Google Playstore refunds, a developer's POV

So.. refunds. That's a neat feature that affects developers and customers equally. You buy something, you don't like it? You give it back, hopefully without making a backup copy of the precious .apk. After reading and researching a bit I've come to appreciate it, even if I'm at the dev's side. Refunds means more people willing to try out your app, which means a public more willing to spend money which is, ultimately, good.

I've a few apps on the playstore and its a bit sad though to see such a high refund percentage. You won't believe the amount of people that buy and return. At least 60% of my sales are refunds. Perhaps my apps are weak (which it'd be my fault) but its still a bit depressing watching and picturing all those people raising their eyebrows while eyeing my beautiful and hard-coded app. I imagine them with a judgmental sight or perhaps a poker face, waiting for a minor bug to let them unleash the fury and press the damned "Refund" button. I had nightmares with it.

But being a bit more serious, when you have a refunded sale Google sends you an e-mail to remind you of your failure. Each. And. Every. Time. So each time a mail arrived my gmail inbox I knew it was spam or just a kick on the back of my head. Google does not send you an e-mail in case you made a successful sale.

Maybe this is just ultimately a rant of a mediocre developer just learning the ups and downs of a market that has high expectations. I am still expecting my first payment. Things will look good then.

Oh and in case you're wondering. This is my app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playdata.sherlocked

Please, don't judge me.. or refund me.