Selling Your Android App Business
September 3rd, 2012
You may be asking yourself why you’d consider selling your free android app after all the hard work you have put into researching your business and designing your perfect app.
There are a number of reasons people want to sell their apps.You may feel ready to move on to another project and deserve to cash in on the hard work you’ve invested in your baby. Secondly, money talks and if you feel you cannot expand your app further to increase your revenue, then maybe there is someone that is willing to take over and push your app to the next level.
What you need to realise is that there are people out there willing to pay for the head start you’ve given them. That first step, creating the app, is the hardest step. Obviously, without building the App, moving to the next level is never a possibility. You are helping others make money too.
Now that you’re considering selling your app, you have options available to you. Depending on the size of your current business, you may choose to use a brokerage company to sell your app or you may choose to sell your app independently.
There are companies which help broker deals between app sellers and buyers. The main brokerage firm is, appbusinessbrokers.com. These guys will guide you through the entire selling process, from valuing your business to the signing of paperwork and transferring of ownership of the app to the new owners. The advantage of using a broker is that your app is matched to prequalified buyers who are looking to purchase a working business and move it to the next level. It will probably cost you more in fees but you are also more likely to get the right buyer for your business quickly.
Another option that is open to you is to value your own business and sell on sites such as sellmyapplication.com or Apptopia. I really like the feel of Apptopia; it is an easy-to-use website where, like ebay, you can list your app and sit back and wait for bids to come in. What’s more impressive is that after the sale has been completed, you aren’t then left to deal with the aftermath alone; the team at Apptopia is there to help you and your buyer through the handover process. What else do I love about Apptopia? It is totally free to list your app and you can add a reserve price, meaning you’ve lost nothing but a little time by advertising your app for sale there if it doesn’t reach your reserve price.
What Can I Sell?
AppsGeyser doesn’t offer you the source code for your app – only the APK file. In order to transfer the app to them and allow them to continue development, you will need to give the buyer your AppsGeyser login information. If you logged in with Facebook, please contact our support staff so that we can help you make the transition without giving up your Facebook login information.
For some buyers, this may be an issue. Be sure to be upfront with the buyers about this. Additionally, for legal reasons, AppsGeyser can’t provide you with the developer’s signature. This means that if the buyer moves the app to a different (non-AppsGeyser) platform, they will not be able to distribute it under the same name in Google Play, meaning that the ratings will be lost.
There is a solution to the latter problem. If someone buys your app business and produces a better version of the app on a different platform (for example, by programming in the Android SDK), they can use the original purchased app to refer people to the new and improved version. This can be a great way to build an interested audience in a free app and then convert dedicated users to a paid app.
Making apps is so easy at AppsGeyser that it’s only a matter of time before you are you ready to cash in on your current app and move on to your next.
Don’t forget to let us know how your sale went.
We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter,
If you’re interested in making your own Android apps, start creating apps here.
We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter, If you're interested in making your own Android apps, start creating apps here.
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