[soundlab]

Agreed- all the more reason to not apply mass market, VC-backed product economics to your niche technical application. We are working on a niche desktop OSX app that we will price +200 USD. It's for business users with a budget and has a demonstrable ROI for exactly that kind of buyer, why cater to the $.99 or free crowd?

[slantyyz]

Part of the problem is the App store itself. It's primarily a consumer store, and price expectations are set accordingly. Sadly, Apple hasn't really done much to prevent the race-to-the-bottom pricing.

If the app was a sideloaded app only, the OP would be able avoid the questioning from the more frugal app store audience completely (and could conceivably cut his price by 30%).

The "even my company won't pay" comment was a bit shocking but also reminds me of Kalzumeus' experience with teachers and the already low price of bingo card creator.