When a customer refunds your paid app, Apple refunds its 30% cut [edited] (twitter.com)

Article summary

The article discusses Apple's policy of keeping its 30% cut of an app's purchase price even when a customer refunds the app. This policy has sparked debate among developers and users. Apple's role as a marketplace and its responsibilities regarding refunds are being questioned. The discussion revolves around the fairness of this policy and the value provided by Apple.

Main themes

• Apple's refund policy
• fairness of 30% cut
• value provided by Apple
• developer responsibilities
• payment processing fees
• marketplace responsibilities

What commenters say

• Apple's 30% cut is justified because they delivered the customer to the developer, regardless of the outcome.
• The 30% cut is too high and unfair, especially when a refund is involved, as it represents a significant profit for Apple.
• Apple's fees should be split between payment processing and commission, rather than a flat 30% cut.
• The comparison to payment processors like Stripe, which keep their fees on refunds, is not applicable to Apple's 30% cut due to the difference in marginal costs.
• Apple's responsibility is to the transaction, not the customer's experience, and therefore they should not refund their cut.
• The 30% cut is not only for payment processing, but also for marketing, distribution, and other services provided by Apple.
• The policy is unfair because Apple takes no risk when a refund is issued, while the developer bears the full cost.
• The value provided by Apple, such as visibility and frameworks, is not relevant when a refund is involved, as it did not lead to a successful transaction.