How do you monitor app prices?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Lounge' started by Zyphon, Feb 12, 2009.

  1. Zyphon

    Zyphon Active Member

    Feb 10, 2009
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    Do any of you get notifications about app discounts, or do you just notice that apps are on sale via the iTunes store or AppShopper?

    If you're in the former category, I am trying to find some sort of API to get prices from iTunes automatically to monitor sales, but can't find one. I'd rather not do screengrabbing or anything, but I might settle for parsing an RSS feed of price changes (which if anyone has a good one, I'd love to know).

    Thanks!

    Note: I'm aware of AppSniper, but it gives the AppSniper devs a commission every time someone buys an app through it. Since that commission comes out of the app's dev's 70%, I'd rather not use AS.
     
  2. Kamazar

    Kamazar Well-Known Member

    Dec 13, 2008
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    #2 Kamazar, Feb 12, 2009
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2009
    Just get AppSniper. It's an app where you select another app(s) to monitor. Whenever there's a pricedrop, it'll notify you. And all for only $0.99!

    Edit: Oh, you know about it. Well than, find out pricedrops via appsniper, close the app, open the appstore app, and then buy the app that way. No biggie.

    Can anybody else confirm this commission thing? It doesn't seem right. They'd have to sign some strange deal with apple that I doubt apple would even think about doing.
     
  3. MaskU2See

    MaskU2See Well-Known Member

    Oct 21, 2008
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    Philly, USA
    + 1

    AppSnipper all the way!
     
  4. raoupp

    raoupp Well-Known Member

    Dec 31, 2008
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    Despite its unstability I'm using Appsniper too.
     
  5. brewstermax

    brewstermax Well-Known Member

    WTF? No the AppSniper devs don't get a commission. Where did you hear that? They are giving this as a service to us, and simply placing URL hyperlinks to the apps under the buy buttons. They get nothing but the $.99 that you pay them.
     
  6. Rocketman919

    Rocketman919 Well-Known Member

    Aug 8, 2008
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    Cali-forn-i-a
    yeah, it is impossible for them to receive a commission. If they did then all other developers would boycott it.
     
  7. TRIPLE BEAM DREAM

    TRIPLE BEAM DREAM Well-Known Member

    Jan 19, 2009
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    Door County
    Appsniper all the way, never had any problems with stability
     
  8. ibelongintheforums

    ibelongintheforums Well-Known Member

    Jan 4, 2009
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    Yea

    Appsniper gets no commision

    But appshopper works to
     
  9. gootch12

    gootch12 Well-Known Member

    Dec 30, 2008
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    New Orleans, USA
    As quoted from the AppSniper app store application discription.

    Developers Notes:

    Affiliate Revenue: In version 1.4 we were experimenting with affiliate revenue (this is the redirect that you saw to Safari). Affiliates are paid a small percentage for every app that is referred to the US store. The end-user is not charged anything. In our case, this revenue source was insignificant and represented about 2% of our daily sales.

    Our intention is to continue to develop AppSniper to make it even more robust and feature rich. Continued development costs money as does the monthly back-end server costs which are significant and growing. Rather than raise the price of the app, or put in ads, we are investigating alternative revenue options which have zero impact to our customers.

    Please note that the current version (1.5) removes the redirect to Safari, but we may put it back in the future as needs dictate.


    Maybe that is what the OP is talking about?
     
  10. Zyphon

    Zyphon Active Member

    Feb 10, 2009
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    They use affiliate links to generate revenue. Look on the App Store page at the review "What the developers aren't telling you" and the product description under Developer Notes.
     
  11. Kamazar

    Kamazar Well-Known Member

    Dec 13, 2008
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    pssssssssst. it's a conspiracy *looks over shoulder"

    look, they're experimenting with revenue we're not even sure is from other devs. I doubt apple would allow money to be leeched from them without their consent. everyone corporation is really really serious about money. and if appsniper really did have an effect, you'd see devs disappearing repeatedly because of budget problems.

    appsniper actually helps those devs and their apps by alerting huge numbers of potential customers of price drops. more than 50% will buy the game if there's a drop. more than enough to cover the so-called "commission".

    don't worry about something you can't prove and hardly matters.
     
  12. RM imagery

    RM imagery Well-Known Member

    Jan 12, 2009
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    Photographer (interiors, architecture, abstract ar
    Long Island, NY
    Well said Kamazar. I hated to see an aggressive negative review for Appsniper recently by a customer who ripped on them hard for getting a commission.

    Whatever the percentage structure is (if there is one) the developer of the game/app that is purchased through AppSniper is very grateful that a purchase was made at all, and is not worried about a 1-3% loss of revenue.

    I would understand if that nasty reviewer had to pay an extra nickel for every app bought through AS, but that's not the case. This is a program that does (most of us) a specialized task and does it very well. The developer deserves as much profit as it can get.

    Manta Research (the AS dev) is a member on TA and maybe will chime in.
     
  13. Zyphon

    Zyphon Active Member

    Feb 10, 2009
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    You're probably right about AppSniper helping more than hurting now that I think about it. I guess the fact that it wasn't announced was a turnoff to me.
     
  14. butters

    butters Well-Known Member

    Feb 4, 2009
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    As said before, you could always just use Appsniper to keep track of all Apps that interest you and then buy them via the normal Appstore.

    I myself use Appsniper and touchArcade in combination.
     

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