I read on some forum sites that there has been controversy / concerns over Amazon’s policies with regards to the price of your app. Meaning, Amazon would lower the price of your app and change your product description without your permission.
I know that Amazon recently changed their payment structure for the developer to a flat 70% of the listed price.
I read Amazon's agreement, and I do not see where Amazon retains the right to hijack the price of your app (I may have missed it), but I want to be sure.
For those who sell paid apps on the Amazons store, can you explain to me your experience with regard to setting prices on Amazon’s store?
I'm not an expert on Legalese but it appears that Amazon still retains the right to change the price on your app. Below is from the Distribution Agreement dated August 7th, 2012 (bold text is my own doing):
Our Operations. We have sole discretion to determine all features and operations of the Program and to set the retail price and other terms on which we sell Apps. For avoidance of doubt, if end users download an App that is free of charge, that App will be deemed to be “purchased” by the end user for purposes of this Agreement. You acknowledge that we have no obligation to promote, distribute, or offer for sale any App, or to continue to do so. We are responsible for and have sole discretion related to processing payments, collecting payments, addressing requests for refunds, and providing customer service related to our obligations, and we will have sole ownership and control of all sales and other data we obtain from end users in connection with the Program.
Having said that, they only took it upon themselves to lower my price once, shortly after I submitted it to them. I have been selling my app on Amazon for almost a year now. I was a bit upset at the time only because I felt it was too soon for a sale on an app that had no competition at all (no similar apps) on the
Amazon market. They also did this with very little warning (just a few days). It was still a "good month" for me, so I guess in the end it didn't matter much. I suppose they could do it again at any time, but they haven't thus far. In fact I just finished a month-long sale of my own doing both on Amazon and Google Play. It went relatively well, in that I was able to adjust my price then send them an email at which time they eventually updated the "live" price (within several hours). Google Play of course lets you make changes and updates somewhat instantly without awaiting further approval first.
They really butchered my app descriptions when I first submitted them. That really irritated me because they left out important details or requirements of the app (my app requires 3rd party equipment, specifically a satellite receiver). However, I have made some minor changes here and there over the past 6 months or so and it seems to me that they don't mess with them as much as they used to. YMMV.
Overall it is a mixed feeling for me. It is absolutely another source of income from my app sales, though not quite as much $ as I make on Google Play. But one thing that should be mentioned (and has been in other threads) is that there are a lot of people with Kindle Fire tablets and Amazon is their only choice unless they know how to get around that. Since my app was approved for the Fire I suspect that most of my more recent my Amazon sales are for that device.
On the other hand, they do reserve the right to mess with your sale price, possibly edit your app descriptions, and are slower to pay out than Google. They also don't offer very much in terms of analytic data or "crash reports". Google is way better for that kind of data. With Google, you also have a way of contacting a customer or refunding money to an unhappy customer, whereas with Amazon you have no way of knowing anything at all about the customer.
And I hate to say it, but I suspect that many KF users have become the new "AOLers". Anyone who has supported any kind of software for the past 15-20 years knows what I mean.
I think the cause of this is that many KF users are not computer or techie types, but rather just looking for an easy alternative to an eBook or tablet. Much like many people who stuck with AOL (and still do) are not techie types either but just want an easy way to access their email and news. NOT bashing AOL users.... just 20+ years of observation from a private / hobbyist programmer perspective. Most AOL users have moved on but there are some who still prefer the simplicity of it.
