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Google Pulls Paid Apps From Taiwanese Android Market
tlhIngan writes "Taiwan recently mandated that online download sites (like Apple's App Store and Google's Marketplace) must comply with a law stating consumers have 7 days to return goods bought sight-unseen. While Apple has complied, Google has refused to comply. Taiwan fined the search giant NT$1M (approx. US$34,600). In retaliation, Google pulled the paid apps section of the Market for users in Taiwan."
I'm not really surprised. After all, there's no way most games in the Market take over a week to beat, so this would essentially be giving free video games to Taiwan. That said, I also support customer rights however they manifest. This isn't going to be an easy fix.
If you take a look at poorly rated similar prank apps, the reviews are trife with "this doesn't work, I got ripped off" even though the app description clearly states it's a prank, oftentimes in the first sentence.
They have refunding protocols, just not for 7 days.
I suppose that is one way to comply with the law.
The dogcow says "Moof!"
Why are these folks always ahead of us... faster broadband, contactless payment... If they void software patents, I'm emigrating.
I wonder if they will pull out of the UK too? The UK has distance selling regulations that mandate a seven day "cooling off period" for internet sales.
Indeed, it looks like these regulations should be EU wide and I don't see any exemption for software sales.
Was that you can return you Apple app, but Steve Jobs gets your soul.
Just because you are wrong and I called you out on it doesn't mean I am a Troll.
By complying with Taiwanese law instead of continuing to violate it? Not sure how that qualifies as doing evil.
Oh, by the way, the Google motto "Don't be evil".
"Retaliation" and "pulls" are flamebait words made up by the submitter. Google's statement used the word suspended, meaning the action is likely temporary until further consideration.
Well, I don't see why.
Taiwan told Google that if they're going to sell stuff, they have to offer refunds. If they don't have a mechanism in place to offer refunds, they stop selling.
It's a valid response. It might not be the one you'd prefer, but I don't see why they don't get the option of saying "well, that's not how it works anywhere else". Is Taiwan entitled to buy stuff from Google or something?
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
How do you make the pay-for-crap-software market go away? Make the guys running it go away. I'm pretty sure that the Taiwanese aren't going to miss a $5 frontend to "killall" or about a dozen pay frontends to "ntpdate"
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
You have to do more than just claim that something is evil. You have to make an actual point about why this is evil.
Put yourself in their shoes. You're a business, and want to operate in some jurisdiction. They have rules you don't like. You can either a) abide by the rules, b) choose not to operate there, or c) campaign to have the rules changed. All of these area reasonable options, none of them are evil, and Google chose B.
Stop being so alarmist.
Bullshit. Refunds are normally, absolutely NOT handled by developers. They are handled automatically. They are ONLY handled manually if they are past the trial period and then, only at the discretion of the developer.
If you lose a court case because you are out of compliance, the first reasonable action may be to pull the product until you can make the change, test the change, and put the site back up.
Or, they found another problem, namely, that they can't sell US apps because of existing contractual obligations to US app owners. So, in Taiwan, it may not be as simple as extending the return period to 7 days. In fact, they may need to create a totally walled off Taiwan store, which gives app owners the option of selling there, thereby submitting to a 7 day return.
Obviously, some games will not do this for one big reason... some games can be completed in under 7 days, and therefore it makes no sense to sell there.
I8-D
The solution to it? Let them do it. I mean its inconvenient enough, and those people would probably not buy the products anyways, and alienating possible customers is never a good solution. So make it inconvenient to steal it, and cheaply affordable. Those that want it will buy it. Those that just muck around will not buy it anyways. Unlike with brick and mortar stores, you haven't lost anything other than a couple MB of data transfer. But I think the good will and retainment of those willing to pay is much more important to keep. This is something most companies have not learned yet.
I was thinking that they should try pulling specific services out of places when governments, etc, complain about them. Search links in Italy recently for example ... pull Google search. Privacy complaints (post-face blurring), pull street-view. The best way to get people to appreciate some of these services might be to disable them for specific countries. If people want them back, they can address their governments as to why they're not available and perhaps have a referendum on the matter. Just a though, and I'm not sure whether or not it's a particularly good one.
The reason the app quality on Android is poor is because it is harder to make money. They have more incentive to develop for the iPhone because their users are more willing to spend money. Shortening the refund window is just on small step Google took to help attract developers.
Most of the people who complain about the 15 minute policy are the ones who are too cheap to buy stuff anyways. Most people don't even know about the refund policy and it isn't a factor in the buying decision.
I develop for the Android and the reason I have a lite version has nothing to do with the refund policy. It is to promote my app and convince people to upgrade to the paid version. Both versions share the same code base, so it is easy to maintain and I find the benefits far outweigh the costs.
As a customer, I think a 7 day return window is very reasonable; I also know that I'm not likely to abuse it.
As a developer, a 7 day return window seems pretty excessive. I've got a simple puzzle game that has deeper strategy to it for players who enjoy it, but it's also possible that someone might play it for a couple of hours and not have it hook them. I'm ok with that. However, at only a dollar or two, I think that they probably got their money's worth, even if they do only choose to play it for a couple of hours. It's about like trying out a game in the arcade and deciding that you don't like it, with the added bonus that if you *do* like it, you get to keep it forever. I'd be ok with a 30 minute return window, as that's plenty of time to check out a puzzle game and decide if you like it at all, but beyond that, if you're still playing, it's because you see *something* in it.
So I'm all for stronger customer protection laws, but at the same time, 7 days seems somewhat excessive for really small purchases. Perhaps the price of the item needs to be taken into account when determining the return window?
--Jeremy
Jesus was a liberal