apple just doesn’t feel happy with the average Joe learning about their 30% fee.
So honest question: why is Apple the bad guy here? You can bypass the 30% by offering purchases on a website and Apple is out of the loop. Also why is Google getting the free pass as their Play store (or whatever it’s called) has the exact same 30% fee structure?
If you look at other coverage of the same story, it indicates that businesses get 100% of the revenue for Android users, and 70% for iOS users. So, Google is getting a free pass because they're not charging 30%.
Well that does make things a bit different than I had assumed. Considering Google was willing to give up their cut of 30% it doesn't reflect well on Apple by insisting they get theirs.
Imagine if Coke sent new signage to Kroger, for the Coke section of the store, that announced, "This soda would be a lot cheaper if Kroger didn't mark it up so much above the wholesale price." Would Kroger happily install that signage in their store? No. They would send it back or throw it in the trash.
There's this weird trend going on where everyone thinks they own Apples IP. Telling Apple how they should destroy their own Stores. How Apple should help others etc.
Vendors mentioning the fee to customers is almost certainly prohibited. I know Paypal prohibits mentioning their fee. It doesn't matter if FB is a "small" business. This might be grounds for removing FB from the App Store. What a wonderful world that would be!
I own a retail store. In order to sell anything, I must first purchase it. Then I mark it up 30% and sell it to my customers.
Wholesale Price — $3.00
+ Markup 30% — $0.90
= Selling Price — $3.90
I only make 90¢ when I sell this product, but I first needed to spend $3.00 just to get it into my store.
Am I required to inform my customers about where their $3.90 is going to, or how it's divided up? No. It's "irrelevant".
Apple must first spend BILLIONS to create and maintain their platform before any sales are done. Then they only make 30% of any revenue that passes through their store, to help recuperate that initial investment.
While I think there is some room for adjusting the 30% fee in a digital marketplace, I also fully support Apple collecting a portion of the sale.
What's off-balance, though, is that free apps also get a completely free ride while making revenue that they aren't required share with Apple. Apple's "iAd" endeavour was intended to dip into that ad revenue, but that ultimately failed.
Facebook and others are trying to make some points against Apple. But Facebook has also a different reason; the upcoming Safari tracking blocking features will harm (ha!) Facebook business model. Similar strategy adopted Zuckerberg with TikTok, which suddenly became a major Facebook competitor. It started to lobbying the Trump administrative and him itself to find a reason to close it down, eventually to purchase it maybe by someone else.
BTW: I don't care how much is Apple charging the developers, why should I?
I own a retail store. In order to sell anything, I must first purchase it. Then I mark it up 30% and sell it to my customers.
Wholesale Price — $3.00
+ Markup 30% — $0.90
= Selling Price — $3.90
I only make 90¢ when I sell this product, but I first needed to spend $3.00 just to get it into my store.
Am I required to inform my customers about where their $3.90 is going to, or how it's divided up? No. It's "irrelevant".
Apple must first spend BILLIONS to create and maintain their platform before any sales are done. Then they only make 30% of any revenue that passes through their store, to help recuperate that initial investment.
While I think there is some room for adjusting the 30% fee in a digital marketplace, I also fully support Apple collecting a portion of the sale.
What's off-balance, though, is that free apps also get a completely free ride while making revenue that they aren't required share with Apple. Apple's "iAd" endeavour was intended to dip into that ad revenue, but that ultimately failed.
They don't get a completely free ride, they still have to pay the $99/year Developer Program subscription. Apple is completely in control of that amount, and could raise it any any time. They don't because they want developers, and they want free apps, because it makes their platform more attractive.
Surely Apple can just point out that they're a private company and that Facebook has no 1st Amendment free-speech rights on their platform? I mean, that's been the go-to for Facebook, YouTube and Twitter when silencing people, right?
Comments
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/08/facebook-says-apple-vetoed-telling-users-about-30-percent-event-charge/
It is not up to Apple to have an opinion on ‘relevancy’. Facebook, whether we like them or not, wants to tell where the money goes to. Apple just doesn’t feel happy with the average Joe learning about their 30% fee.
Apple extortion hard at work.
Well that does make things a bit different than I had assumed. Considering Google was willing to give up their cut of 30% it doesn't reflect well on Apple by insisting they get theirs.
Yes, Apple should use our data for ads.
There's this weird trend going on where everyone thinks they own Apples IP. Telling Apple how they should destroy their own Stores. How Apple should help others etc.
This might be grounds for removing FB from the App Store. What a wonderful world that would be!
- Wholesale Price — $3.00
- + Markup 30% — $0.90
- = Selling Price — $3.90
I only make 90¢ when I sell this product, but I first needed to spend $3.00 just to get it into my store.Am I required to inform my customers about where their $3.90 is going to, or how it's divided up? No. It's "irrelevant".
Apple must first spend BILLIONS to create and maintain their platform before any sales are done. Then they only make 30% of any revenue that passes through their store, to help recuperate that initial investment.
While I think there is some room for adjusting the 30% fee in a digital marketplace, I also fully support Apple collecting a portion of the sale.
What's off-balance, though, is that free apps also get a completely free ride while making revenue that they aren't required share with Apple. Apple's "iAd" endeavour was intended to dip into that ad revenue, but that ultimately failed.
BTW: I don't care how much is Apple charging the developers, why should I?