Deleting and relaunching an app

[MarkFromBitmenStudios]

This whole discussion is leading into the wrong direction.

The OP poster wants to know whether there are any issues pulling an app and resubmitting.

Bottom line is:

• legally it is possible and it has been done before.
• PR wise: you are shooting yourself into the knee.

I would not do it but like I said, it is your decision, your brand and your reputation.

[Greyskull]

Originally Posted by mr.Ugly

why should anyone be pissed about or ask for a refund?

if a dev pulls his app from the store due to whatever reasons his former customers still have it on their device?

its not like the dev deletes it from your device or your itunes library?

if you buy a book and throw it away you don't go back into the store to ask for a new copy and if its out of print ask for a refund?!

you paid money for an app at the time of purchase. thats it.. and when i see how much fuss some people make about a dollar.. i ask myself if that time would be not worth spent elsewhere..

a developer does not pull his app just for the fun of it.. there is a reason behind it.. and this reasons is most likely more important than a dollar or two.

What makes you think ever app is a dollar? I've had $10+ purchases removed from/renamed in the appstore. 3 Amidio (spelling might be incorrect) apps; synthesizers and related music apps which eqch cost over 10 dollars.

[mr.Ugly]

Originally Posted by MarkFromBitmenStudios

This whole discussion is leading into the wrong direction.

The OP poster wants to know whether there are any issues pulling an app and resubmitting.

Bottom line is:

• legally it is possible and it has been done before.
• PR wise: you are shooting yourself into the knee.

I would not do it but like I said, it is your decision, your brand and your reputation.

well the PR stuff is only true of you actually have someone who "cares"

if no one cared about your app in the first place the market won't care either if its gone, renamed or vanished forever.. so its more of a card blanc (imho)

of course if you have a couple thousand active users maybe one should think about a different update approach or not..

in the end the OP can do as he sees fit.. and judging him on anyone else without knowing all facts is unfair at best..

Originally Posted by Greyskull

What makes you think ever app is a dollar? I've had $10+ purchases removed from/renamed in the appstore. 3 Amidio (spelling might be incorrect) apps; synthesizers and related music apps which eqch cost over 10 dollars.

so thoose 3 apps stopped working the minute they renamed them under a different appid? i guess not..

did you loose "support" , yes you did.. bit then you never had a guaranteed support in the first place..

is it a bad move for a paying customer.. yeah it is.. but it does not render your bought software license unusable..

maybe till a mayor ios upgrades comes or new hardware etc. but that can happen on pretty much any other platform too..

usually when it comes to "software" as in "not games" you usually have an free and paid upgrade roadmap somehow somewhere.. so 1.0 to 1.0.1 might be free but the update to 1.5 cost money.. or to 2.0 or whatever..

on ios you can't make an update paid only.. so your only option to finance your updates is by selling more apps.. but if you don't earn money how are you suppose to fund the support of your product? you probably can't, you move on to the next projects and try anew or do something else.. but in the end it boils down to the fact that everyone needs to earn money somehow.. and if an app does not work out.. then the few customers you might have had have to bite into the sour apple and see an app removed or left to die on the store..

but this usually happens if the devs makes no money either.. so both sides loose.


of course there are other examples of other deals happening like changing the publisher etc.. but if a developer sells the distribution rights to company x.. of course the old version of the game gets pulled and put back by the new publishers.. but thats a rare case anyway..

the point we as customers buy the apps "as is" not matter what.. and hoping for something else like years of free support for whatever sum the app costs is illusional..

i want to see one inde developer who made millions from any software and then wasn't willing to support it 110%. on the other hand to expect them to go bankrupt by providing months or years of free support is weird at best..

there are always two sides of a coin.. and understanding both is a big plus.

i remember EA need for speed most wanted.. where there was a well known bug.. and they said officially it will be fixed in the sequel.. lol ..

[Connector]

Originally Posted by mr.Ugly

well the PR stuff is only true of you actually have someone who "cares"

if no one cared about your app in the first place the market won't care either if its gone, renamed or vanished forever.. so its more of a card blanc (imho)

of course if you have a couple thousand active users maybe one should think about a different update approach or not..

in the end the OP can do as he sees fit.. and judging him on anyone else without knowing all facts is unfair at best..

Yeah, you do have a valid point here, if you had only a couple of sales, then it would definitely be a different scenario than if you had a large established user base.

I wonder if the OP is even reading this anymore, are you still out there? Any thoughts now?

[MarkFromBitmenStudios]

Originally Posted by mr.Ugly

well the PR stuff is only true of you actually have someone who "cares"

if no one cared about your app in the first place the market won't care either if its gone, renamed or vanished forever.. so its more of a card blanc (imho)

Getting a bit philosophical here, eh? Like the question if a tree that falls in a forest with nobody around, does it make a sound. Anyway, that's a bit off topic.

the point we as customers buy the apps "as is" not matter what.. and hoping for something else like years of free support for whatever sum the app costs is illusional..

I somewhat agree that there's a bit too high of an expectation when it comes to updating an app with fresh content. I recently got a mail to my support address from a customer who said:
"I have now played your game every day for four months and have unlocked everything. It is getting boring. Add to it!"

This actually caused mixed feelings. For one, it is nice to hear that somebody plays your game every day for four months but OTOH, I was also a bit angry about the bold demand for new content. After having played the game extensively for four months he should have gotten enough bang for the buck (sic).

[Connector]

Originally Posted by MarkFromBitmenStudios

Getting a bit philosophical here, eh? Like the question if a tree that falls in a forest with nobody around, does it make a sound. .

Yes, I think it would make a sound, but only Apple would know with it's 52 pages of terms and conditions. It must be stated in there somewhere...

[LinQsta]

Thanks for all the responses guys...sorry if I've caused a little friction.

Mark is right, I have spend a small fortune on a) launching the platform and b) creating an app to gain some great traction on membership to this platform.

I got the shock of my life when I literally achieved 15 downloads of the paid and a 150 of the free. My app gained approval at the same time that IOS6 was launched and my visibility on the store plummeted. I have paid over $600 on marketing which had little effect. Don't ever go to great apps.com guys.

In retrospect I have learned a few things from the experience.
1) importance of a good icon (mine is ugly)
2) importance of a good name (mine is ambiguous)
3) capitalising on marketing efforts in first 3 days of sale for early downloads to increase rankings
4) importance of per-launch marketing
5) and most important, gaining a place on new and noteworthy. My app is an original and innovative idea which has potential to make it on here (although not guaranteed)
6) placing it in the right categories in the first place - putting it under social networking was a mistake
7) pricing strategy (in app purchases of a free app is far more effective than charging $1 upfront)

I was naive thinking that if you build it, they will come. Photo365 had no marketing behind it and made a fortune in its first week. Also My bro in law got 1800 downloads on a simple doodle on your own photo app that he spend 2 mins promoting on his facebook with 50 friends, so thought mine would totally outperform it. I was wrong and now I've learnt.

I have the email address of all who downloaded the app and will allow them to download it for free for a limited time. Customer service is top of my agenda.

Thanks to all who have contributed. I don't want to piss customers off, but I want this app to succeed and be more available for the whole world to see.

I will let you know how I get on.

Thanks again
Mike

[makitango]

Originally Posted by LinQsta

7) pricing strategy (in app purchases of a free app is far more effective than charging $1 upfront)

I was naive thinking that if you build it, they will come. Photo365 had no marketing behind it and made a fortune in its first week. Also My bro in law got 1800 downloads on a simple doodle on your own photo app that he spend 2 mins promoting on his facebook with 50 friends, so thought mine would totally outperform it. I was wrong and now I've learnt.
Mike

You can go fullprice if the app is very iconic and straight forward. In any other case, IAP is the way to go (never do two versions since they split the audience). But then again, it's hard to communicate a hard-to-describe app, not to mention expensive as hell.

[Devcade]

Originally Posted by LinQsta

I have the email address of all who downloaded the app...

You have the email address of every person who downloaded your app?
How's that possible?

I hope you're not stealing their email addresses from their address books.

[LinQsta]

Originally Posted by Devcade

You have the email address of every person who downloaded your app?
How's that possible?

I hope you're not stealing their email addresses from their address books.

Well obviously not - they have to register a user to use the app, and their email address is logged in the back office.