Selling your app? 10 questions you'll need answered.
Published 24th November, 2016 by Stuart Hall
I was lucky enough to sell an app recently, you can read all about it here. I was also lucky enough to have a great buyer who helped get over some of the bumps along the way, but here is a list of things I wish I knew before the process started.
In this overview we'll answer:
- Can I transfer my app?
- Will Apple help with the transfer?
- How long does the transfer take?
- What happens to app reviews, top chart rankings and search rankings?
- Do links to my app store page still work?
- What happens to the keychain?
- What happens to the revenue up to the transfer date?
- What happens to in app purchases?
- How do I transfer the source code?
- What happens to refunds?
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Apple has a nice list on their site, but here are the main ones: Make sure the app uses only technology and content that can be transferred.
- No version of the app can use an iCloud entitlement.
- No version of the app can use a Passbook entitlement.
- The app can't offer (or have previously offered) In-App Purchase subscriptions: auto-renewable, free, or non-renewing.
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Will Apple help with the transfer?
No, Apple enables you to transfer the app now. But negotiating the price, writing up contracts and managing the sale is all up to you.
How long does the transfer take?
After being accepted my app was transferred within 30 minutes.
What happens to app reviews, top chart rankings and search rankings?
This was more of a question from the buyer, but the great news is that they all transfer over to the new app without a hitch. You can breath easy on that one.
Do links to my app store page still work?
Yep! The app identifier doesn't change so all links to the store page will continue to work.
What happens to the keychain?
This one did bite us. If you are storing anything in the keychain like authentication tokens, in app purchase flags, etc, then you will no longer have access to the keychain once you update the app (but the current version will keep working until you update). Make sure you have a way to get these back or release an update before you transfer so you can access these details.
What happens to the revenue up to the transfer date?
Apple will switch the revenue over immediately when the app is transferred, seamless!
What happens to in app purchases?
They all transfer over nicely, restoring old purchases will work under the new account.
How do I transfer the source code?
Hopefully you are using source control, if you are using a hosting service like GitHub or BitBucket then it's just a matter of adding them to the repository.
What happens to refunds?
If they purchased when owned the app you'll get deducted, so you might see some negatives. Seems a bit unfair if it's brought about by an update after you sold.
Hope this was helpful!
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About The Author
Stuart is Co-founder & Co-CEO of Appbot. Stuart has been involved in mobile as a developer, blogger and entrepreneur since the early days of the App Store. He built the 7 Minute Workout app in one night and blogged the story of growing the app to 2.3 million downloads before exiting to a large fitness device company. Previously he was the co-founder of the Discovr series of applications which achieved over 4 million downloads. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.
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