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Comment by LaurentVB | Hacker News Reader

Do you ask for a refund when you bought a newspaper and, after reading it, you don't like what you read? Do you ask for a refund when you bought an app on the app store and you stop using it after 1 hour because it doesn't fit your need? I think it probably depends on the amount you paid, though...

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> Do you ask for a refund when you bought an app on the app store and you stop using it after 1 hour because it doesn't fit your need?

A lot of people do, yes.

>Do you ask for a refund when you bought a newspaper and, after reading it, you don't like what you read?

No, because i know what to expect from different newspapers and in the very very rare cases where i buy them, i do that only after skimming the front and relevant pages.

>Do you ask for a refund when you bought an app on the app store and you stop using it after 1 hour because it doesn't fit your need?

Yes, all the time.

What's your point?

Asking because it seems unusual to me, and I think those situations are really similar to what GP was referring to: "I paid to see what you had to say, but I don't like it so I'd like my money back". I can think of a lot of similar situations (movies, digital music, books, ...) where I wouldn't consider asking for a refund after I have consumed the content, whether I liked it or not.

It may be in the interest of content providers to provide refunds. Although I don't have any studies that say so, I suspect users will more willing to purchase content if they know they can get a refund.

Perhaps optional refunds can be baked into the protocol, so content providers can decide if they give refunds, and users can decide if a purchase is worth the risk.

If I already know that I can’t get a refund if the newspaper sucks, then I will stick to the known / reputable newspapers and avoid paying for small time newspapers.

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