Google doubles app refund period to 48 hours, developers cringe

[jntdroid]

Isn't this a really bad thing for developers?

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't it possible for those that buy an app to take the .apk, copy it, then refund it and just install their pirated .apk? Giving them 2 days to now do so sounds dangerous to devs.

Hopefully the majority of android users are honest and don't abuse such lenient control over their files with root.

hmm interesting... guess they don't factor in the root population, or they have an idea of the root percentage and don't think it's a big deal...

 

[aaf709]

While I like having the extra time to see if an app is right for me, I generally do an uninstall minutes after installation if it doesn't work.

 

[sc4fpse]

Stop the presses, folks...

Check out the source article. It's been updated, and was incorrect.

UPDATE:

A reader has pointed out that the 48-hour refund policy has been part of the developer distribution agreement for some time, but it is not the same as the market policy, which remains 24 hours. Customers can request a refund from developers within 48 hours, but the market continues to have a 24-hour return policy it seems. I apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this post may have caused.
Here’s Roto Meier explaining more on Twitter.
“re: Market Refund. No change to the DDA, it always said 48 to give us a buffer. Actual policy is still (and always was) 24hrs.”
thanks to @TheRealRiley for helping provide clarification.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

 

[StepDroid]

horrible just horrible

Android market customers are bad enough as it is. I buy worse cheap crap for 2-3 bucks that I never consider taking back or filing a complaint at all. They should use their rating system far better... use a scoring system or something. This will hurt good developers far worse than bad ones. The app game is about impulse which carrier billing will help but, giving 48 hrs is crazy What dollar store in the world would do this.
We can't defend ourselves from bogus claims by purchasers or spammers. An already convoluted market. Poor promotion, horrible online environment and they attack the devs.... sheer genius. But wallpapers and ringtones are fine no refund dumb geniuses.

 

[wuyanks]

Stop the presses, folks...

Check out the source article. It's been updated, and was incorrect.

UPDATE:

A reader has pointed out that the 48-hour refund policy has been part of the developer distribution agreement for some time, but it is not the same as the market policy, which remains 24 hours. Customers can request a refund from developers within 48 hours, but the market continues to have a 24-hour return policy it seems. I apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this post may have caused.
Here’s Roto Meier explaining more on Twitter.
“re: Market Refund. No change to the DDA, it always said 48 to give us a buffer. Actual policy is still (and always was) 24hrs.”
thanks to @TheRealRiley for helping provide clarification.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

thanks for the update!dancedroid

 

[phatkat66]

I dont understand so you have 24 hours to PRESS refund but 48 to ASK for a refund?

 

[ffej89]

Yea but it only takes about 10 minutes to know if you want to keep an app anyway

 

[series70]

great points. but another change in the dev agreement is that ringtone and wallpaper apps won't have a refund option anymore, because you can "preview" it before you buy it.

Well my issue is no that you can't refund them, but there are so many in their respective categories, they can bury some apps because people get tired of sorting through all of them.

 

[azules9780]

I don't know, I kind of feel like if you purchase an app and the marketplace is good enough to let you try out it out for 24 hours, you should be grateful for that. To me that is one of the most awesome things about Android and their marketplace. I have never purchased an app without making sure I had the time to try it out in that 24 hours. Luckily, I have only had to return a few crap apps. Some people say "schedule changes etc." as a reason for not being able to properly test in 24 hours. In my opinion, that is retarded. An example would be me, as a Firefighter, am on a 24/48 schedule which means I can and have run for 24 hours straight, run after run after run. If one of the guys tells me about an app at work, I will search for it but not actually download until I am off shift. That way it is in my search history, I can easily find it and come back to it. Even if I forget about it and search for something a few weeks later, it's still there. And I have yet to find anything, anything at all that I couldn't tell about battery life in less than 4 hours.

JMHO

Appreciate what we have versus iCrap and support good devs even if they offer free stuff.