[lowkj]

We are in the process of going through this but have not yet received the confirmation that our scope is approved.

This process was a huge surprise for us. We are a bootstrapped startup that spent a significant amount of time building the Gmail integration last year before this was announced. We are launching shortly and have had to remove the entire integration. We have no idea how much it is going to cost or if we will be approved.

We are launching a product in a mature market with lots of competitors (hence the long initial development time), one of those being Google. According to Wikipedia, Gmail has ‎1.4 billion customers. I don't understand how this got past their lawyers - 1) monopoly in e-mail space, 2) create other products tightly integrated, 3) charge a $15k - $75k fee to any new competitors in your space.

[tptacek]

Google isn't charging you anything in this instance; they're requiring you to get an assessment from a third party, and while $75k is way out of line for a straightforward assessment of a simple CRUD-type app, $15k is actually on the low end for that kind of work.

[lowkj]

Understood, however from our cash flow perspective, Google is “charging” us this amount in order to play. We have no alternatives, we cannot find another vendor, and at the end of the day have to pay a minimum of $15k to compete with them. It makes no difference who gets the money, obviously that amount of money means nothing to Google.

[geezerjay]

> and at the end of the day have to pay a minimum of $15k to compete with them.

From your previous statement, it seems your product is tightly integrated with gmail. That suggest you're actually relying on Google to be your infrastructure provider. If that's the case then claiming the fee is "to compete with them" is not the most accurate or honest description.

[tptacek]

They're paying a lot more than $15k on security. Your money isn't going to them; it's going to a reputable assessment firm. I don't see the unfairness.

[drw85]

You're neither competing with them nor are they charging you money. They're wanting an assessment from a trusted company, to ensure that you don't mess around on their service. Yes, it costs money, but from their standpoint it's simply an insurance against exploitation on their service/platform.