EsquireCats

It is unfair for publishers to side-step contributions to the app store/platform - potential changes could include operational costs for free subscription apps

Probably a few take aways for today:
- Apple suddenly giving up this change after so long, potentially means there will be larger changes to how the app store is operated.
- It's not just about the 30% or 15% - large publishers wouldn't even be happy with 0% because they want your information so they can gut their competition, advertise directly and have their own rules about granting refunds. (Gruber makes a strong point about just how difficult it is to cancel a subscription with the New York Times, despite being a reputable company.)

flydog said:

rob53 said:

If a developer emails me about a different payment process I’ll tell them to GTH and trash their app. 

Developer: "You can save 30% by purchasing using any major credit card."
Rob53: "Go to hell, I'll pay full price!!!!!"

Seems completely logical. 

Lol if you think developers are passing the 30% onto consumers.

Keep stories like this in mind when hearing why Apple should allow developers/publishers/etc direct access to customer data.

Identity theft protection is more overstated marketing than actual security - most of the protections relate to credit fraud, for which you already have significant protections, additionally at no cost whatsoever you can request credit fraud alerts to be switched on at any time. The insurance component of identity theft protection is almost solely for the costs associated with restoring an identity after an incident of identity theft and *not* the actual loss itself. (So basically just covering the cost of some paperwork and not your actual losses.)

To elaborate on my cryptic post:

I'd be happy to pay direct inside an app: provided it was done via a tokenised system such as Apple Pay or similar. Whenever I purchase anything from a website online I am putting myself at risk. I use custom email addresses for each online purchase and get a disturbingly large number of scam and pseudo extortion emails to these custom addresses - it's clear that many companies (including highly regarded companies) lack the security chops to keep data safe, and on the other hand some (especially Amazon stores) sell the data they do get willingly - your privacy choices be damned.

There is a high level of consumer friendliness in having Apple stand in the middle with finances and personal information: it's the reason why I can experiment with small developers that I would not usually trust. It's how a small developer can become a big developer in a market place crowded by big players - it's why companies such as Serif have been able to carve out an audience despite Adobe's overwhelming grip on their industry. The reason why we now have infinitely more choice from the era of box-software retail days is not from digital distribution alone, we had that before the App Store, the secret sauce is trust. Believe it or not: Apple is to software as Disney is to media.

There are unintended consequences to the changes which certain developers (arguably the larger/greedier ones) are trying to enact: the most obvious is that Apple will still need to get their cut and will find other ways to generate that lost revenue (e.g. Fairer fees that are based on downloads/users rather than the current system of one-price-fits-all).
Also up for consideration are some of the less obvious consequences, such as how payment providers will manage the new elevated fraud risk - which will be reflected in their fees and % cut, or how introducing a series of arbitrary rules upon Apple could actually allow them to blanket ban developers from the App Store rather than work through issues (such as if alternative stores are mandated, Apple could push back against claims of competition or abuse.)

This is not to say that changes aren't needed - but real nuance is required when making changes to the plane while it's still flying.

Then they took the goose and cut it open, because certainly there must have been more gold inside.