I was looking through Cyrket and noticed that the vast majority of pay
apps have less than 50 downloads.
Over the weekend I've had a few downloads for my $0.99 app, but I
guess I was expecting more especially with the return policy allowing
a return with 24 hours.
1.5 million handsets, and looking at the numbers for the free games
I'm curious if people just aren't willing to pay, if they are having
issues, or there just aren't really that many phones in use?
I'd say all 3 of your suggestions. The reasons being;
- Why pay when you can get a free equivalent.
- The emails over the weekend showed there are some pretty major problems.
- Some people, like me, have G1s that they're using for development and are unlikely to buy many apps for them.
stonedonkey wrote:
> I was looking through Cyrket and noticed that the vast majority of pay
> apps have less than 50 downloads.
> Over the weekend I've had a few downloads for my $0.99 app, but I
> guess I was expecting more especially with the return policy allowing
> a return with 24 hours.
> 1.5 million handsets, and looking at the numbers for the free games
> I'm curious if people just aren't willing to pay, if they are having
> issues, or there just aren't really that many phones in use?
-- ======
Funky Android Limited is registered in England & Wales with the company number 6741909. The registered head office is Kemp House, 152-160 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX, UK.
The views expressed in this email are those of the author and not necessarily those of Funky Android Limited, it's associates, or it's subsidiaries.
I was wondering the same myself. I have purposely not set any
expectatons, but I certainly expected a game with a demo in the top
ten and an installed base of over 50,000 to get more than a couple of
dozen purchases over the weekend. I know there's a lot of sudden
competition but I have to wondder if that's all that's going on.
One thing that strikes me as unplanned-for is that, due to the very
long time free apps have had to get a head start, the Most Popular tab
is going to be functionally useless for some time to come. That means
that people have to scrollscrollscrollscroll to find even a top ten
game (with a 4.5 star rating so far, no less).
On Feb 23, 8:10 am, stonedonkey <stonedon...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I was looking through Cyrket and noticed that the vast majority of pay
> apps have less than 50 downloads.
> Over the weekend I've had a few downloads for my $0.99 app, but I
> guess I was expecting more especially with the return policy allowing
> a return with 24 hours.
> 1.5 million handsets, and looking at the numbers for the free games
> I'm curious if people just aren't willing to pay, if they are having
> issues, or there just aren't really that many phones in use?
There should be a separate tabs for Paid apps, not sure if that's the case?
A search functionality would help too. But in general people would be happy
to download free stuff and not bother with paid apps, unless some genius
marketing makes a paid app suddenly popular. And the phones needs to be
released all over the world so the Android user base grows to a reasonable
number.
But I must admit its a bit surprising that you are not getting even 0.1% of
your user base willing to pay.
On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 8:55 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I was wondering the same myself. I have purposely not set any
> expectatons, but I certainly expected a game with a demo in the top
> ten and an installed base of over 50,000 to get more than a couple of
> dozen purchases over the weekend. I know there's a lot of sudden
> competition but I have to wondder if that's all that's going on.
> One thing that strikes me as unplanned-for is that, due to the very
> long time free apps have had to get a head start, the Most Popular tab
> is going to be functionally useless for some time to come. That means
> that people have to scrollscrollscrollscroll to find even a top ten
> game (with a 4.5 star rating so far, no less).
> On Feb 23, 8:10 am, stonedonkey <stonedon...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > I was looking through Cyrket and noticed that the vast majority of pay
> > apps have less than 50 downloads.
> > Over the weekend I've had a few downloads for my $0.99 app, but I
> > guess I was expecting more especially with the return policy allowing
> > a return with 24 hours.
> > 1.5 million handsets, and looking at the numbers for the free games
> > I'm curious if people just aren't willing to pay, if they are having
> > issues, or there just aren't really that many phones in use?
No, no separate tab. And that being the case, adding one would require
new software.
This really gives ammunition to those complaining about separate
package requirements for paid apps. All those 96,000 downloads the
demo version got, and my top tem standing, are now completely
worthless; they don't help me promote my paid app at all.
On Feb 23, 8:59 am, Muthu Ramadoss <muthu.ramad...@gmail.com> wrote:
> There should be a separate tabs for Paid apps, not sure if that's the case?
> A search functionality would help too. But in general people would be happy
> to download free stuff and not bother with paid apps, unless some genius
> marketing makes a paid app suddenly popular. And the phones needs to be
> released all over the world so the Android user base grows to a reasonable
> number.
> But I must admit its a bit surprising that you are not getting even 0.1% of
> your user base willing to pay.
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 8:55 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > I was wondering the same myself. I have purposely not set any
> > expectatons, but I certainly expected a game with a demo in the top
> > ten and an installed base of over 50,000 to get more than a couple of
> > dozen purchases over the weekend. I know there's a lot of sudden
> > competition but I have to wondder if that's all that's going on.
> > One thing that strikes me as unplanned-for is that, due to the very
> > long time free apps have had to get a head start, the Most Popular tab
> > is going to be functionally useless for some time to come. That means
> > that people have to scrollscrollscrollscroll to find even a top ten
> > game (with a 4.5 star rating so far, no less).
> > On Feb 23, 8:10 am, stonedonkey <stonedon...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > I was looking through Cyrket and noticed that the vast majority of pay
> > > apps have less than 50 downloads.
> > > Over the weekend I've had a few downloads for my $0.99 app, but I
> > > guess I was expecting more especially with the return policy allowing
> > > a return with 24 hours.
> > > 1.5 million handsets, and looking at the numbers for the free games
> > > I'm curious if people just aren't willing to pay, if they are having
> > > issues, or there just aren't really that many phones in use?- Hide quoted text -
> This really gives ammunition to those complaining about separate > package requirements for paid apps. All those 96,000 downloads the > demo version got, and my top tem standing, are now completely > worthless; they don't help me promote my paid app at all.
So you can't change the description of your free version to mention your paid one?
Steve -- Yes, Chinese is easy if people speak slowly to you, in proper tones and without an accent. But this is not how Chinese is spoken. -- renzhe
Sure you can, if you leave the app up. My demo version even has an
update link. But I made the decision to pull the free version for
several reasons, not least of which is that with such anemic sales so
far, it would actually be competing with the paid version.
I have three other game/apps in the works, and I've learned my lesson:
No more free versions. It just isn't worth it the way things are set
up.
On Feb 23, 9:33 am, Steve Barr <barr8...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > This really gives ammunition to those complaining about separate
> > package requirements for paid apps. All those 96,000 downloads the
> > demo version got, and my top tem standing, are now completely
> > worthless; they don't help me promote my paid app at all.
> So you can't change the description of your free version to mention
> your paid one?
> Steve
> --
> Yes, Chinese is easy if people speak slowly to you, in proper tones
> and without an accent. But this is not how Chinese is spoken. --
> renzhe
On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 10:10 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sure you can, if you leave the app up. My demo version even has an
> update link. But I made the decision to pull the free version for
> several reasons, not least of which is that with such anemic sales so
> far, it would actually be competing with the paid version.
> I have three other game/apps in the works, and I've learned my lesson:
> No more free versions. It just isn't worth it the way things are set
> up.
> On Feb 23, 9:33 am, Steve Barr <barr8...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On 2/23/09, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > This really gives ammunition to those complaining about separate
> > > package requirements for paid apps. All those 96,000 downloads the
> > > demo version got, and my top tem standing, are now completely
> > > worthless; they don't help me promote my paid app at all.
> > So you can't change the description of your free version to mention
> > your paid one?
> > Steve
> > --
> > Yes, Chinese is easy if people speak slowly to you, in proper tones
> > and without an accent. But this is not how Chinese is spoken. --
> > renzhe
as a G1 user who's been looking at the paid apps, but not purchased
anything yet, I'd like to share some thoughts. Nothing really
amazing has caught my interest in the store yet. Of the apps that I
have downloaded that now offer a "Pro" version, They are offering
features I don't have a use for. The only app I'm on the fence about
purchasing is DoggSnoggler, but they have set a price much higher than
I would have expected. The same goes for a lot of games that I might
be interested in at $1, but at $5 I'm holding off until there are more
reviews and rankings.
On Feb 23, 10:59 am, Muthu Ramadoss <muthu.ramad...@gmail.com> wrote:
> There should be a separate tabs for Paid apps, not sure if that's the case?
> A search functionality would help too. But in general people would be happy
> to download free stuff and not bother with paid apps, unless some genius
> marketing makes a paid app suddenly popular. And the phones needs to be
> released all over the world so the Android user base grows to a reasonable
> number.
> But I must admit its a bit surprising that you are not getting even 0.1% of
> your user base willing to pay.
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 8:55 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > I was wondering the same myself. I have purposely not set any
> > expectatons, but I certainly expected a game with a demo in the top
> > ten and an installed base of over 50,000 to get more than a couple of
> > dozen purchases over the weekend. I know there's a lot of sudden
> > competition but I have to wondder if that's all that's going on.
> > One thing that strikes me as unplanned-for is that, due to the very
> > long time free apps have had to get a head start, the Most Popular tab
> > is going to be functionally useless for some time to come. That means
> > that people have to scrollscrollscrollscroll to find even a top ten
> > game (with a 4.5 star rating so far, no less).
> > On Feb 23, 8:10 am, stonedonkey <stonedon...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > I was looking through Cyrket and noticed that the vast majority of pay
> > > apps have less than 50 downloads.
> > > Over the weekend I've had a few downloads for my $0.99 app, but I
> > > guess I was expecting more especially with the return policy allowing
> > > a return with 24 hours.
> > > 1.5 million handsets, and looking at the numbers for the free games
> > > I'm curious if people just aren't willing to pay, if they are having
> > > issues, or there just aren't really that many phones in use?
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 10:10 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Sure you can, if you leave the app up. My demo version even has an
> > update link. But I made the decision to pull the free version for
> > several reasons, not least of which is that with such anemic sales so
> > far, it would actually be competing with the paid version.
> > I have three other game/apps in the works, and I've learned my lesson:
> > No more free versions. It just isn't worth it the way things are set
> > up.
> > On Feb 23, 9:33 am, Steve Barr <barr8...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > On 2/23/09, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > This really gives ammunition to those complaining about separate
> > > > package requirements for paid apps. All those 96,000 downloads the
> > > > demo version got, and my top tem standing, are now completely
> > > > worthless; they don't help me promote my paid app at all.
> > > So you can't change the description of your free version to mention
> > > your paid one?
> > > Steve
> > > --
> > > Yes, Chinese is easy if people speak slowly to you, in proper tones
> > > and without an accent. But this is not how Chinese is spoken. --
> > > renzhe- Hide quoted text -
> Sure you can, if you leave the app up. My demo version even has an > update link. But I made the decision to pull the free version for > several reasons, not least of which is that with such anemic sales so > far, it would actually be competing with the paid version.
> I have three other game/apps in the works, and I've learned my lesson: > No more free versions. It just isn't worth it the way things are set > up.
You might want to read up on the experience iPhone developers have. IIRC, something like a 250:1 ratio of free downloads to purchases, the free version definitely improving sales of the paid app, etc.
Steve -- Yes, Chinese is easy if people speak slowly to you, in proper tones and without an accent. But this is not how Chinese is spoken. -- renzhe
You could be right, and it's something I'm considering. But judging by
the general numbers, it looks more like I'm not alone in being in the
around-50-download group.
On Feb 23, 9:49 am, Steve Barr <barr8...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Sure you can, if you leave the app up. My demo version even has an
> > update link. But I made the decision to pull the free version for
> > several reasons, not least of which is that with such anemic sales so
> > far, it would actually be competing with the paid version.
> > I have three other game/apps in the works, and I've learned my lesson:
> > No more free versions. It just isn't worth it the way things are set
> > up.
> You might want to read up on the experience iPhone developers have.
> IIRC, something like a 250:1 ratio of free downloads to purchases, the
> free version definitely improving sales of the paid app, etc.
> Steve
> --
> Yes, Chinese is easy if people speak slowly to you, in proper tones
> and without an accent. But this is not how Chinese is spoken. --
> renzhe
OK, just because someone ought to do this test, I've re-published my
demo, hyping the paid version in the description. I'll report if I see
any alteration in sales figures.
Two sales today... of a game rated 4.85 out of 5 at Cyrket (this is
only four and a half stars in the Market? I know, complains,
complaints) that has almost 100,000 downloads of its demo (rated 3.98
at Cyrket... this is three and a half stars in the Market?)
I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that not many of us are going to
be retiring soon.
There are probably delays or problems. Advice: stop giving too much stuff for free if it adds no value to your bank account. Unless you only care about bragging rights!
On Feb 23, 2009, at 2:48 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
Two sales today... of a game rated 4.85 out of 5 at Cyrket (this is
only four and a half stars in the Market? I know, complains,
complaints) that has almost 100,000 downloads of its demo (rated 3.98
at Cyrket... this is three and a half stars in the Market?)
I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that not many of us are going to
be retiring soon.
You are probably right. I really hope so, I feel a little sick at the
effort put into my android projects if this is a true indication of
the outcomes.
I took my demo back down after re-reading the comments. Pretty amazing
how demanding some people can be about a free demo, and I realized I
could end the aggravation with a mouseclick. ;)
I probably gave too much away for free in the demo (my chief tester
thinks so) which is another reason to take it down. Anyway, we'll see.
I had NO sales in the time it was back up.
On Feb 23, 1:33 pm, Incognito <androind...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> There are probably delays or problems. Advice: stop giving too much stuff for free if it adds no value to your bank account. Unless you only care about bragging rights!
> On Feb 23, 2009, at 2:48 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Two sales today... of a game rated 4.85 out of 5 at Cyrket (this is
> only four and a half stars in the Market? I know, complains,
> complaints) that has almost 100,000 downloads of its demo (rated 3.98
> at Cyrket... this is three and a half stars in the Market?)
> I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that not many of us are going to
> be retiring soon.
On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 12:44 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> You are probably right. I really hope so, I feel a little sick at the
> effort put into my android projects if this is a true indication of
> the outcomes.
> I took my demo back down after re-reading the comments. Pretty amazing
> how demanding some people can be about a free demo, and I realized I
> could end the aggravation with a mouseclick. ;)
> I probably gave too much away for free in the demo (my chief tester
> thinks so) which is another reason to take it down. Anyway, we'll see.
> I had NO sales in the time it was back up.
> On Feb 23, 1:33 pm, Incognito <androind...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > There are probably delays or problems. Advice: stop giving too much stuff
> for free if it adds no value to your bank account. Unless you only care
> about bragging rights!
> > On Feb 23, 2009, at 2:48 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Two sales today... of a game rated 4.85 out of 5 at Cyrket (this is
> > only four and a half stars in the Market? I know, complains,
> > complaints) that has almost 100,000 downloads of its demo (rated 3.98
> > at Cyrket... this is three and a half stars in the Market?)
> > I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that not many of us are going to
> > be retiring soon.
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 12:44 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > You are probably right. I really hope so, I feel a little sick at the
> > effort put into my android projects if this is a true indication of
> > the outcomes.
> > I took my demo back down after re-reading the comments. Pretty amazing
> > how demanding some people can be about a free demo, and I realized I
> > could end the aggravation with a mouseclick. ;)
> > I probably gave too much away for free in the demo (my chief tester
> > thinks so) which is another reason to take it down. Anyway, we'll see.
> > I had NO sales in the time it was back up.
> > On Feb 23, 1:33 pm, Incognito <androind...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > > There are probably delays or problems. Advice: stop giving too much stuff
> > for free if it adds no value to your bank account. Unless you only care
> > about bragging rights!
> > > On Feb 23, 2009, at 2:48 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > Two sales today... of a game rated 4.85 out of 5 at Cyrket (this is
> > > only four and a half stars in the Market? I know, complains,
> > > complaints) that has almost 100,000 downloads of its demo (rated 3.98
> > > at Cyrket... this is three and a half stars in the Market?)
> > > I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that not many of us are going to
> > > be retiring soon.- Hide quoted text -
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 12:51 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Thanks. The Wikipedia had no listing for "patronization" so I was >> unable to reciprocate.
> Somehow I think reciprocation of intelligent conversation would elude you, > regardless of where it is found. Yes, best for you to stick to patronizing.
Sorry, if the intent was not to be patronizing, it escaped me.
Generally when one refers to an elementary and well-known fact in an
instructional manner, their intention is to convey the impression that
the recipient wasn't aware of the fact. If your intention was
otherwise, you have my apology for the misunderstanding.
You are especially invited to contribute your thoughts on the actual
topic under discussion.
On Feb 23, 2:02 pm, Shane Isbell <shane.isb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 12:51 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Thanks. The Wikipedia had no listing for "patronization" so I was
> > unable to reciprocate.
> Somehow I think reciprocation of intelligent conversation would elude you,
> regardless of where it is found. Yes, best for you to stick to patronizing.
No problem. I wasn't intending to be patronizing. I was merely agreeing with
you. If you have a free version of the app, then if is even remotely close
to the paid version, ppl won't buy.
On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 1:07 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry, if the intent was not to be patronizing, it escaped me.
> Generally when one refers to an elementary and well-known fact in an
> instructional manner, their intention is to convey the impression that
> the recipient wasn't aware of the fact. If your intention was
> otherwise, you have my apology for the misunderstanding.
> You are especially invited to contribute your thoughts on the actual
> topic under discussion.
> On Feb 23, 2:02 pm, Shane Isbell <shane.isb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 12:51 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > Thanks. The Wikipedia had no listing for "patronization" so I was
> > > unable to reciprocate.
> > Somehow I think reciprocation of intelligent conversation would elude
> you,
> > regardless of where it is found. Yes, best for you to stick to
> patronizing.
> Sundog, I've put you on auto-delete, so sadly this won't go any further.
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 1:02 PM, Shane Isbell <shane.isb...@gmail.com>wrote:
> > On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 12:51 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Thanks. The Wikipedia had no listing for "patronization" so I was
> >> unable to reciprocate.
> > Somehow I think reciprocation of intelligent conversation would elude you,
> > regardless of where it is found. Yes, best for you to stick to patronizing.
Too sensitive. Woman... Wait, I forgot you are a guy...
On Feb 23, 2009, at 4:07 PM, Shane Isbell <shane.isb...@gmail.com> wrote:
Sundog, I've put you on auto-delete, so sadly this won't go any further.
On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 1:02 PM, Shane Isbell <shane.isb...@gmail.com> wrote:
On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 12:51 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks. The Wikipedia had no listing for "patronization" so I was
unable to reciprocate.
Somehow I think reciprocation of intelligent conversation would elude you, regardless of where it is found. Yes, best for you to stick to patronizing.
Agree, it seems to me that users may already have everything they need with the free app. If so than you are screwed. Specially more so because it seems you've exhausted most of your potential user base and will have to wait for new g1 customers or release a truely differentiating update.
On Feb 23, 2009, at 4:11 PM, Shane Isbell <shane.isb...@gmail.com> wrote:
No problem. I wasn't intending to be patronizing. I was merely agreeing with you. If you have a free version of the app, then if is even remotely close to the paid version, ppl won't buy.
On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 1:07 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
Sorry, if the intent was not to be patronizing, it escaped me.
Generally when one refers to an elementary and well-known fact in an
instructional manner, their intention is to convey the impression that
the recipient wasn't aware of the fact. If your intention was
otherwise, you have my apology for the misunderstanding.
You are especially invited to contribute your thoughts on the actual
topic under discussion.
On Feb 23, 2:02 pm, Shane Isbell <shane.isb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 12:51 PM, Sundog <sunns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Thanks. The Wikipedia had no listing for "patronization" so I was
> > unable to reciprocate.
> Somehow I think reciprocation of intelligent conversation would elude you,
> regardless of where it is found. Yes, best for you to stick to patronizing.
