January 22nd, 2009
Developer drops app pricing to 99¢, asks for donations
On 12 December 2009 I posted App Cubby developer David Barnard’s thoughts on the financial realities of the App Store. In it he posts actual sales numbers from the App Store.
Then on 19 December 2009 Barnard expressed his frustration with the artificial market forces that are driving the price of apps down, which in turn drives down the perceived value of his products.
Frustrated with the challenges of selling in the App Store he’s decided to try a little experiment:
With App Store shoppers seemingly hesitant to risk $5+ on a new app, we’ve decided to do a pricing experiment. Buy any App Cubby app for $0.99 and if you think it’s worth more than $0.99, please donate to help us fund future development. We’ll report back on the average revenue per app during this experiment. Gas Cubby & Health Cubby regular price: $4.99 Trip Cubby regular price: $9.99
Obviously, inexpensive (and free) App Store software is putting pressure on developers of more expensive apps. What else could have caused App Cubby to do this kind of “experiment?”
Jason D. O'Grady is the editor of PowerPage.org, which has been publishing daily mobile technology news since December 1995. For disclosures on Jason's industry affiliations, click here or to view Jason's full profile click here.
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