What’s So Wrong With $975 Of Mac Software For $39?

Meredith said:

Vox Dev,
If you think it’s only non-devs that like or participate in MacHeist, then what about the guys that designed it in the first place? They make a living designing apps for the iPhone (TapTapTap.com). Then there are the devs that KEEP coming back for MacHeist, like the guys at Ambrosia, or the guys at Agile Solutions.

By the way, for each of these developers, I’ve enjoyed their bundle participation products so much that I paid for either upgrades or other products offered by them, at full retail. I don’t mind paying $40-60 for a good, solid, well-tested title. I’d prefer to pay LESS than full retail for an upgrade if I was a previous customer, but I don’t expect that if I was a MacHeist “promotional” customer. I don’t think too many of the Heisters DO expect that, or at least not the ones I dealt with throughout MH3.

Also, it’s downright ridiculous to expect that a bundle will be good for all developers. Of course it’s going to mean that non-participating, competing developers take a hit! And the idea behind a bundle is that it takes new, popular, interesting, or fun titles and puts them together. If it were a bunch of titles that did the same thing or were rivals of last year’s Heist. Variety’s the spice of life and it’s what keeps MacHeist running, even with repeat devs participating.

Another reason why you don’t see other devs doing bundles: MacHeist takes a lot more time, energy, and resources than I think any dev or dev group is willing to put forth. Devs are already doing enough making their apps and hopefully supporting and improving it… and, as demonstrated here, whining about MacHeist knocking their sales for a measly two week period.

utility dude said:

I put my utility in MacHeist and the results are mostly mixed; not horrible, not a godsend, either. The resulting exposure and new customers is nice, but the revenue wasn’t much to write home about. MacHeist might be good for some developers, but certainly not all, and it may even damage future business because users may be afraid to pay a retail price for good software. Already customers complain about $1.99 on the iTunes’ App Store. MacHeist developers don’t get a flat amount, but a percentage of the whole take and it truly is “pennies” on the dollar. I would not do it again. Thousands of new customers doesn’t mean much if, in effect, they don’t pay for my software.

MacDev said:

I participated in the last MacHeist a year ago with one of my software packages. It was a disaster. Yes, I got tens of thousands of new customers, and thousands of customer support problems, too. It was NOT—repeat—NOT worth the effort to get tangled up with MacHeist. Even if half the money collected goes to Mac developers it’s still pennies on the dollar. Exposure is nice and all but I prefer real profits.

Just say no to MacHeist.

vox dev said:

You cheap SOBs don’t know what you’re talking about. I develop and publish a competing application to one of those in the MacHeist bundle. For the two weeks of the bundle my sales dropped 90%. Why? Because Mac users could buy a competitive product for a couple of dollars instead of my app. It’s like a Going-out-of-Business sale. Customers get a great deal but low prices hurt other businesses, too, some of which go out of business, which eventually hurts customers, too, because there’s less choice. MacHeist is NOT a good deal for anyone except the most desperate Mac developers, and they lose in the long wrong. 2 thumbs down on MacHeist.