If your plan of comics on the iPad you may have one less reason to be a fan of Amazon this week. It was at a little over two weeks ago that the book and everything else seller announced its purchase of the digital comic book platform Comixology. Now it’s doing that Amazon thing removing the in app purchase option from the Comixology apps.
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From now on purchases through Comixology will have to go through a website rather than through the Comixology app itself. The move is not terribly surprising Amazon has a number of iOS apps through which its contents can be accessed such as the Amazon video app the Kindle app and the Amazon MP3. Those apps don’t sell that content though presumably because Amazon would have give Apple 30% of any sales made through the applications and it don’t wanna.
Now the super seller’s new acquisition that way. Also not terribly surprising the new Comixology app is getting torn apart in review section of the app store. As of this writing 808 ratings and reviews of brought the app a 1.5 star rating out of Five
The major complaint of course the lack of an app purchase wrote one reviewer if I can’t purchase from within the app I’m out. The in app purchase was a primary feature for me the upshot is that I’ll be spending a lot less on digital comics others are a bit more forgiving and even hopeful
Quoting another review no more storefront which isn’t great but it also sends all your money to the comics industry instead of 30% Apple and that will lead your favorite creators getting more money and more sales and cheaper books…
Just like Amazon’s cheaper prices for bestsellers led to more money for writers??
That review seems to assume a lot of facts not in evidence but the maybe she is right who knows?
Android Didn’t Escape Unscathed Either.
Interestingly Comixology has pulled a similar move on the android side, that app no longer uses Google play to process in app purchases, instead users have to register payment info with Comixology itself.
For folks feeling hosed and for those who aren’t Comixology wonders whether their friend Mr. Lincoln would make you feel any better. According to the report Comixology is providing a five dollar credit to all who have bought comics through the service in the past valid for 30 days so we hope this makes you feel better, if only for a limited time.
