Ask HN: What's the deal with Boxer (iOS email app)?
I'm an American living in China, and last night I received a notification from Boxer saying that I needed to upgrade to continue accessing my Exchange account and to continue using 2+ accounts (http://d.pr/i/ffwY). The price: RMB 2.99, or about 48 cents USD. I knew this isn't possible, but it's what was advertised. I clicked to pay, and of course that number jumped to $2.99 USD, or about RMB 18.30. (http://d.pr/i/lWar)
If a company is accidentally offering an upgrade at RMB 2.99 to Chinese customers, should they honor it, even if it's in error?
Moreover, should users even be paying for this upgrade? Boxer is running a "Get the $4.99 USD version of Boxer for free" campaign (http://d.pr/i/SwGN). Moreover, when you get in on this special offer, the iTunes download page makes no mention of this actually being a trial version, nor does it state a paid upgrade is necessary when Exchange is mentioned (http://d.pr/i/U5Kg)(http://d.pr/i/KjTO).
Is this bait-and-switch, or has the strategy involved with in-app purchasing changed the definition of "free?"
I know a lot of you are in start-ups and are developers of some of my favorite apps so I'm curious about your ideas on the subject (from a business perspective) and advice (from the customer perspective).