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Popular Design App 'Sketch' Leaves Mac App Store Due to Poor Customer Experience
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I only buy all of my iOS apps from the App Store, all PC games from Steam and all Mac apps from Mac App Store.
If this developer wants to leave the MAS that's their choice but they should know many others are in the same boat as me.
I wouldn't be surprised if they come running back soon.
If this developer wants to leave the MAS that's their choice but they should know many others are in the same boat as me.
I wouldn't be surprised if they come running back soon.
Mac App Store isn't a total fail, but for the most part, in my opinion, it is ridiculous. For a variety of reasons. The UI decision to have probably the tiniest text size possible for the descriptions, with no way to increase it, is beyond dumb. Seriously, you're fired. And it has no fluidity to its use, like the iOS App Store which is quite excellent in so many ways. Please have the iOS App Store team fix the Mac App Store.
I agree with the review sections. There are plenty of reviews like "I don't know what the **** I'm doing so it must be the apps fault" but there are also a lot of good reviews that dog the devs into keeping up with the app. Either fix it or give up!
The CLEAR app is a good example. It took iOS and then OS X by storm when it came out and I'd suggest it's what keeps The Realmacsoftware folks name on the map. Sadly they have continually ignored requests for features and apparently cannot fix the iCloud sync issue that so many complain about. Update after update and no fix. No response to troubleshooting questions aside from being pointed to their troubleshooting guide. It's as if they've abandoned the app altogether yet still charge a ridiculous amount for it.
I bring CLEAR up specifically because there are some devs that ride the coat tails of a pretty app they've made without taking care of the customer. In these situations the negative reviews are warranted.
I don't care how long it takes to fix an app like Facebook. But when an app I use daily for work has a bug, I need a fix RIGHT NOW, not two weeks later.
Take a look on Adobe's forums, there were riots there when they switched to a subscription model. For me it works, I have an Adobe CC subscription but it's not for everybody.
It seems like many devs though great at building software don't have a clue about running a business. When you see calendar/todo apps being priced for over $100 and sometimes $200 it makes a person scratch their head. If they'd drop the price to something reasonable at least in the users mind they'd probably find they'd sell and promote the apps a lot better. When folks can get OS X for free or a copy of msft Office for the price of a calendar app it makes it hard to compete.
Quite a few high profile developers have left the MAS because of excess restrictions, many due to technical reasons - excessive sandboxing makes application(s) unfeasible to adapt for submission.
Its a shame Apple don't try to address this... and it is unfortunate for people above like Skoal who are missing out on great applications.. result - bad for Apple missing out on high profile applications, and bad for customers - some actually think MAS is the only way to get Mac software - or have some false impression that non MAS applications are some kind of malware risk.
Its a shame Apple don't try to address this... and it is unfortunate for people above like Skoal who are missing out on great applications.. result - bad for Apple missing out on high profile applications, and bad for customers - some actually think MAS is the only way to get Mac software - or have some false impression that non MAS applications are some kind of malware risk.
About 70% sure. Bohemian Coding came out initially with a handful of apps and eventually realized their future was in Sketch as a development tool UI. They cancelled their other apps and moved forward. I personally don't feel like Development apps are popular on MAS as compared to other categories. With their plugin partners growing they have enough mindshare to jettison the 30% cut, grab more control over customer demographic than they had a couple of years ago. They can probably distribute at 10% (WAG) and pocket/reinvest the funds they would have paid Apple.
I feel like they made the right decision for them. MAS is great for establishing new developers. I'm pretty much going to buy whatever MacAffinity delivers ..they've earned my trust and dollars. Developers that have been around a while don't need this relationship building.
In the end this is a business and it all comes down to dollars and sense. Paid Upgrades is a red herring. If you offered to pay full price again they'd accept it in a heartbeat.
I like the Mac App Store for the following reasons:
- One place for app updates (and updating without different types of installers; no DMG, no app to application folder dragging; no installers,.. just one button to update all the apps).
- One way to pay, no need to write down serial numbers, you don't get added on stupid mailing lists.
- After a reinstall or buying a new Mac, you just open the App Store to download all your apps. No need to get to download each app from the developers website.
- Apps bought in the App Store can be used on all your Mac's. Before this decision a direct bought Sketch license was valid for one Mac and the MAS license could be used on all of your Mac's. Luckily they changed that today, the direct license is now valid for two Mac's (I use an iMac at the office and an MacBook on the road, still my boss needs to buy a separate license if I want to work at home..).
Sketch is great, really like it, but I don't see why this decision is better for customers.
- One place for app updates (and updating without different types of installers; no DMG, no app to application folder dragging; no installers,.. just one button to update all the apps).
- One way to pay, no need to write down serial numbers, you don't get added on stupid mailing lists.
- After a reinstall or buying a new Mac, you just open the App Store to download all your apps. No need to get to download each app from the developers website.
- Apps bought in the App Store can be used on all your Mac's. Before this decision a direct bought Sketch license was valid for one Mac and the MAS license could be used on all of your Mac's. Luckily they changed that today, the direct license is now valid for two Mac's (I use an iMac at the office and an MacBook on the road, still my boss needs to buy a separate license if I want to work at home..).
Sketch is great, really like it, but I don't see why this decision is better for customers.
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You don't see how being able to keep an extra 30% on each sale may result in employees being able to provide a higher quality of service to the customer? weird.
Yahoo is claiming that the App Store is showing signs of failure. Because 1 app moved away. Sensationalist reporting at its best.
Sad thing is this is exactly why "pro" iOS-based apps are struggling as well. Apple's negligence with both App Stores over the last 7 years has irreparably damaged it's future potential IMO.
From the marketing, to the lack of upgrades, it's all very shortsighted.
From the marketing, to the lack of upgrades, it's all very shortsighted.
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Realmac has made a career out of this. Bought an app called Courier for them. They abandoned it. Bought Little Snapper which was basically abandoned and replaced by Ember which appears to be abandoned now as well as they flog Typed and their blogging service. How am I really supposed to trust them when they cannot sustain their own apps they had customers buy into?
The 30% is tantamount to highway robbery.
The store brings and keeps users within the Apple ecosystem and thus generates hardware sales. For Apple.
But to small and not so small developers, 30% cut off the top can be make or break.
If you value the services of companies like Netflix, you should never subscribe through the Apple store. Netflix already has low rates and having Apple take a 30% cut will just force price increases for all.
The store brings and keeps users within the Apple ecosystem and thus generates hardware sales. For Apple.
But to small and not so small developers, 30% cut off the top can be make or break.
If you value the services of companies like Netflix, you should never subscribe through the Apple store. Netflix already has low rates and having Apple take a 30% cut will just force price increases for all.
Are you aware that on average retailers take 40-50% of your sales? The 30% that the App Store takes is a steal for developers.
You're also totally ignoring other parts of that trade off. Being in the App Store means that you get yourself in front of millions of eyes that you aren't likely getting on your own website. The visibility is huge. It means tons more sales simply by people being able to find you easier and being in a more credible place.
It also means Apple pays for the bandwidth. Downloads and updates take up a lot of bandwidth which costs money but developers don't have to foot the bill if they use the App Store.
Apple also deals with the payments meaning you don't have to pay a monthly fee plus a percentage of every sale you process. Additionally, setting this up securely and maintaining that security is not only a big time consuming process for developers but also a liability should anything ever happen to their customers information (and it can mean they're sued out of existence if something happens).
The App Store isn't perfect but there are a ton of benefits to being there and that's why most developers still choose to be in the App Store if they can.
As I said above, 30% is far lower than what developers are typically use to. Anywhere from 10-20% less than everyone else takes.
The increase in sales from the vastly increased exposure of being on the App Store FAR offsets any piece that Apple is taking. In most cases, these developers would never amounted to anything without the huge audience they received via the App Store. Seriously. Look at how many successful apps there are in the App Store. Now show me some very successful recent apps that are NOT in the App Store (not from big name software houses). You're going to have a hard time finding many.
I'm not sure what retailers you're referring to but I've never not bought an app directly from the developers website. Unless you're talking about physical goods, in which case that's not a very good comparison. Since those goods take up physical space that someone is paying for, unlike an app that sits on a server where disk space costs pennies per GB.
Three reasons to leave: (1) don't like sandboxing and want to access customer's private data more. (2) want to get more money (3) was unhappy with customer's reviews.
bingo
I strive to only have MAS apps installed on my machines as it greatly simplifies app management, upgrades, etc. across machines with higher confidence that the such apps are safe. It's the first and often last place I go to find new apps. I like having the comparable reviews of apps in the same category. The only time I'll select an app that's not in the MAS, it's because I really need it & the is no alternative in the store. My IDEs come to mind. I never used Sketch but think they made a bad move.
Here we go again.... 30% is not highway robbery. 30% margin is low for a distributor in the software world. Ask MacMall to carry your product and see what it costs. Apple's 30% will look very attractive quickly.
Look at the apps that have left: all professional, coding or professional graphics apps. Perfectly all right. Theoretically, they would have more sales in the App Store, but there comes a point, with pro apps, that really don't want the exposure. They need to behave according to the laws of the vertical market. How many apps are in the App Store?
Does not do enough? Have you ever used it?
They single-handedly replaced all of Adobe's software for digital design. Which costed THOUSANDS of dollars.
Which is why Adobe is finally building its own version of Sketch (Project Comet).
A sizable part of the digital design industry is using Sketch now.