“Over the past several days, a number of reports have been coming out about Apple and Google being pressured by the Taiwanese government to modify their app sales policies to comply with a law requiring a one-week return and refund window on all purchases,” Eric Slivka reports for MacRumors.
“A new report from The Economic Times of India offers additional information on the situation, confirming that Apple has indeed complied with the requirement while Google has been fined $34,600 over its continued refusal to offer a 7-day refund period,” Slivka reports. “That report and another one from the Taipei Times reveal that Google has gone as far as to completely withdraw its paid app marketplace in Taiwan rather than comply with the regulations.”
Read more in the full article here.
Next the USA? Never
How can they force this?
If all they have to do is request a refund, what’s stopping people from doing so, and keeping the app anyway?
They need a way to disable an app upon refund.
I would assume that’s part of the deal.
It should be easy, an app purchased on a different apple Id causes sync on iTunes to stop because “the app isn’t authorized”. If the sale is reversed, then it would show as not purchased and syncing would delete the app. as far as non-synced devices, I’m sure theyve got it figured out that the refund is given only if it’s deleted or something more elegant.
I’ve long purposes a 48 hour refund policy on app store purchases (with some limitations). I’d be willing to try more expensive titles if I knew I could get a refund if the app sucked.
I suggest a time limit for app use rather than a time of purchase based. I know if an app is worthwhile within 10 minutes.
We’ve all been suckered by pretty pictures and splash screens just to find the real game was horrible.
@ Pirate: I totally agree with you. My problem is I keep thinking, well, it’s only 99 cents or a dollar 99, so I go ahead a buy it on the MAS. I have set aside a folder where i keep the duds that I’ve bought on impulse.
However, for Mac apps, there are a few forward-thinking devs who offer free demos so you can try them out before purchasing.
WRT the iTunes app store for the i-devices, I have no idea how a similar “try before you buy” scheme would work. I’m sure it’s well within the realm of possibility but it just hasn’t been done (or approved by His Jobsness). I’m just as sure that i-device apps can be set to self-destruct after so many days or uses if not bought from within the app.
So you guys also want a refund policy when buying a cup of coffee for $1.99 at Starbucks?
Cheapskates!
In Taiwan you have 7 days to return your coffee!
When some specialist apps can cost $50 or more, this is a great idea. I’d love to try out some of the Omni apps but don’t want to waste my money if they don’t fit with what I want.