It doesn't take much to be ranked high in China, you could have sold one unit 4 days ago and be ranked in the top 25. As other apps ranked higher than you haven't sold another unit since, their ranking will drop each day while yours moves up a few spots since your sale was more recent.
If your app moves up significantly then most likely you have a new sale either today or yesterday.
Only 1 sale will make you move positions in the top 25 in china? Maybe I understood it wrong.
It's not overall, it's a reference category. I had some my apps ranked top 10 in productivity category for almost a week or so with 0 sales on that week. Your 1 sale from prev weeks can actually get you to great rankings in certain countries.
I am surprised that China is such a thin market. When my app was free, on the 4th position in its category, it used to make around 2000 downloads /day. Thus, I expected some sales with my app in top 25.
You have to remember the iPhone market is very heavily concentrated towards wealthier countries. iPhone is the most expensive phone in the world (after you remove carrier subsidy) and in many developing countries it's not possible to buy phones with a subsidy, meaning you are paying the full price upfront. Beyond the affordability of the majority of people in the World.
Secondly, purchasing behaviour changes from country to country. USA is probably the most likely to buy iPhone apps because of a credit card culture and the accesibility of alternative payment options.
In China, there is not a credit card culture, and payment options such as Paypal, are not supported for domestic purchases. This means the likelihood of getting paid sale from countries like this are low. Secondarily, the market there is used to software for free, so they are less likely to purchase apps. The market eco-system evolved this way, which is why virtual goods are one of the biggest monetization strategies in China. Furthermore, with the power of carriers in certain countries, added together with all the above effects, carrier billing is a preferred method for many people to pay for stuff... something that is not supported on the App Store.
Top 25 app - still no sales.
Linear Mode
