Amazon App Store: A Reality Check for Developers

As a developer, you're always looking for ways to get your app noticed and increase its visibility. That's why many are drawn to the promise of the Amazon App Store. But what happens when you actually get featured? In this article, we'll take a closer look at the reality behind Amazon's Free App of the Day promotion.

The Initial Hype

About three months ago, we decided to test the waters and see how the Amazon App Store measured up. Back then, industry pundits were calling it "An Excellent Work in Progress." One of the biggest draws was their Free App of the Day promotion. On the surface, it seemed like a great way to get your app in front of a huge audience and drive sales. But what's the real story behind this popular feature?

The Dirty Secret

As we dug deeper, we discovered that Amazon doesn't pay developers a single cent for apps featured in their Free App of the Day promotion. That's right – zero dollars. This revelation left us feeling betrayed and wondering why Amazon would be so secretive about their terms.

A Heated Debate

When we first got the email from Amazon, we were torn. Some of us felt that it was unfair to give away our app without compensation, while others thought it was a great opportunity to gain exposure. In the end, we decided to go ahead and see how it would play out.

The Day of the Promotion

That's when things got interesting. Over 100,000 copies of our app were given away, but did we earn any revenue? Unfortunately, no. Thanks to Amazon's back-door deals, we made $0 that day.

Did the Exposure Count?

In the days following the promotion, we saw a brief spike in sales followed by a return to business as usual. It was clear that the exposure wasn't translating into long-term gains.

Other Gripes

But our beef with Amazon didn't stop there. We also had issues with:

  • Lengthy review times (up to 2 weeks)
  • Amazon setting the price of your app without input from you
  • Amazon re-writing your description and adding inaccurate information
  • Lack of error reports, making it hard to fix errors
  • No support for Google's new multiple APK initiative
  • Late payments (if at all)
  • US-only availability
  • Limited real-time sales information
  • And, surprisingly, the inability to remove apps from their store

A Reality Check

As developers, we're always looking for ways to grow our audience and increase revenue. But Amazon's App Store is not the answer. In this article, we've exposed the dark side of their Free App of the Day promotion and highlighted some of the other issues with their platform.

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