undefined | Better HN

0 pointsathenot11y ago0 comments

Admittedly, Apple probably has an excellent rate negotiated with the Credit Card Processors. But if you were to sell something for $0.99 yourself, it'd be hard to beat what Apple offers.

Taking Stripe as an example, you'd be charged 2.9% of 99¢ PLUS a fixed 30¢ per transaction. That's about 32.9% you lose to the payment processor.

0 comments

4 comments · 2 top-level

tomp11y ago· 2 in thread

I never claimed I could get such a rate myself, I'm just saying that if there was competition when it comes to app stores, the fee would likely be lower. I'm absolutely certain that big companies can get amazing rates for transactions, with no fixed fees. For instance, I can pay 1 penny (or whatever the minimum cost of an item would be, maybe 20 pence) with my credit card in Tesco or Sainsbury's, I'm pretty sure they're not loosing money by selling stuff to me.

thaumasiotes11y ago

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Tesco lost money selling you a 20 pence item by credit card. So few people make purchases like that that it will be easy to absorb the losses rather than taking the PR hit that comes with rejecting someone's attempt to pay you.

Think of it this way: for every 20p purchase, how many 100 pound+ purchases are there? Can the one cover the other?

s73v3r11y ago

There are competing app stores. Windows Phone is one, and Android has several. There isn't much difference in the fee.

alexirobbins11y ago

Apple bundles payments together to avoid this. It's complicated af.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse