The MAS Crusade
Everybody complains about it but the change didn’t happen yet. The Mac App Store (MAS) does not allow paid upgrades.
Paid Upgrades are the Lifeblood for Indie Businesses
Dan Counsell source
Yes, they are. You can’t count only on big launch. I believe they are lifeblood also for customers. An up-to-date app tells me that behind it there’s somebody that cares.
It’s easy to draw a parallel between our situation and Taylor Swift’s. Except there’s no parallel. Mrs. Swift had a business problem. The question for Apple was: “will you pay me?”. There was no technology involved.
Indie developers’ problem is a technical one. Our question is: “will you implement paid upgrades in the MAS?” Clearly the lack of payed upgrades generates a business problem for us but the solution requires design, implementation and testing. I am not saying it’s not feasible. I am saying it’s not just a matter of Eddie Cue talking to Tim Cook during a weekend. It will take time, much more time than in the Taylor Swift case. That does not mean we should stop asking! And, who knows, maybe somebody at Apple is already working on it.
Here is my little suggestion. Keep the lamp burning. Tweet and blog about it. Spread the word. I am confident somebody is listening and will act on our requests.