Why is it so hard to buy apps?

[wilsey]

Before this, I thought that it would be easy to buy apps in Windows Store. Just add a credit card or Paypal to the Wallet. And then go to the Store and purchase the app.
But, it turn out, it's not that way. I can only buy the app in the current region when I set up my Wallet. While, some of the top apps are only available in US, and I'm not from US so I can't purchase the app.

Is there any solution? Or there's no hope to buy any app from the Store?

 

[LanunReviews]

Can't you just change the region to US and then restart your phone? A lot of lowyat.net L920 owners have done that and reported that it works.

 

[WavingReds]

Erm, I can buy from the UK and US region while my wallet is setup in a Canadian region so yeah >.>

 

[wilsey]

Can't you just change the region to US and then restart your phone? A lot of lowyat.net L920 owners have done that and reported that it works.

Erm, I can buy from the UK and US region while my wallet is setup in a Canadian region so yeah >.>

That's what I thought how it works at first.
I have changed to US and restarted my phone and still when I tap "Buy" it said I need to add a payment method to complete my first purchase. Even though I've already add a payment method before. So when I tried to add again, it asked for the address in US.

 

[Bee Mon]

That's what I thought how it works at first.
I have changed to US and restarted my phone and still when I tap "Buy" it said I need to add a payment method to complete my first purchase. Even though I've already add a payment method before. So when I tried to add again, it asked for the address in US.

You can only download free and trial apps this way. You still cannot purchase the app if the developer did not select the option to automatically publish to all regions or to specifically publish to your region. There is no choice here except to send the developer a message requesting them to support your region. I know publishing to certain regions may require additional requirements on the publisher's side and sometimes they don't bother to satisfy them since they think the market is too small in our region. For example, I can download MetroTube and use it but I still can't pay for it.

 

[wilsey]

You can only download free and trial apps this way. You still cannot purchase the app if the developer did not select the option to automatically publish to all regions or to specifically publish to your region. There is no choice here except to send the developer a message requesting them to support your region. I know publishing to certain regions may require additional requirements on the publisher's side and sometimes they don't bother to satisfy them since they think the market is too small in our region. For example, I can download MetroTube and use it but I still can't pay for it.

Just wondering why is it so hard to publish the app in every region. If it's too hard, why can't we just allowed to buy the app from different region. Just like other online things that we buy from internet. I really hope that Microsoft would fix this.

 

[LanunReviews]

Try setting a local debit/card to the account and using a "fake" US address.

I used that to bypass the amazon US-only requirements in combination with a VPN, but you probably don't need to use the latter to purchase apps from the windowsphone store.

 

[Bee Mon]

Just wondering why is it so hard to publish the app in every region. If it's too hard, why can't we just allowed to buy the app from different region. Just like other online things that we buy from internet. I really hope that Microsoft would fix this.

It's not really hard as you can see from the screenshot below, its just whether the developer wants to or not.

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

It's not really hard as you can see from the screenshot below, its just whether the developer wants to or not.

View attachment 32961

I know the right-most Visual Studio is VS Express for Win8, but what the heck are the other 2?

 

[Bee Mon]

I know the right-most Visual Studio is VS Express for Win8, but what the heck are the other 2?

VS Express for Web and VS Express for Desktop

 

[wilsey]

Try setting a local debit/card to the account and using a "fake" US address.

I used that to bypass the amazon US-only requirements in combination with a VPN, but you probably don't need to use the latter to purchase apps from the windowsphone store.

If I use the fake address, will Microsoft send something to that address? Like our card details?

It's not really hard as you can see from the screenshot below, its just whether the developer wants to or not.

View attachment 32961

So, it's just whether the developer want to check/uncheck the boxes. Maybe this is another reason why Windows Phone isn't going to be that popular. In my region, there are just few useful apps that you can buy. Even Twitter can't be installed.

 

[Bee Mon]

Maybe this is another reason why Windows Phone isn't going to be that popular. In my region, there are just few useful apps that you can buy. Even Twitter can't be installed.

Well you can also say that because Windows Phone is not popular in certain regions, developers may not see the incentive to support them. One major issue is language. For example, if I released an app into China but does not provide Chinese translation for the app, my app may get rated down by Chinese consumers because of that. However I don't see a reason for me to fork out money and time to get someone to translate the app to Chinese and to maintain the translation unless I believe there is a huge market for my app in China. Another issue is restricted content for certain countries. If my app contains certain content that may be considered unsuitable in these regions, even if I have selected them, it's not going to appear for those regions. A developer may be even afraid that his / her app may even fail submission because of the content which will cause them time and money to resubmit again. Certain regions like Brazil may also require additional certifications by rating boards on the content before you can submit to these markets. Again the developer would have to spend more time and money. The best advice that I can give is to let the developers know that their apps that you love is not available in your region. Give them a chance to know that people from your region are interested in their apps so they just may take that extra mile to support you.

Remember this is a developer issue, not a Windows Phone Marketplace problem. If I'm not mistaken you can sell apps to more countries than Google Play. And you only have a problem with paid apps; there is no reason why you cannot download and use free and trial apps from any region, just that the app is not shown in your local marketplace. Switch the region, restart your phone and you can download them. You only need to switch back to original region if you wish to purchase apps. So there shouldn't be any reason why you cannot use the official free Twitter app. It's only paid third-party Twitter apps that you will have a problem with.

I'm also tired of some people telling others that they went with Android instead of Windows Phone because of this issue. This is not really true, as in my region you are not able to purchase Android apps as well. The reason why they can get to use those apps on Android and not Windows Phone is because they are using cracked versions. You are free to go that route if you wish but this is one reason as a developer I choose to support Windows Phone instead of Android. Windows Phone would possibly also be more popular in certain regions when people there stop telling lies and convince potential buyers from buying them. A non-tech person I know sold his feature phone and wanted to get a smartphone. He saw my new Lumia 620, I let him use it for a while and he liked it. He went to a shop that supposedly sell Nokia phones but seems to have more Android phones on display. He asked if they have the 620 and the shopkeeper said yes but when asked whether he can have a look at it, the shopkeeper said no, unless there is a commitment to buy the phone on the spot. Then the shopkeeper tried to convince him to buy an Android phone instead. When he told me about this, I replied that's why I ordered mine online. So I'm always a click away from blowing my top when I hear someone tells me my phone is lousy because if my phone is any good why no one is buying it here. WELL PEOPLE MAY BUY IT IF THEY WERE ALLOWED THE CHOICE!!! Sorry, had to let off some steam

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

VS Express for Web and VS Express for Desktop

Ah, I have VS Express for WP and VS Express for W8 myself.

 

[wilsey]

Well you can also say that because Windows Phone is not popular in certain regions, developers may not see the incentive to support them. One major issue is language. For example, if I released an app into China but does not provide Chinese translation for the app, my app may get rated down by Chinese consumers because of that. However I don't see a reason for me to fork out money and time to get someone to translate the app to Chinese and to maintain the translation unless I believe there is a huge market for my app in China. Another issue is restricted content for certain countries. If my app contains certain content that may be considered unsuitable in these regions, even if I have selected them, it's not going to appear for those regions. A developer may be even afraid that his / her app may even fail submission because of the content which will cause them time and money to resubmit again. Certain regions like Brazil may also require additional certifications by rating boards on the content before you can submit to these markets. Again the developer would have to spend more time and money. The best advice that I can give is to let the developers know that their apps that you love is not available in your region. Give them a chance to know that people from your region are interested in their apps so they just may take that extra mile to support you.

Remember this is a developer issue, not a Windows Phone Marketplace problem. If I'm not mistaken you can sell apps to more countries than Google Play. And you only have a problem with paid apps; there is no reason why you cannot download and use free and trial apps from any region, just that the app is not shown in your local marketplace. Switch the region, restart your phone and you can download them. You only need to switch back to original region if you wish to purchase apps. So there shouldn't be any reason why you cannot use the official free Twitter app. It's only paid third-party Twitter apps that you will have a problem with.

I'm also tired of some people telling others that they went with Android instead of Windows Phone because of this issue. This is not really true, as in my region you are not able to purchase Android apps as well. The reason why they can get to use those apps on Android and not Windows Phone is because they are using cracked versions. You are free to go that route if you wish but this is one reason as a developer I choose to support Windows Phone instead of Android. Windows Phone would possibly also be more popular in certain regions when people there stop telling lies and convince potential buyers from buying them. A non-tech person I know sold his feature phone and wanted to get a smartphone. He saw my new Lumia 620, I let him use it for a while and he liked it. He went to a shop that supposedly sell Nokia phones but seems to have more Android phones on display. He asked if they have the 620 and the shopkeeper said yes but when asked whether he can have a look at it, the shopkeeper said no, unless there is a commitment to buy the phone on the spot. Then the shopkeeper tried to convince him to buy an Android phone instead. When he told me about this, I replied that's why I ordered mine online. So I'm always a click away from blowing my top when I hear someone tells me my phone is lousy because if my phone is any good why no one is buying it here. WELL PEOPLE MAY BUY IT IF THEY WERE ALLOWED THE CHOICE!!! Sorry, had to let off some steam

That's ok. I can understand
Exactly, the first generation of the Windows Phone (WP7) didn't do well in here because no ads or marketing by Nokia and other brands to promote the phone. They've never even heard of Lumia. Since the Lumia 920, they did a lot of marketing. Now, more people know about Windows Phone because of Lumia 920.
I've post on a thread specifically made for the developer to reply, but no reply yet from the developer.

 

[Bee Mon]

Ah, I have VS Express for WP and VS Express for W8 myself.

Have VS Express for WP on my tablet. Can't install it on my PC as I'm running 32-bit Windows on it.

 

[EauRouge]

regardless, it shouldnt be this difficult to give them money.

 

[wilsey]

regardless, it shouldnt be this difficult to give them money.

Exactly, just like Bee Mon said, it's just whether the developer wants to or not.
It shouldn't be this hard to buy apps, so the developer can earn/get more funds for his/her project. It's easier to buy the phone than to buy the apps.

 

[WPenvy]

That's ok. I can understand
Exactly, the first generation of the Windows Phone (WP7) didn't do well in here because no ads or marketing by Nokia and other brands to promote the phone. They've never even heard of Lumia. Since the Lumia 920, they did a lot of marketing. Now, more people know about Windows Phone because of Lumia 920.
I've post on a thread specifically made for the developer to reply, but no reply yet from the developer.

Not all developers frequent this site. Just saying....