I was looking through the marketplace trying to get a feel for whether or not I should put up some assets. I'm not particularly talented, but I can do a few things so I thought I might try to offset the cost of a GDNET+ account by making a few dollars.

I looked at the "Top Downloads" (month) items, because after all, if this is what people are buying, this is probably where I should look for inspiration. I noticed the first item had 447 views (good), 1 download, and 0 purchases. That seems a little "off", because how could it have been downloaded if it wasn't purchased? Was it free? Maybe. All the rest had 0/0 for the downloads/purchases. That seems a little odd in a "Top Downloads" list. Does that mean it's been an abysmal month?

I looked at the all time "Top Downloads", with the number one item having 72,354 views (nice!), 1,204 downloads, but only 20 purchases (and one of those was mine...I needed some theme music). So...20 purchases but 60x that in downloads...that seems odd....

So, first off, I am asking are the numbers accurate?

And second, should they be shown at all? If I see nobody else is downloading stuff (0s or low numbers), this has the double negative effect of (1) making me think "why should I want this if nobody else does" and (2) "why should I try to create an asset that nobody is going to buy". While the first effect is somewhat subjective (if you like it, you may buy it even if you are the first), but I absolutely felt the second when I saw the numbers and I have to think I'm somewhat "normal" in thinking that. You make stuff because you love to, but you sell stuff for money. And if you don't think you are going to get the money...

Most business will NOT tell you how many of the actual units they are moving because they realize that it can create a negative impression. Unless the numbers are compelling you to feel like getting on the bandwagon (the opposite effect). This has nothing to do with the quality of the offering and everything to do with human nature and selling "stuff".

So, first off, I am asking are the numbers accurate?

No, unfortunately the numbers aren't accurate for a couple of reasons:

• Most items have at least one additional download due to the moderation process. Items have to be manually approved before they are displayed in the Marketplace and as part of that process we usually check over the files to ensure there aren't any viruses and everything is as-described.
• The software unfortunately has some problems where additional downloads are registered whenever the files are accessed on the system; for backups, etc.
• Marketplace sellers are freely able to alter the pricing of their items, so sometimes some items go from free to commercial or are temporarily offered for free.
• Sometimes members who have purchased items do download them more than once, especially for older items they have lost during HD crashes, simply misplaced, or want to use on a different device than they originally downloaded to.
• Once initiated a download is counted towards the total whether it is completed or not, so the system unfortunately counts failed downloads in the stats.

And second, should they be shown at all?

You're right, we probably should simply remove those numbers from display, especially given the problems with the system. The Marketplace actually needs a lot of TLC. I'll put it on the to-do list. I'll need to make sure the stats (preferably accurate ones if it isn't prohibitively difficult to fix) are still available to sellers before simply removing them completely however.

You're right, we probably should simply remove those numbers from display, especially given the problems with the system. The Marketplace actually needs a lot of TLC. I'll put it on the to-do list. I'll need to make sure the stats (preferably accurate ones if it isn't prohibitively difficult to fix) are still available to sellers before simply removing them completely however.

Thanks for the honest and thoughtful reply.

That sounds like a good plan. Even if the numbers were depressing (and as an iPhone developer, I am very familiar with depressing download numbers), as a content creator, I would still like to have the (preferably accurate) stats so I could make better-informed decisions.

I like the idea of creating value-added assets and having a channel to distribute them to parties that *might* be interested in them. So my question is not an open criticism of the current state...it is an attempt to help polish the system by asking pointed questions and seeing if I'm on the correct track.