Does Apple retain the commission for refunds?

We are currently implementing In-App Purchases for our services. From the Paid Applications Schedule 2 (Available under "Agreements, Tax, and Banking" in iTunes Connect) we learned under 3.8 and 6.3:


"Apple will have the right to retain its commission on the sale of that Licensed Application, notwithstanding the refund of the price to the End-User."


My interpretation from this is as follows (tax not included in this calculation):

  • Customer buys IAP for 10$ and pays to Apple.
  • Apple proceeds 7$ to us and keeps 3$ commission.
  • Customer cancels within 14 days and receives 10$ back from Apple.
  • Apple charges us 10$ (7$ from initial proceeds + 3$ for commission)


--> Overall we lose 3$ for each IAP that is cancelled.


HOWEVER:

We already implemented some first IAP tests and saw how some refunds were handled. Actually, Apple only asked back the initial proceeds, but NOT their 3$ for commission. This would be great news, but it doesn't match the description above.


My questions:

  • Does Apple generally charge you the 30% commission in a refund case?
  • If not, what has to happen for apple charging you 30% in a refund case?
    • Is it the reason the customer selects when asking for a refund?
    • Is it a "penalty" for having too many cancellations?
    • Is it only for certain IAP types?


I really appreciate if you could share some of your experience with refunds!


Nik

Replies

>"Apple will have the right to retain"

Does not mean that Apple "will retain" only that it has that right. In your calculation you correctly worked out what would happen if they exercised that right. In your example you cited a case where they did not exercise that right. I suspect Apple will not exercise their right unless they conclude the developer is doing something inappropriate and they retain the right for such a situation.

This is our assumption as well, but does anyone have a clue what kind of situation has to happen for apple to retain the commission?