Market Refunds

Market refunds... Do they exist? I purchased an application and after installing I realized I really didn't like it at all. It was uninstalled and I asked for a refund... Still no refund and no response to my messages.

Developers do not have to issue refunds for products which are working as advertised.

What if you purchase something and find it barely does what it's advertised to do... *and* the coding is (to put it nicely) sub-standard? I've had that happen with two developers.  One developer gave a full and immediate refund but the other did not... forcing me to contract someone else, after I gave up waiting for the original developer, to fix the crappy code.

But of course it would be extremely difficult (i.e. expensive) to enforce coding standards.  How about rewarding developers that create and maintain a support form at BoonEx for each module they market... possibly Dolphin Administration could provide such "supported" modules with a better deal compared to those modules that don't offer a clearly visible support forum.  The short-term advantage is support forums can be reviewed by those interested in learning more about a module before they purchase it?  The long-term advantage is developers would get better support forum responses when their code works correctly... both as described and as expected.

Let me add that, in my experience, most "Dolphin" module developers are good... several are very good... and a couple are extremely good at what they do.    

RE: Bunch of text.

I was referring to products that are working as advertised.  For example,expecting a feature not advertised and then demanding a refund for the missing feature does not mean the developer has to issue a refund.  He or she can refuse.

"But, Nathan, the product has a bug!  I WANT A REFUND!"

Contact the developer and have it fixed.  Having problems with the developer not fixing something?  Let us know.

Have boonex considdered the possiblillity of grading developers?

you could use stars or rosettes for Code Quality, customer support, accurate description, customer feedback etc... They could be awarded or taken away.

Just an Idea, but it would give the market a kick up the backside it needs because those with high ratings would get all the work. and those with low rateing would have to work harder and fall into line.

Developers can earn a "Trusted" badge and products can be audited at the developer's request.

Some folks (including me) have been writing the rules for the new Market.  Expect tighter policies and restrictions on what can be sold (e.g., an integration needs to make use of Dolphin code within its own code).  Suggestions are welcomed.

I finally got a reply after sending another message:

"As its a digital product you downloaded and already used on your site, I cant give you refund."

Everything in the Market is a digital download!
Used on my site, yeah for about 10 minutes and then I removed it, plus the uninstall program didn't completely remove everything.  I had to edit my SQL database manually to get everything out. 

As it's a digital product with no form of protection (e.g., license), the developer can not know for sure if the customer has stopped using the product after receiving the refund.  You should have contacted the developer before purchase to ask about features or request a demo. 

 How would a list of features or demo warn someone that the code (eg. uninstall) was poorly written or incomplete?

As I said, if a product is not working properly, let the developer know and it will be fixed.  If the developer doesn't fix known problems, let a moderator know.  Refusing a fix because you don't want to use the product doesn't entitle you to a refund.

 It would be obvious to the developer to see if I was using the application by simply looking at my site.

Before I purchased it, I looked at other sites that were using it and I read the feedback - which feedback was mostly positive.  What I didn't know, or didn't understand is that it works through an additional 3rd party website that I had to sign up for too.  That's the part I didn't like.  It's gone, deleted and I want nothing to do with it.

Whatever...  It's only 12 bucks.

No, the developer couldn't know for sure.  Some people here have multiple sites, not all are made known.  Unless the module or mod has a license or domain check, a customer could request a refund and have a free product, which he can continue to use or sell to others.  I know some people don't like our policies on refunds, but we need to protect the developers, too.

What's the product?  If a product depends on another product, it should be made clear.

The developer had plenty of time to check, I'd even give access to my admin page if need be.  Several weeks without a response pisses a person off...

I'm not going to say who or for what but I will be extremely shy to install another.

And... that doesn't matter.  You could have another site or have sold it to someone else.  Welcome to the world of digital products.  Unless there's some kind of license or domain check involved, developers can't refund with confidence.  I'm a broken record at this point, but people need to make sure the product they're about to purchase meets their needs.  Send the developer questions, check out the demo site, etc.  If the product doesn't work as advertised, I can budge a bit, but if the problem is "I don't like it," and it works as advertised...   

Fine, don't let me know who the developer is, or what product caused this topic.  I was going to look into it to make sure there wasn't some kind of shenanigans going on, but I'll drop it with this post.