As a webOS developer, every now and then, I get an email from a user requesting a refund after purchasing my App. Usually, it's either because they mistakenly clicked the 'Purchase' button in the App Catalog (which I wish more people did :) ) or because the App didn't meet their expectations. Obviously, I'd like to provide refunds to customers who aren't satisfied with my products, but that's not quite possible in the HP App catalog. Unlike Android, there's nothing currently implemented for issuing refunds.
Now, I've received some emails from users who say "HP support told me to contact you for a refund". Last time I checked, it was called the "HP App Catalog" and not the "Inglorious Apps App Catalog". Developers have no control over transactions. So I wonder why HP is(?) telling users to contact developers for refunds. I hate having to tell a user "I'm sorry I can't refund you". I feel like a jerk, even though I'm being honest. In some cases, I've offered some users (the angry ones :) ) promo codes for my other Apps. Which is the best I can do.
Now, some may say "Can't you (the developer) just refund users using paypal or mailing checks?". Well, there's a couple things wrong:
1) Yes, I can refund users using paypal. And I can send refund checks in the mail. But with several Apps in the HP App catalog, and tens of thousands of users, that task becomes impractical. The last thing I want to do is spend hours of my precious time processing refunds and mailing checks. That kind of defeats the purpose of having a centralized App Catalog.
2) Technically, users don't buy Apps from developers. They buy Apps from HP. So, I'm in no position to provide refunds.
3) Last and most importantly, if I refund a user, can the user "Return Back my App"? Once you buy an App, it's yours forever. Even if you delete it, it's still tied to your profile available for you to re-download onto all your devices for free. As far as I know, there' s no infrastructure in place for developers (or HP) to remotely wipe an specific App from a user's profile. So, imagine a bunch of users buying apps, asking for refunds, getting their refunds, but still using the App (since it's theirs forever). You can see the loop hole there.
Some may say, "Why not just create a Demo or Trial version of your Apps, that way users can try it before buying it?" There are many reasons why this may not be possible/practical for certain Apps, but I'm not gonna go there.
So, my advice to webOS users is to stop asking for App refunds. Stop contacting HP. Stop contacting Developers. You'll find yourself in an endless ping pong game between HP and your Developer. And in some cases, not worth the hassle. Obviously, if you have a valid transaction issue (like an overcharge), you should contact HP. If you bought an App that didn't live up to your expectation, take sometime to understand the App, ask the developer to fix bugs (if that's your issue) or offer suggestions for improvement.
