[robtoo]

thanks to Amazon’s secret back-door deals, we made $0 on that day.

These secret back-door deals that were so secret that they were written in bold in the email, so secret that they noticed this and wrote back to amazon, and so secret that amazon then confirmed them.

They were offered a crappy deal, realized this and double-checked it, but decided to go for it anyway. When it turned out that the deal really was pretty crappy, they then act surprised and self-righteous and blog about it.

[irons]

He's not saying the 0% price was a secret from his company, he's saying it was a secret to the general public.

I pay pretty close attention, and I thought the free apps of the day were paid at the 20% rate that Amazon warns they may pay you if they unilaterally discount your app.

[tybris]

I see no reason to think that's not the case. This was a mutual agreement outside of the general terms. That's hardly unusual.

[WalterSear]

It is amazon's standard policy. Many developers have commented on it.

[tybris]

Their standard policy concerns the unilateral decisions. This was a mutual agreement outside of the standard policy. The benefit to the app maker is a guaranteed free-app-of-the-day promotional spot, the benefit to Amazon is not having to pay the 20%. Seems like a (potentially) fair deal.

[neuroelectronic]

I'm pretty sure this is dramatized to fish for more sales.

[cbs]

These secret back-door deals that were so secret that they were written in bold in the email

Secret to the masses, not the parties involved. Yeah, its bold, but its bold in an email between two parties where they agree upon terms contrary to the public terms.

[podperson]

"Secret" in that Amazon tells one story in public, then cuts a different deal in private and tells developers not to discuss it. (Presumably this blog post is some kind of breach, but since they've pulled out of the market it may not matter.)

The fact that the email from Amazon had bold text is irrelevant. If Apple advertised 70% going to developers but then sent you an email saying "hey, we'll put you on our featured app page if you agree to (a) accept 35% and (b) don't tell anyone about it" would that be secret? What if they bolded it?

[yusefnapora]

I think they're valid in calling the deal "secret," as the app-buying public at large has no idea these deals are taking place. The developer knows they're getting nothing, but everyone downloading the free app is harboring illusions that they're supporting the developer.

[robtoo]

Okay, fair enough.

But I do think it is exaggerating to say that "everyone downloading the free app is harboring illusions that they're supporting the developer."

I strongly suspect that the overwhelming majority of downloaders get no further than "ooh! free stuff!" click

[masterzora]

Maybe not everyone, but certainly a non-zero number of people. As I read this I started feeling bad for the daily free apps I've picked up from Amazon thinking the developers were getting paid. At least now that I know I can go actually put money in their pockets. Hopefully others feel the same way.

[watty]

I had no idea 20% was expected to be paid to the dev and I've downloaded several from the Amazon App Store. It sounds like this dev made an uneducated choice to be featured even after knowing they would receive zero %.

[Avenger42]

At the very least you have to say their choice was educated - there was a debate, they decided to go ahead and do it, it didn't work out, they're shifting their resources as a result.

[eavc]

It does seem problematic that to consumers it seems as though the dev gets a cut.

[watty]

A cut of what?

[funkah]

Amazon's money.

[jonknee]

Amazon's didn't make any money either, it was a free app. I doubt your average downloader thought for one second about the relationship between Amazon and the developer. They saw free, they downloaded. Who other than the app developer and Amazon care one bit about the financials of the deal? When I see a great sale in a store I don't care if it's the store or the manufacturer taking a hit.

[msbarnett]

Amazon spent a lot of time advertising that devs get "70% of the sale price or 20% of the list price, whichever is greater".

Consequently, many people are under the impression that when the download the free app of the day, they are doing the devs a favor and earning them 20% of their list price, and I have absolutely seen people in public forums run around advertising when an app from a dev they like is a free-app-of-the-day, telling people to help support said developer by downloading the app even if they don't really want it because said developer will receive some financial support from the download.

The fact that all of the above is bullshit and that Amazon has been secretly negotiating that down to 0% of the list price with the admonition that the developers cannot tell anyone they aren't getting the 20% everyone thinks they're getting tends to indicate that Amazon is aware of this confusion and exploiting it for their own gain.

[anigbrowl]

That advertising is to developers. I'm baffled by why anyone would think that the general public cares what payout Amazon is giving to developers. To the general public, it's a free app.

Do you seriously imagine that members of the public are attracted to the Amazon Android App Alliteration Store because they think Amazon is a more charitable and supportive firm than Google, and shows greater kindness to the ramen-chewing developer? I feel pretty comfortable in asserting that the vast majority of people don't give two hoots about what arrangement exists between publisher and distributor. Do you go to the movie theater and decide to watch a Universal film because their producers are nicer than the ones at Paramount? Do you grade other products/services you buy by the providers' corporate social responsibility score, or the credit terms extended to their suppliers? Of course you don't. With a few exceptions (mostly symbolic) you are wholly ignorant of such things, and rationally so. You assess products and services based on whether they fill your needs at a reasonable price.

I don't run a whole lot of apps and as a result have not got around to using the Amazon store, but non-industry members of my social circle have mentioned that there's 'a free app every day' there. I suspect that if I asked what return they think this nets for the developers of said apps they would just give a me a funny look.

[shaggyfrog]

> Amazon didn't make any money either

They certainly derived value from the transaction. By giving away a free app a day, Amazon drives customers to its marketplace, and its brand. To suggest that Amazon's intentions are purely altruistic is naive.