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Opening my own Android Market

T

TaroYamaoka

Lurker
Hi. My name is Taro and I am new here.

I have developed some android applications individually and I'm starting to think if I could open my own android market (though it won't be as massive as Google's Android Market).

If I can set prices to my apps with only my decision, it will be a lot of fun and inspiration for me.

So here is my question:
Can I open such market if I can prepare all the needed environment? Should I acquire some permission or programs from Google??

I want to do everything safely, so I want to have tips on this point.
If you know something about it, I will be very happy to read your post!

Thank you!
 
No one will visit your market.

People even still favor Android Market over Amazon App Store, even though the App Store has a better interface, just because developers release the latest versions of apps to the Market first, so even if you get people to post to your market, you'll likely get outdated versions, too.

You know you can set your own prices on the Android Market, too? Why don't you just post there?
 
Hey Taro, you are free to open a market as you choose to and charge whatever you wish for your apps. I don't think there would be any need for you to contact google about that. I do believe you are allowed to set the price of you app if you submit it to google so you may want to look into putting your apps on the actual market, just remember google gets 30% I do believe, you would likely see more traffic if you posted them in an established market but if you wish to march by the beat of your own drum then go for it. And welcome to AF!
 
Yeahha

Thank you for letting me know about this!
I doubted the need of receiving a permission from Google, but I was worried anyway.
Then I tried calling and emailing to Google many times, but they do not seem to spare time to respond anyway.

BTW, do you have experience of opening a website like android market? Or how did you know that Google requires no procedures of getting permission?
(or is it just a common sense that android apps can be distributed freely?)
I was just curious about the source of your info, and if I could know about it, I will be very happy!

Thanks for your kindness!
Best
Taro
 
You can choose to distribute your apps however you wish, google has no say so in that. However you can't distribute apps by other devs unless you have their permission, generally they will want a cut of the profit from their apps. Google can't tell you that you are prohibited from selling your app however you see fit with the ability to sideload built into the OS, many devs sell their apps outside of the market.

Now if you are looking to do something like purchase apps from the market and redistribute or sell them at a lower cost and get all the profit then google can and will go after you, several people have done that and have been shut down, that is against the law not to mention if someone is willing to steal apps they will go to warez sites and not pay anyone for the app rather than pay a discounted rate from an unknown source.

I tried to contact google once by phone as well, that was a complete failure
 
Thank you for another quick response!

Well, I actually have some friends who are thinking about the same thing as me, and I think if I open my own android store I will have to collect apps from all those guys.
I'm not intending to resell apps which can be found in Android Market (or other stores).

My store, of course, will not be a massive one or diversified like android market,
but it will be a store selling apps that focuses on very limited range of interest (the concept is 'small games'). Since Android Market and other stores are large enough to dominate the market, I think I won't be able to earn my living just by running my own store, but I'm thinking that the store can be within the action of my interest.
(Maybe depending on the process I should change it to a free download site) :-)(

Anyway...at least I hope running the store will keep my motivation to create more apps and will not be a chore.

Thank you for your kind response!
I appreciate you for the tips

Best
Taro
 
The problem would be how to generate interest for your apps if you have a completely separate store. By all means most safety practices discourage people from checking out smaller app store sites due to the possibility of malware and the like. Furthermore, if people want an app, they wont generally search Google, they search the Android Market, and turn to Google Search if they fail at that, and you wont be getting a high hit there.
 
I have to agre with chanchan05, I think you will get more traffic by using an established and trusted market and it would likely both help you more financially and give you more feedback which in turn would be more likely to keep you interested. Not to mention the cost to you should be cheaper as you wouldn't have to pay for hosting or bandwith by using the market or amazon.
 
Hello

Well.....looks like establishing a market is harder than I expected. But I still think there'll be a lot of learning from it as it includes all kinds of elements needed to run a business.

If it is too hard for me to build one good store, it might be better for me to apply for Android Market and then I should know what kinds of apps are easier to collect popularity. Maybe I should think about building one site after that investigation.

After all...according to the advices from all of you, it seems like I need to come up with some gradual steps before I build a store.

I don't know if everything will go smoothly, but I really want to see it.

Thank you!
Taro
 
I would suggest you to copy what GO Developers did. They initially made their apps available in the Android Market, then when the number of their apps increased, as well as themes for their apps, they opened their own store which contains only their apps. Although the store is only for browsing, and it still links you back to the Market to download.

I would also caution, if you will be releasing paid apps, I'd think its much more easier for you to get pirated if you dont use the Android Market.
 
My take is as long as you or company develop "generic" apps, you are competing with Google who will make some of them official in ICS thereby rendering some popular apps currently obsolete. Not to mention manufacturers like HTC, Samsung, Motorola etc also bundled in theirs when you purchase their smart-phones.

Soon there will only be a few big players that can survive with their "generic" apps. The life-line is in customized development which has better future as big players cannot expect to spend man-hours developing apps that are too specific. The returns will not justify the investment. This is where smaller players thrive.

Think of the same analogy as in desktop PC software. Generic vs customized software.
 
I dunno, I think if done properly, anyone can actually establish a decent foothold on an individual market. Just like a mom and pop store vs. a franchise.

But the task is no small order. The main problem is visibility. How will people even know your market exists? You'll need to spend some money on marketing and advertisement. You need to make a sales pitch to developers as to why they should put their apps on YOUR store. Will you take less of a cut than the official market? Are there other perks?

You need some critical mass before your market will thrive and become profitable. If you're not looking to scale the business, then just set up a web site, a payment processor, and you can have a page to sell your apps. Even getting this ecommerce infrastructure up and running is no small task either.
 
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