I think that you can't change a free app to a paid app because Google wants avoid developers trying to game the market.
A free app gets tons more downloads than paid app (even if paid app is only $0.99); the difference is not measured in fractions, but in orders of magnitude. If the developer would be able to change a free app to a paid app, the developer could make the app free, then wait until the download count is very very high and then change it back to a paid app. Then his or her paid app is very high in the rankings due to the sheer number of downloads. Of course, every developer would start doing the same if other do this as well. The ranking system will be useless. On Sep 8, 12:21 pm, Kevin Duffey <andjar...@gmail.com> wrote: > @Tre, > > Yah, I don't know if it's possible to do a mass email to all your > downloaders.. that would be nice, but I would guess that google/market > protect end users from that potential for various reasons. > > As for downloading an app that is free, then it changed to paid.. I would > hope that the free app they have has a version tied to it.. and when changed > to paid, a newer version is applied.. and given how much storage google > already has I can't imagine they cant keep a simple "history" of the various > app changes. Maybe they don't, but it wouldn't be difficult to put together > a table that can store app history info... thus use it for the market to > determine if a user already downloaded the app for free and from then on > gets free updates. > > In my mind, if the app was $4.99, then drops to .99, then goes back up.. > it's still a "paid" app. But if you have an app for .99, then want to give > it free for a short time, then charge again, the developer gets screwed > because of a rather easy to implement issue of the market, and their odd > rule that if an app is free, it stays that way forever. > > > > On Wed, Sep 8, 2010 at 9:14 AM, TreKing <treking...@gmail.com> wrote: > > On Wed, Sep 8, 2010 at 9:41 AM, Nik Bhattacharya < > > nik.bhattacha...@frogdesign.com> wrote: > > >> Not very intuitive from the developer console (there should atleast be a > >> warning that the developers get > >> when going from paid to free). > > > There's a lot that website *should* do, if we run under the assumption that > > the people behind it are capable of building a website and employing common > > sense. > > > On Wed, Sep 8, 2010 at 10:13 AM, Kevin Duffey <andjar...@gmail.com> wrote: > > >> I fail to understand why you can't go back to paid.. it's all automatic, > >> no human intervention. Is there any explanation as to why Google chose this > >> path? > > > My assumption: when you update a paid app, the Market verifies you actually > > paid for it. If you downloaded an app for free, then it changed to paid, > > this would fail and users would have to pay for previously free app, which > > is a no-no according to the terms. > > >> Mass email by developer to those that downloaded originals? > > > Is that even possible? > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > TreKing <http://sites.google.com/site/rezmobileapps/treking> - Chicago > > transit tracking app for Android-powered devices > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > Groups "Android Developers" group. > > To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<android-developers%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
