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Google Retooling the Android Market

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Carrier Billing is a nightmare

daxdcagain

Jan 26, 2011, 9:58 AM
The only way this should be feasible is if it forces the customer to input security information during purchase confirmation.
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T Bone

Jan 26, 2011, 10:33 AM
That is how it is done in Blackberry App World, after you hit 'purchase' you have to enter a username and password to confirm the purchase. I would be surprised if it was different for the Android Marketplace.
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Menno

Jan 26, 2011, 10:44 AM
it is different. If you hit purchase, you're taken to a checkout screen where you select payment method.

Google Checkout purchases are tied to Gmail accounts.
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T Bone

Jan 26, 2011, 10:59 AM
The the problem becomes at that point monitoring purchases on the secondary lines on your account...but the benefit of carrier billing in this instance is that if the charge goes on the bill, then as the account holder you have the right to block them..or you can set a monthly limit, 'this line can only order $5 of mobile downloads a month'
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daxdcagain

Jan 26, 2011, 1:10 PM
It is still a problem, because then the solution you just stated is reactionary. Most customer's aren't setting restrictions for subscribers on their account until AFTER the valid charges have been run up.
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T Bone

Jan 26, 2011, 1:43 PM
Well, that's really their own fault isn't it? When you are the one spending the money, I think it is a good idea to be proactive, to anticipate potential problems before making the purchase. The first thing I would ask before making a purchase of a phone for another person is 'will this person be able to put charges on my bill without my knowing about it, and if so how can I prevent that?'

Now granted, store agents SHOULD be proactive about these things as well, when there is a feature or service that might be beneficial to the customer, the agent should proactively offer the service. Especially when the service in question is free.

When I worked in the wireless industry, I used to offer customers the purchase blocker all the time, I...
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jeryzkid22

Jan 26, 2011, 4:51 PM
The account holder for sprint can place restrictions for premium content download for any phone number on their account.
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T Bone

Jan 27, 2011, 9:54 AM
I think every carrier offers this
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Menno

Jan 26, 2011, 10:43 AM
I actually sell Android's to kids (high school) because their parents find out they can't do carrier billing.
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T Bone

Jan 26, 2011, 11:04 AM
Purchase blocker...

Although truthfully I think the real solution is not letting kids who are too young or immature to be responsible have expensive smartphones in the first place. My mother always said 'when you pay for it yourself is when you get all the features you want, while I am the one paying for it you get what I can afford'
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Menno

Jan 26, 2011, 11:09 AM
Purchase blockers can be great, unless the kid knows what they're doing.

I'm not talking about young kids here, I'm talking about bratty teenagers who get everything they want and don't see an issue with registering their phone online (if their parents don't) setting themselves as an administrator and removing those blocks.

Granted, it's largely the parents fault for not stopping this behavior, but sometimes the most I can offer them is a way to minimize their kids damage.

I personally feel the same way when it comes to phones. I couldn't have one until I could afford to pay for it myself (and have a contract in my name) and with how many cheap prepaid options there are out there, more parents should do the same, but they don't.
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crood

Jan 26, 2011, 11:28 AM
Believe me, it's not just teenagers. My 8 year old nephew managed to get into his parents' Amazon account and ordered his entire Christmas list.
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T Bone

Jan 26, 2011, 1:49 PM
I once sold a woman a Blackberry Bold 9000, and halfway through the sale she mentioned the phone wasn't for herself, it was for her 8 year old son....I almost stopped the sale right there and asked her 'what the hell are you doing buying such an expensive and powerful phone for an 8 year old?' but of course that would be rude...I simply asked 'are you aware of the data plan requirement for a Blackberry smartphone?' She said yes, I offered wireless insurance and explained the deductible....(you know damn well that an 8 year old is going to lose a phone in a heartbeat) and completed the sale.

I liked the commission but I felt dirty. Ultimately people are responsible for their own choices all I can do is educate them about potential probl...
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cstone

Jan 26, 2011, 2:33 PM
I worked for Verizon when the Moto Droid and the Eris were launched and the first Droid I ever sold was to a bratty 12 year old kid that literally kicked and screamed in the store when his mom wanted to get him the Eris instead because of the price difference. She ended up buying him exactly what he wanted as well as a couple different cases and a car charger (what a 12 year old kid needs a car charger for is beyond me.) I really can't understand a lot of parents these days. When I was a kid I would have gotten beaten in the store and probably wouldn't have gotten any phone, yet alone the very expensive one that he wanted.
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T Bone

Jan 26, 2011, 2:45 PM
And these are generally the same people who call customer service or visit the store complaining about $300 of mobile downloads on their son's line and blaming US for letting it happen, and threatening to cancel if we don't refund it all...
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cstone

Jan 26, 2011, 8:03 PM
What makes it even better is that it was an indirect store I worked at and we couldn't accept payments. So those customer's would come back to our store and throw a fit, as you said, and then once we got them calmed down they would throw an even bigger fit when we couldn't accept their payment for the $300 of downloads and they would threaten to call the BBB on us for refusing to do so. It was awesome.... I can't imagine why I left that job. LOL!
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Slammer

Jan 26, 2011, 7:21 PM
Have you ever tried accessing porn sites from a Yo-Yo? It's a real bitch.

John B.
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CellStudent

Jan 26, 2011, 3:34 PM
How about a simple solution like sending an SMS notification to the parent's handset and email address every time an app purchase is made on an account?

Little Billy might be able to accumulate $50 in downloads before Mommy found out about it, but he's never going to make it to $300 before the hammer falls.
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T Bone

Jan 26, 2011, 4:52 PM
You;d think that would work but it is the same thing that is done with international roaming, rate plan overages and so forth.....and people still complain about not being alerted.....


Sigh...botton line is people don't want to take responsibility for their actions
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daxdcagain

Jan 27, 2011, 7:48 AM
I don't think that would work either. You would have people swearing they didnt get the sms. I think security info for each purchase is the only option that forces accountability.
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