On Pricing More

14 Aug 2014 • inessential.com

Brent Simmons speaking to the idea that indie iOS devs should simply charge more for their software on launch day:

I think what would happen is that launch week would be even better — but every week after that would be much worse, in terms of both units and revenue.

Would you have bought Unread at $19.99? Or even $14.99 or $9.99? I don’t know if I would have.

Not without a free trial. At $4.99 I bought it the other day on impulse (after reading the author writing about his income). I have some issues with Reeder so I’m giving Unread a shot. $19 is a lot harder to justify though without a chance to experience the product first. Most people’s impulse buy point is $0 or $.99 - mine seems to be around $4.99.

I have spent a lot more than that on a very few apps, but not usually without some very strong branding, personal recommendations from trusted friends, or an ability to try the app first.

I think everyone who is doing free downloads with a single in-app-purchase for “all the goodies” have found the sweet spot (for now).