App rejected after a year for "irrational pricing"

We offer three payment options for our subscribers:

$39.99 / Month
$69.99 / Quarter
$99.99 / Year

We have had these plans on the app store for over a year. After about 20 updates, apple came to us and told us that our $39.99 and $69.99 payments were irrationally high. We have a 60% retention rate on our subscriptions, and constantly get emails and messages about how are app is worth more than $39.99 / month.

I appealed the decision, and the lady in the appeal told me that apple does not set prices, but the $39.99 and $69.99 payments are irrationally high. I explained to her, that our users get access to information that costs us $4000 / per month, so $39.99 is a small fee in the grand scheme of things. Saying our prices are irrationally high is extremely subjective.

So, they appeal board told me to resubmit the app with more details. I did, and I asked them to expedite the review and let me address the issue in the subsequent app update, as this one has bugs that need to be fixed. Apples rules specifically mention that the app review team will not withhold apps already on the app store for guideline violations, if bug fixes are necessary.

Is there anyway to appeal the appeal, or speak to a different officer? I've also requested to dispute the guideline itself, as it seems to be price fixing with the subjectivity that it has.

Replies

This just happened to me. I explained that there are several similar apps on the app store that are actually priced much higher than my subscription fees. So I asked the lady reviewing my app on what is the proper price then. She doesn't know. Like you said, it is purely subjective and Apple management needs to look into this. I think there might be just one person who's making this review decision.