Microsoft may be biting the hand that feeds them by not paying developers who are selling applications on Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace for Mobile. An increasing number of developers are expressing their angst at Microsoft and its Marketplace payment system which is supposedly not sending out payments for eligible accounts. Some accounts are reported to be incorrectly labeled as “Not eligible for revenue payout” when they have met the $200 payout threshold and other accounts, though labeled as “Eligible for revenue payout”, are not receiving any payouts due to mistakes within the payment system. In the latter case, much confusion exists with the “Eligible for revenue payout” status which applies to accounts that have already received a payment and are setup to receive future payments once the $200 threshold has been reached.
Sounds simple except many accounts are mistakenly labeled as “Eligible for revenue payout” when they have never received a payment and are not setup to receive future payments. These developers are stuck in a never, never land where money is accruing in their accounts, their status says “Eligible for revenue payout” but the money is not being dispensed. In some cases, these glitches have been affecting developers since the Marketplace launched in October 2009 and has resulted in accounts whose balances are well over $1,000. Microsoft has been slow to respond to developer’s complaints and, in some cases when Redmond has responded, developers are still not being paid after Microsoft reportedly fixed their accounts. What a nightmare for developers and a huge mistake for Microsoft who should be bending over backwards to keep its developers happy. But hey, they love to sign MacBook Pros.
