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This is like the risk of using the 1-Click Ordering feature at amazon.com.

Not really, because you can refuse delivery of a package for a full refund off Amazon. Digital content like Apps are generally non-refundable.
 
I believe that there has to be a "cooling off period" - at least here in the UK - after making a purchase at which point you are entitled by law to return the product. Normally that period is 7-14 days but individual stores may be even more lenient than that.
That would be a problem for the iPod touch apps that tell you the secret for doing a magic trick. More seriously, there are a lot of apps you might use on a vacation, e.g. finding restaurants or transportation or people in another city. It wouldn't be fair to their developers if you could buy their app, take it on vacation, then return it when you get home in a week or two.

Perhaps return policies should be based on how many times you launch the app, not on elapsed time. You could return any unused or one-launched app for a full refund within a certain number of days, assuming the iPod touch could keep track of that.
 
Sad thing is the developer is now going to be charged $300 (Apple requires the developer to reimburse the user Apple's commission).

I think that in case of accidental/erroneous purchases, this is not true.

If it was, that would be so awful that I wonder why no investigation has been aimed at this practice before.
 
Yeah, "accidentally," sure. :rolleyes: The price and the buttons on the app store are clearly labeled. You don't just "accidentally" purchase this. It's only believable if the kid is still an infant and randomly tap on stuff, but 11 year old? Come on. :rolleyes: Besides, there's an option to restrict the ability to install apps on the OS.

Kudos to Apple to do the refund. If the scenario was that the kid accidentally made an international call costing $$$, I don't think AT&T would budge.
 
1-click orders on Amazon can be changed for an hour or so, and returned officially. I had this happen to me too... I was reading the app description and accidentally swiped against buy. I got a refund, and a warning that Apple was making an exception and to be more careful :(

It soured me to the App Store experience for sure... the lack of any confirmation whatsoever
Amazon told me the same. I accidentally downloaded the same "unbox" video twice (I didn't think the first time worked, and iTunes always wanred you if you were about to repurchase the same media). They said they'd make a "one-time" exception. I never bought digital "unbox" media from them again though (doesn't help that I'm on a Mac now, but still).

~ CB
 
15 minutes?

45 Seconds is all it took to get the facts...

Google search: "android market return policy"

First result: http://www.google.com/mobile/android/market-policies.html

For those too lazy to click...

"Returns: You have 24 hours from the time of purchase (not download) to return any applications purchased from Android Market for a full refund of any applicable fees."

Summary: 24 Hours, not 15 minutes.
Yep, I've bought a few apps that weren't worth the money and returned them for a refund. It's a nice system, because you can then see if the app is actually worth the purchase to you.
 
Yeah, "accidentally," sure. :rolleyes: The price and the buttons on the app store are clearly labeled. You don't just "accidentally" purchase this. It's only believable if the kid is still an infant and randomly tap on stuff, but 11 year old? Come on. :rolleyes: Besides, there's an option to restrict the ability to install apps on the OS.

Kudos to Apple to do the refund. If the scenario was that the kid accidentally made an international call costing $$$, I don't think AT&T would budge.

It was done on an iPod Touch.
 
From email:

Please note that the iTunes Store Terms of Sale state that all sales are final, so this is a one-time exception.

The best way to avoid unintentional purchases is to use the Shopping Cart. That way, you can consolidate and review your selections carefully and buy them when you're ready. Here's how to use the Shopping Cart:

http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n93017

Did they really tell you to use the Shopping Cart feature in iTunes? Because since iTunes 9 this feature is gone now! The documentation you/Apple quoted is depricated unless your still using a pre iTunes 9 version.
 
I always wonder why people decide to respond to the post below mine which says the same thing but with less proof...

Above I said the same thing with a specific example. It's not as fun to argue with someone who makes a good argument though, is it?

http://techcrunch.com/2009/03/25/apples-iphone-app-refund-policies-could-bankrupt-developers/

Great you posted some blog with an interesting interpretation of potential issues with the contract. Do you have any evidence that this policy has been enforced?
 
Yeah, "accidentally," sure. :rolleyes: The price and the buttons on the app store are clearly labeled. You don't just "accidentally" purchase this. It's only believable if the kid is still an infant and randomly tap on stuff, but 11 year old? Come on. :rolleyes: Besides, there's an option to restrict the ability to install apps on the OS.

As many people have mentioned in this thread, once you enter your password to download one app, there is a short window when you are not required to enter it again to download another app.
 
It didn't take my 10 year old son long to figure out that he could continue to download apps after asking me to download one for him. Now, if he wants a free app, I wait for it to finish downloading and then i log out of my account before i hand his touch back to him! :mad:

OMG! You have a budding lawyer on your hands!
 
As for wanting / not wanting kids. I don't know. Part of me would like kids one day. On the other hand, I'm afraid I'd mess them up.

Ah, sterile?

Had I done this as a kid, I would have been beaten for it.
Not like bamboo cane or whip beating though, just paddle and maybe belt beating. TBH, in retrospect it really wasn't that bad, and I really did learn to be a pretty decent human being. I turned out just fine too, in fact, I'd like to think better than some of my peers. But that's a bit pretentious, so I digress.

There's obviously a large debate over child punishment though, with adamant supporters on either side of the fence. Which one is right is really a gray zone in my opinion, and while I would like to think soft punishment would be sufficient for my future kids, I definitely see the use for the other side. I think moderation is key in this area; I mean you don't want to see kids running around wild, but at the same time you shouldn't beat your kid senseless. Unfortunately, in today's society everything is construed as child abuse, and I fear that we have strayed a little too far left towards "soft" punishment. But that's just me, I'm sure many of you feel differently.

That was a little off topic.

90 day refund policy w/ iTunes, if I do recall correctly; but I'm sure there's many caveats.

Just bc someone doesn't want children (gasp!!), doesn't mean they can't have them, or even if sterility was the prblem, there's a little thing called adoption. Thousands of unwanted children...

There are many, MANY parents that SHOULDN'T have children. For one of the posters to say that he doesn't want a child for fear he/she will "mess them up," i applaud you. You actually have forethought and restraint when it comes to coitus and relationships.

Wow, think of that...someone you thinks *before* they act......maybe a lot more people should take *that* lead...

Off topic, fine. I didn't bring it up, but if they can insinuate someone is sterile bc they don't want kids, we can have a say in it too.

On topic, if I had accidentally purchased this same app, and not an 11-year-old, would i have gotten that same refund?
 
Yeah, "accidentally," sure. :rolleyes: The price and the buttons on the app store are clearly labeled. You don't just "accidentally" purchase this. It's only believable if the kid is still an infant and randomly tap on stuff, but 11 year old?

Maybe he was hunting for an Easter Egg.... :)
 
FYI, the article says that they didn't complete the download...you really need to download the reading comprehension app. ;)

Maybe just maybe I wasn't referring to any set of individuals but yet pointing out that anyone could go download the $1000 app and claim that it was an accident and get it re-imbursed. ;)
 
So the story is, child downloads an app by mistake and apple refund them? How is that even a story? Worse story ever.....
 
Sad thing is the developer is now going to be charged $300 (Apple requires the developer to reimburse the user Apple's commission).

That is not true at all. When an app is refunded basically all parties are nullified, so developer loses the sale and apple lose the commission. The developer does not lose out 'further'. This was discussed in length on quite a few occasions here.
 
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