Is Google’s 15 Minute Refund Window Too Short When Buying Android Apps? [Poll]

by Antonio Wells Jan 19, 2011 8:00 AM – 19 Comments

X-Plane 9 App Description Explanation of Google 15 App Refund Window

Recently Google updated the Android Market app and changed their refund policy on Android apps from 24 hours to 15 minutes, a decision I would imagine some developers would like however I have been noticing reactive responses in app descriptions due to consumer uproar. Take flight simulation app X-Plane 9, they should be able to load up marketing jargon about the app to entice you to buy and download it, instead there’s an explanation about Google’s 15 minute refund window being too short then description. Long-term this is poor user experience and Google needs to hear your voice, so we want your opinion in our poll below:

Is Google’s 15 Minute Refund Window Too Short When Buying Android Apps?

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In Your Opinion What is a Sufficient Refund Window?

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Tags: Android Apps, Android Market, Android Market 15 Minute Refund, Android Market Refunds, Google Android Market, Poll

Categorised in: Apps Blog, Featured, News

19 Comments

By Seth Levy on January 19, 2011 at 9:40 am:

Is it really that hard for Google to simply give the developer an option on how long the refund window should be?

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By CJ on January 19, 2011 at 9:45 am:

15 minutes is absolutely ridiculous. I have FIOS at home and used Wi-Fi to download the extra resources that had to be downloaded after buying NFS Shift and that took a little over 5 minutes. It then took the game another 5 minutes to launch the 1st time. When it finally launched it told me my device wasn’t authorized. By the time all this transpired I was over the 15 minute limit and stuck with a game that didn’t work.

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By wayne morrison on January 19, 2011 at 10:47 am:

Google gives a 30 minute return window for purchases from the chrome app store. Even that would be better than what we have now. I purchase fewer apps now than I did. Wait *conspiracy*…What if this is ploy to force app developers to produce a trial version to release to the market also. Then each paid app would have a trial and the size of the market would increase exponentially.

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By Alan Gerow on January 19, 2011 at 10:58 am:

Simply it takes more than 15 minutes to download and install many large app and games with their associated resources. 15 minutes cannot be considered long enough. I don’t need 24 hours to figure out if an app does what I need and works, but at least give me enough time to get it running first.

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By Ivan on January 19, 2011 at 11:02 am:

On the other hand, you have reviews, videos, etc of the game or app you are buying.

The refund window is a nice idea in paper, but it really hurts developers with so many buyers downloading a game, playing for a couple of hours and refund their miserable dollar.

I heard and seen people spending their time trying out full games not spending a penny.

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By tom on January 19, 2011 at 11:49 am:

From games publisher’s perspective – it really doesn’t have a significant impact on the percentage of refunded purchases. We didn’t run any in-depth analysis but it seems to be like it looking at the transactions in Checkout.

One obvious negative consequence is that players leave negative comments like “No refund!” giving our games 1*.

I think it wouldn’t cost Google to much time & effort to allow devs to set up their own refund window.

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By boss5 on January 19, 2011 at 11:56 am:

A couple of times I have refrained from purchases or trying out a paid app because of the short return window. Because one, I’ve already gotten stuck with one game that fails to download and that still haven’t been addressed by the developer. Then the other reason is that I don’t always open apps right away to try them out as I am usually doing other things when I happen to run across something that interest me.

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By Ivan on January 19, 2011 at 12:49 pm:

I think people want a little too much from a $1~$5 purchase (heck, that what you spend in Starbucks each morning).

If you are really worried about the app not working as they say, or the game not being that fun, or you don’t trust the company you have many options:

- Read reviews.
- Read comments.
- Visit the developer website.
- Ask around.

If that still doesn’t get you convinced, maybe just buy it, and if the download takes less than 15 mins, you can try and refund. If you think it will take more than 15 mins (most games will tell you that additional data will be downloaded) and you care a lot about your investment, just DON’T buy it.

Good luck buying any kind of physical distributed software and getting a refund.

24 hours refund time was a HUGE drawback for tons of developers and they have been passing on using the Android Market because of this.

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- By PDXTony on January 21, 2011 at 2:40 pm:
  
  I want to address Ivan’s points.
  
  I think people want a little too much from a $1~$5 purchase (heck, that what you spend in Starbucks each morning).
  Your point as a problem. While the cost is cheap I know what I am getting from Starbuck’s , in fact if accidentally drop my cup Starbucks will give me a new one. or even if I dont like it….
  
  If you are really worried about the app not working as they say, or the game not being that fun, or you don’t trust the company you have many options:
  - Read reviews.
  - Read comments. These are essentially the same thing. Doesnt this preclude that someone had to purchase it and get stuck with a ‘bad” or “good” purchase? There are websites around that are paid to make good reviews or maybe there is a taste difference in items. Player A likes the item Player B doesnt…..
  - Visit the developer website.
  [for what purpose? Maybe they can be purchased directly but this avoids the problem as well.]
  - Ask around.
  [Ask where? Again someone has to PURCHASE the program to find out and this could have a larger problem of users "playing it safe" by not purchasing an good program just to avoid the hassle of getting stuck with something.]
  
  If that still doesn’t get you convinced, maybe just buy it, and if the download takes less than 15 mins, you can try and refund. If you think it will take more than 15 mins (most games will tell you that additional data will be downloaded) and you care a lot about your investment, just DON’T buy it.
  
  [Again your missing the point of the entire thread. The policy hurting developers and users.]
  
  Good luck buying any kind of physical distributed software and getting a refund.
  [A few problems with this market comparison: Phone Apps are a fairly new market and software review sites and magazines are very well established for DECADES. Players know what they want and dont want and sites that give very solid reviews.
  ALSO there is a huge secondary market. If I purchase a game I do not like I can resell it on Amazon or eBay and recoup some of my $$ or even trade it in to multiple gaming stores. Apps your stuck....
  24 hours refund time was a HUGE drawback for tons of developers and they have been passing on using the Android Market because of this.]
  
  I have a suspicion that one of the problems here is CC processing. Low cost high volume is a pain if you are doing refunds and get stuck with processing fees.
  
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By Brian Hanifin on January 19, 2011 at 1:28 pm:

The short refund window may have the unintended consequence of driving paying customers to learn how to pirate. Users who get burned too many times are going to start searching for, and using the methods users in countries that don’t allow for apps to be purchased from the market.

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By Kaibosh on January 19, 2011 at 4:15 pm:

@Ivan : I’m guessing from your pro dev stance that you’re a developer yourself. So you’re basically saying that I should base my purchase decision on reviews and videos. No reviews or videos around = no purchase? What about improvements to the app – I base my decision on a 2 week old review that mentions something that the reviewer didn’t like (so someone’s negative opinion of one feature influencing my purchase) in the app that has since been changed, instead of judging the current version for myself.
Your Starbucks argument also goes both ways – I’m not going to spend any significant amount of time researching a $2 app. I do however expect anything I spend money on (whether it’s 20c or $1000) to work, and to have some avenue of recourse if it doesn’t (aside from complaining in comments that I’m being ripped off – which I’ve never actually done, but am getting sick of reading).
Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for a shorter refund window. 24 hours was ridiculously long – Personally I think that 1 or 2 hours is ideal to be able to run a purchased app and get a feel for if it’s working properly and/or whether it’s really what you’re after.

As for piracy, I was an avid app pirater back when I had a Nokia phone. I only paid for apps that were super cheap and were just too much of a hassle to keep on pirating. When I switched to Android, it was the refund window in the market that turned me into an avid purchaser (including loads of donation apps where I’m getting identical functionality to the freebies). Had the refund window been this paltry 15 minutes when I’d originally switched, I daresay that I’d never have made the switch to *happily* paying for quality apps.

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By Ivan on January 19, 2011 at 5:21 pm:

@Kaibosh, 15 mins is still enough time to download anything around 200 mb (even on 3G), and if you think your 3G sucks then wait for using WiFi.

If in 15 mins you can’t download anything “extra” from the app, or if the app just didn’t initially download, then just cancel and refund.

Maybe I agree that 15 mins can be a little too short for big games, but I also agree that “playing & refunding” was a common practice on Android users, and 15 mins. is enough time for downloading and getting a general idea of what I bought on 95% of the apps you buy.

I can’t imagine any store allowing me to buy the latest Halo for $60, go home and play for a few hours and come back and get my money back.

Steam policies: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=4938-wtdf-9465

Apple: http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/salespolicies.html

Palm: http://developer.palm.com/index.php?pption=com_content&view=article&id=1815

I’m just a hobbyist developer, I don’t really make money from the Market, but if I _had_ to make money, I would totally go to another platform with a 24 hours refund window.

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- By Slipshod on January 19, 2011 at 8:59 pm:
  
  I have almost completely stopped buying android apps and games because of the reduction in the refund period. All it took was one $2.99 game which took forever to download (past the refund period), and then was too choppy to play on my D2G.
  
  Now If there’s not a free trial version with the features I want to try, I won’t buy it. Period.
  
  And Ivan, you’re ignoring productivity and more complicated apps that you can’t assess in 15 minutes. Tasker’s creator is actually encouraging people to buy direct (outside of the market) so he can give them a 1-week trial period. That’s the real solution – let the developer decide what the refund period is within reasonable parameters. Then let the consumers decide.
  
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By hitraj47 on January 19, 2011 at 9:03 pm:

15 minutes is way too short. In fact, I think it should be a couple of days, a bit like a physical store (remember those?). Some apps, you don’t really know what it’s like to “live with”. I mean things you might use on a daily basis like a Twitter app or GPS nagivation apps.

Take for example Trapster. How do you know how well it works until you’ve driven around with it on? I doubt in 15 minutes you’ll be able to find any use out of it.

You also have to consider apps, especially GPS apps that take long to download. They recommend you do it over wifi, but even then, once it’s downloaded, how long do you have left to play with it before you decide if you like it?

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By chris on January 20, 2011 at 12:00 am:

Coming from iOS where there’s no refund policy, I thought the 24 hour trial was almost too long. Awesome, but long. I only made 1 return (Camera 360, which I re-bought immediately) and that was only because I deleted the paid version instead of the trial version accidentally. I bought apps freely because I knew if I really hated them I could get my money back.

Now I am just as picky buying Android apps as I was with iOS apps. I wait for at least 2 great reviews, and if it’s less than 4 stars on the market I move on. I think in the long run that takes money out of developer’s pockets.

There’s no reason I should have expected to have a refund window, but now that I (essentially) don’t again, it seems wrong.

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By Andre K. on January 21, 2011 at 3:26 am:

the only effect the stupid 15 min have on me, is that I purchase less applications, I do more research before deciding, and do not try new apps as impulsively as before.

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By Toby on January 21, 2011 at 11:52 am:

Just downloaded the Crocodile Keyboard and noticed that the developer has changed the install so it more or less installs automatically within about 30 seconds and then gives you the option of a user guide vid or their website .

Most keyboards take at least twenty min’s to download and install, let alone try and test.
There should be a developer option to give at least an hour to download and test apps.

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By Philip Blair on January 21, 2011 at 1:35 pm:

15 minutes is no where near enough time to truly appraise any purchase. Some comments here suggest that the description and comments associated with the apps are sufficient, however I have purchased numerous apps in the past and also downloaded free apps which based on the comments or description should have been precisely what I was looking for only to discover that the description was at best exaggerated and at worst intentionally deceptive.

24 hours is of course far too long, but 12 hours would be more than sufficient for developer and buyer. 12 hours would allow the buyer to fully explore apps and to consider its usefulness and its comparison with the developers description.

15 minutes is just weighted far too much in favour of the developer, with little if any consideration given to the buyer/end user. Google is in danger of perpetuating the practice of Apple and Microsoft to name but a few, of ignoring the opinions and needs of their end users and imposing bullish practices and policies which will do nothing to maintain Googles reputation of being an organisation that listens to and responds to its users. Which will ultimately lead to Google being up there with big business who are derided and at times despised.

So come on Google, don’t forget about the little people out here who are relying on you (Google) to be different.

12 hours please!!

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By Peter205 on September 21, 2012 at 9:08 am:

Another option for your poll should be ‘let the developer decide’. After all they will know if 15 mins is just right (i.e. a game), or longer period, 1-2 days, should be offered to the user (i.e. email client).

Further reading here
http://android-zone.com/android-app-refund-too-short

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