On Apptopia you don't buy apps, you buy all of the source code and distribution rights to an app. So in this case the buyer bought the previously closed-source code, took what he needed from it, and then filed a chargeback. That's much different than buying a packaged app for personal use from an App Store.

They should have stated a brief blurb about themselves in their blog post. Not knowing anything about Apptopia, I thought they released something this guy created on his own from scratch.

You make a really fair point. In fact, its why most really successful apps (and software companies in general) all have a free-to-paid model or some sort of trial basis.

With Apptopia, we build in a "Code Review" layer. So if you are concerned about the quality of the code you are buying we can dive as deep as you would like before the acquisition is final.

Also, all apps listed on Apptopia are currently on an app store (so all buyers can and should be testing the apps as a consumer, before acquiring it).

Either way, appreciate you getting involved in the conversation. Hope the code is of some value to you =)

Jonathan

I can only hope you will be improving the said 'Code Review' layer in the future. The 'app' in question is nothing more than a thin layer of badly written code wrapped around a 3rd party library (PhoneGap). It can be made into (and sold as) an indeterminate number of "<insert subject here> video player" "apps" just by changing the hardcoded search terms (affirmation also enforced by the fact that the /bin directory in the zip contains a 'motorsport video player.apk' "app")

Actually this is up to a buyer to ask review code or not, and there are different levels of code review, so, as Jonathan said you can dive as deep as you would like. The buyer in question did not ask for any.

See, I don't agree with this unless the developer is grossly misrepresenting the app. You're basically entering an agreement with the seller but then breaking it to suit your purposes. If you're unhappy with someone's terms of sale then you should take your business somewhere else.

I don't think it applies to the app store but there is usually a chargeback fee to a merchant when a customer charges back an item so you're taking money out of the software developer's pocket if you decide to use your credit card chargeback mechanism to get a free software trial.

I do agree that it's really dumb for a developer not to offer a free trial. Personally, I will never buy software without trying it first.

Credit card companies require that customers attempt to remedy any complaints with the merchant directly prior to initiating a charge-back. The customer clearly made no claim as to their concerns regarding the product, they just said they weren't the one that bought it, based on the claim of a fraudulent charge.

I see this much like purchasing a home. You have the opportunity to inspect the home during the closing (read code review). This is designed to provide a certification as to the quality of code without making the closed source code visible to you directly. If you don't utilize this, and the app complies as the same app that exists in the app store, it is hard to make the argument that you didn't know what you were getting. Unlike your example, as an app buyer you have the opportunity to use the app prior to purchasing ownership of the asset, so there is much more transparency than in a traditional app store software download example.

No they do not need to attempt to contact the merchant. Especially companies like American Express, they will usually chargeback first and ask questions later. In fact, if customers call in to ask what a particular charge is, they will ding the merchant.