[BBA]

Hey Guys and Gals,
I guess a lot of you (newbies and experts) have noticed that BlackBerry App World only contains Apps that cost more than $2.99... now the poll asks: Should RIM remove that limit?

On the one hand I can understand that RIM has set this limitation in order to only have 'higher-class' Apps in their store but on the other hand I don't want to hear them moan about not having a lot of Apps in their store. Sure, $0.99 Apps don't change the life of a BlackBerry user but here or there I wish I could download one of those fun or useless Apps.

It's quite possible that there are many developers out there who would release $0.99 Apps to App World if there would be the chance and there would surely also be BlackBerry users looking forward to these kinds of Apps.

Sure, with a $2.99 limit for Apps, these kind of fun/useless Apps stay out but eventually one day they will loosen up?

Let us know what you think!

Cheers, have a great weekend.
-Fabian

[Pi Guy 3.14]

This must be a UK thing, b/c here there are no limits... Unless I'm completely missing something here..

[wnm]

The price goes from free to $2.99.

[BBA]

The price goes from free to $2.99.

But you can only set prices from $2.99 upwards. Thats the problem

[wnm]

Hence my sarcasm. You can have free apps, but paid apps can't go below $2.99.

[Klotar]

Perhaps there is a commission charge (maybe paypal) or fee associated with each transaction that does not scale with price.

For example, there is a set-amount transaction charge to merchants when a debit card is used, but when a credit card is used, it's a percentage-based commission.

If I was selling a $1 widget, that costs $0.75 (developer's portion), but it costs me $0.25 per transaction, I make zero money as a vendor. But if I were selling at $3 widget, $2.25 goes to the developer, less $0.25, I make $0.50.

In the case of my $1 example, selling millions of apps still comes out to $0 profit for me.

OK, that was a cooked up example to illustrate my point, that being that there may be a price point at which the margin may not cover overhead costs, even with a high volume.

Disclaimer: I do not know what the split between RIM/Developer, Paypal charges, fixed/variable overhead, margins, etc.

[PDM]

This must be a UK thing, b/c here there are no limits... Unless I'm completely missing something here..

Why a UK thing? The OP is from Germany...

Perhaps, the following will enlighten you :
BlackBerry - BlackBerry App World FAQ
or
Breakdown of BlackBerry App World pricing structure � Boy Genius Report


@Fabian, do you really believe we'll see an influx of more worthwhile apps if you were allowed to start pricing from $0.99? If so, wouldn't they already be on Mobihand's portal?

I believe Klotar has is correct tho re commissions etc.

[Shao128]

It's quite possible that there are many developers out there who would release $0.99 Apps to App World if there would be the chance and there would surely also be BlackBerry users looking forward to these kinds of Apps.

Sure, with a $2.99 limit for Apps, these kind of fun/useless Apps stay out but eventually one day they will loosen up?

While I agree that I think RIM should allow for apps priced lower than $2.99, currently I dont think thats the main reason stopping junk apps from filling the store or for other devs just not posting their stuff there. My thoughts are more of the $200 fee to sign up are keeping them out and $20 a pop up update them.

[Pi Guy 3.14]

Why a UK thing? The OP is from Germany...

B/c the link he put in the first post send you to UK.blackberry.com

But the reason I was confused is cause I could have sworn I've seen .99 apps in appworld, and I never noticed that they always go from free straight to $2.99...

Nevermind though...

[MADBRADNYC]

My thoughts are more of the $200 fee to sign up are keeping them out and $20 a pop up update them.

Dayumm!!! This gives me a whole new perspective...
Not the $200.00, but the $20.00 for each update!!!!

As a developer, I could see getting pissed. RIM is always changing or breaking something in every new OS. Developers are always playing catch-up with RIM's playful games. I test many apps for many developers, and know that they have submitted upgrades (which means they paid) and the update may still take 2 weeks to be seen! Unacceptable.

I personally have seen developers with mediocre apps intentionally try to add small specialty functions to make it worth the $2.99 to be on AW and sell. Most of the time, it turns out that they are in a specialty fuction area they don't know much about, and have to produce update after update. Sometimes projects are abandoned all together. Maybe they could stick with what they know, and charge $.99 for the $.99 worth of an app.

I see now why the smarter developers like BBA and Shao take their time to make sure they work the bugs out for every device and OS possible prior to submission. It drives users crazy, but they ain't payin' for it!!!

Back OT.

Sure, I think $.99 apps should be available for the occassional fart app. Chuckle-Snort. One thing I wouldn't want is a flood of them. As a newbie (and it's well known that is the demographic for it's users), if you don't know the name of an app, or the developer, searching through the junk would be excruciating. I have to say it is just painful currently, and I am not an expert, but consider myself an above average user. I'm on the fence here because as it stands now, I only use it for free apps or something I cannot get anywhere else (Mobihand). With no minimum pricing, I would tend to download a bunch of crap, and have to sort through all of that for the good stuff I downloaded. Hmmm.

Most of these apps would be abandoned anyway due to the unintelligent nature, and the lack of the ability to switch OS versions like MH does. AW claims to "see" and identify device versions and won't allow downloading of wrong app versions, but I have heard many horror stories.

$.02