Android Application Development For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Pricing Your Application

So you have created an APK file and you’re a registered Android developer. Now you’re ready to put your app into users’ hands. (Finally!) But you must answer one last question — is your app a free app or a paid app?

Google Checkout merchant accounts

To have a paid application on the Google Play Store, you must set up a Google Checkout merchant account. To set it up, choose Setup Merchant Account from the Android developer home page (refer to Figure 8-8) and provide these types of information:

Personal and business name

Tax identity (personal or corporation)

Expected monthly revenue ($1 billion, right?)

After you have set up a Google Checkout merchant account, you can sell your applications.

Make this decision before you release your app, because its price has psychological consequences for potential customers or users and monetary consequences for you. If yours is a paid application, you have to determine your price point. Only you can make this decision, so inspect similar applications in the Play Store, and their price points, to determine your pricing strategy. Because the majority of apps are priced between $0.99 and $9.99, you rarely see one priced ...