Can we get an official comment on the justification for increasing crown prices for some countries?

lagrue

What really baffles me in all of this:

5500 crowns still is 39.99 on our store... yet 14000 is 133.49... but that means I can buy 3 packs of the 5500 and get 16500 crowns for 119.97 - meaning these prices are completely out of wack, and incorrect by any means.

Why would anybody pay 13.50 more to have 2500 less crowns?

I can even up this to the 199.99 for the 21000 Crowns... that's equivalent to 4 of the $39.99 packs... or $160... meaning it costs almost $40 more for no apparent reason. They've really got something messed up here.

@ZOS_GinaBruno are you guys aware of this issue and how flawed the math is here???

lagrue

Kildayen wrote: »

I had no idea you could purchase packs larger than 5500. How long have the 14k and 21k packs been available? Were they on sale too?

They must have literally just been added because they weren't available 5 days ago when I bought my packs on sale.

Hempyre

I'm thinking... How about various exchange rates, inflation, or just "because"

...

At the end of the day they can charge whatever they like. It's a virtual currency of thier own making...

No explanation required.

Slick_007

i get charged in USD anyway and then my bank charges me a conversion fee. why not just charge everyone the exact same amount, in USD no matter where they live. then they dont need to worry about currency conversion rates.

maboleth

EU has absolutely the same prices and was always higher than the same crowns paid in $... pointless topic.

Nifty2g

Nifty2g wrote: »

I can't think off the top of my head what other game increases prices for stuff like this. Any ideas?

Anyone?

Tandor

Nifty2g wrote: »

I can't think off the top of my head what other game increases prices for stuff like this. Any ideas?

Not currently no, but in the past SOE used to get into customer relations difficulties occasionally over its price changes for UK and EU customers as I recall, although I forget the specific details. Then again, SOE sold those customers down the river a couple of times first with Ubisoft and later with ProSiebensat.1 so charging us more never surprised me.

Epona222

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Hey, everyone. From time to time, we need to update the pricing for some of our products to reflect the current exchange rates. Crown Packs were due for an update as we haven’t adjusted the prices since they were released, and as such, the prices for some territories have either increased or decreased.

So why not charge everyone in USD all the time so we all pay the same price as other players all the time?

I recall when I first bought the game, it cost me 50% more in GBP than it did for those who bought it in USD (On release, the version I paid for was £70, and the same version in the US was $70 - and the pound was strong against the dollar then). And you won't put the UK price down when the pound goes up again, will you?

Just charge everyone in USD. Yes there will be price fluctuations month on month or week on week for those of us outside of the US, but at least we will always be paying the exact same amount as those in the US - the same price as the person who we are in a group with, or in a guild with, or friends with - and we won't feel like we are being bent over and *text becomes indecipherable at this point*.

My point is that the exchange rate should be determined by the methods already in place for international trading, using the same conversion rate, NOT by Zenimax whacking £5 on the price of a crown pack or increasing the subscription price for people in a particular country - that we all know will NOT likely be rescinded if the exchange rate goes the other way.

SantieClaws

Khajiit understands that exchange rates are variable yes - but she does not recall them changing by 25%.

This one she is a connoisseur of goods from many lands. Many fine delicacies and objects of great beauty.

Khajiit does not recall any of these increasing in price so very much either.

This one only has so much coin under her bed and so if the crowns go up so very much well then Khajiit will just have to have less of them. Castle Claws is presently full yes though so until this one is permitted to put more things in her home she has little reason to buy many more of those things at the moment.

A shame as there is lots of nice roof space this one would still like to make use of.

Yours with paws
Santie Claws

anitajoneb17_ESO

Epona222 wrote: »

Just charge everyone in USD. Yes there will be price fluctuations month on month or week on week for those of us outside of the US, but at least we will always be paying the exact same amount as those in the US - the same price as the person who we are in a group with, or in a guild with, or friends with - and we won't feel like we are being bent over and *text becomes indecipherable at this point*.

NO.
I would quit playing if they did so. I don't buy stuff whose price will "vary" or "depend".

Epona222

Epona222 wrote: »

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Hey, everyone. From time to time, we need to update the pricing for some of our products to reflect the current exchange rates. Crown Packs were due for an update as we haven’t adjusted the prices since they were released, and as such, the prices for some territories have either increased or decreased.

So why not charge everyone in USD all the time so we all pay the same price as other players all the time?

I recall when I first bought the game, it cost me 50% more in GBP than it did for those who bought it in USD (On release, the version I paid for was £70, and the same version in the US was $70 - and the pound was strong against the dollar then). And you won't put the UK price down when the pound goes up again, will you?

Just charge everyone in USD. Yes there will be price fluctuations month on month or week on week for those of us outside of the US, but at least we will always be paying the exact same amount as those in the US and we won't feel like we are being bent over and *text becomes indecipherable at this point*.

anitajoneb17_ESO wrote: »

Epona222 wrote: »

Just charge everyone in USD. Yes there will be price fluctuations month on month or week on week for those of us outside of the US, but at least we will always be paying the exact same amount as those in the US - the same price as the person who we are in a group with, or in a guild with, or friends with - and we won't feel like we are being bent over and *text becomes indecipherable at this point*.

NO.
I would quit playing if they did so. I don't buy stuff whose price will "vary" or "depend".

But you are OK with them adding £5 to the price and saying "because of exchange rates" - do you really think they will reduce the price if the exchange rate changes? I'd rather pay the exact same price as the person next to me in game, not more or less.

anitajoneb17_ESO

Epona222 wrote: »

But you are OK with them adding £5 to the price and saying "because of exchange rates" - do you really think they will reduce the price if the exchange rate changes? I'd rather pay the exact same price as the person next to me in game, not more or less.

At least you have a PRICE. X crowns for Y GBP.
This price has increased, (whatever the reason) but it's still a price.
Either you accept the price and buy, or you don't accept and don't buy.
I would NOT accept a transaction where Y is unclear because it's a function of something else.

As to "paying the same as the person next to me" : that's invalid anyway. Everyone ingame paid something different when buying the game, when subscribing (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, time cards, etc.), and everyone pays something different for crowns (packs, sales, etc.).
And even if the nominal prices were the same, 20 dollars is nothing for some people / countries, and represents 20% of a monthly minimum wage in other places.

Don't compare yourself to other people. Just look at the offer (X crowns for Y GBP) and see if it's worth it to you.

Epona222

anitajoneb17_ESO wrote: »

Epona222 wrote: »

But you are OK with them adding £5 to the price and saying "because of exchange rates" - do you really think they will reduce the price if the exchange rate changes? I'd rather pay the exact same price as the person next to me in game, not more or less.

At least you have a PRICE. X crowns for Y GBP.
This price has increased, (whatever the reason) but it's still a price.
Either you accept the price and buy, or you don't accept and don't buy.
I would NOT accept a transaction where Y is unclear because it's a function of something else.

Have you seriously never bought anything from the internet in USD? This is 2017.

Tyrion87

Well, I already see an impact of this price increase on me and my choices regarding crown store stuff. I am less eager now to buy anything from the store. I was going to buy the spider mount but now, when I calculate its price using current crowns' prices (after increase), I will just pass. New prices are insane (in Poland they are now even higher than in GBP, USD or EUR). From my side it is a really bad business decision and ironically in the end ZOS will lose (my) money.

anitajoneb17_ESO

Epona222 wrote: »

Have you seriously never bought anything from the internet in USD? This is 2017.

No. Why should I ? Everything I need is available with prices in EUR.

If there was something that was only available in USD I would, but certainly not anything based on a recurring subscription.

Epona222

anitajoneb17_ESO wrote: »

Epona222 wrote: »

Have you seriously never bought anything from the internet in USD? This is 2017.

No. Why should I ? Everything I need is available with prices in EUR.

*puts head in hands*

Seriously? You have never bought anything in USD?

I'm English, I live in England, I pay USD for stuff all the time. I would like the option to pay USD for my sub and crown purchases, so I am always paying the same as the people that I play alongside, rather than have special (or mostly not so special) rates for English/British people.

anitajoneb17_ESO

Epona222 wrote: »

anitajoneb17_ESO wrote: »

Epona222 wrote: »

Have you seriously never bought anything from the internet in USD? This is 2017.

No. Why should I ? Everything I need is available with prices in EUR.

*puts head in hands*

Seriously? You have never bought anything in USD?

I'm English, I live in England, I pay USD for stuff all the time. I would like the option to pay USD for my sub and crown purchases, so I am always paying the same as the people that I play alongside, rather than have special (or mostly not so special) rates for English/British people.

I am french, I live in France, I pay in EUR for stuff all the time, and I don't care what other people I play with paid. Anything wrong with that ?
And if you want to pay in USD-based prices, use a VPN, trick the system into thinking you're there (it's easy), done.

anitajoneb17_ESO

Epona222 wrote: »

OK I'm guessing that you haven't been hit with any price increase. If the Euro sinks against the dollar, if I see you back here complaining about any price hikes from Zeni I will be quoting this back at you.

You won't have to.

Epona222 wrote: »

And I didn't vote for "Brexit", I'm a proud European - I just want that my hobbies don't punish me by putting their prices up for me - but not for you, huh? Did your prices go up? No. So shut up then.

Why should I shut up when you cry out loud ? If you don't want to hear opinions different from yours, YOU shut up.

Epona222 wrote: »

So much for people standing up for one another I guess.

You said it : it's HOBBY.
If crowns are too expensive for you or simply not worth the price, simply don't buy them. It doesn't stop you from playing the game. No big deal really.

If you really want to "stand up for one another" you could consider buying stuff made in England and priced in GBP. That would help making your currency more solid.

ZOS_Ragnar

We have removed several posts that were of a political nature. As our forum rules state we do not allow the discussion of topics that deal with real world politics, as they often cause unnecessary disruption to the conversation. Please keep your posts on topic and avoid bringing up controversial political topics.

WyndStryke

I worked out some figures when this subject came up on Reddit last week.

https://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/6x62sm/psa_new_crown_bundles_available_in_crown_store/

Old prices

http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Crowns

Crown Packs

Crown packs can be purchased from the official ESO account store for PC/Mac, the Xbox Live Store for Xbox One, and Playstation Store for PS4, all with real-world money. Prices vary by currency and the amount of crowns in the pack:
Crowns Icon USD CAD GBP EUR AUD NZD
750 $7.99 $9.99 £4.79 €6,99 $10.65 $11.25

1,500 $14.99 $17.99 £8.99 €12,99 $19.95 $20.95

3,000 $24.99 $29.99 £14.99 €20,99 $33.45 $33.95

5,500 $39.99 $49.99 £23.99 €34,99 $52.45 $56.95

Not sure if these are right or not, the AUD/NZD numbers look odd.

----
new prices (GBP)

750 5.99 +25%

1500 10.99 +22%

3000 18.99 +27%

5500 29.99 +25%

14000 74.99 N/A

21000 109.99 N/A

Currency changes

Since ESO+ was introduced (March 2015) the GBP:USD currency rate has gone from 1.5 to 1.29 which is a 14% drop. So the overall price change is 14% due to currency, and 11% price rise over that.

Over the same period, the AUD:USD currency rate has barely changed - maybe 2%. So it's a 23% price rise once you take the effect of the currency out.

However if instead of picking March 2015 as the start of ESO+, we pick April 2014 when the mandatory subscription started, then the currency change plays a much bigger part (15% for AUD, and 25% for GBP).



Pack size versus volume discount (using new GBP pricing)


750 5.99 N/A (125 crowns per GBP)

1500 10.99 8% volume discount over 750 pack (136.5 crowns per GBP)

3000 18.99 14% volume discount over 1500 pack (158 crowns per GBP)

5500 29.99 14% volume discount over 3000 pack (183 crowns per GBP)

14000 74.99 1.2% volume discount over 5500 pack (187 crowns per GBP)

21000 109.99 2.2% volume discount over 14000 pack (191 crowns per GBP)

So in my opinion, the 5500 pack is still the sweet spot in terms of value for most people. High rollers can aim higher of course. We have absolutely no idea what the sale prices will look like after this change, but as always this will doubtless be the best time to buy crowns. The precise discounts will vary by currency.

Feanor

The most baffling thing is there apparently are crown packs for more than 5500 crowns. Never saw those on PC EU.

WyndStryke

Feanor wrote: »

The most baffling thing is there apparently are crown packs for more than 5500 crowns. Never saw those on PC EU.

Look on the store, you should see them now. They appeared 4 or 5 days ago at the same time as the price changes.

FriedEggSandwich

Feanor wrote: »

The most baffling thing is there apparently are crown packs for more than 5500 crowns. Never saw those on PC EU.

Yeah they were introduced when the sale ended and prices went up.

randomkeyhits

Just tells me that the 5500 and smaller packs, along with subs will be going up in price, probably very soon.

Thing that always slows me down when comparing prices across the pond is the differing tax rates.

Used to order stuff from the states and was always happy to pay their tax rates, especially on digital goods that didn't have to go through customs.

craftycarper73

randomkeyhits wrote: »

Just tells me that the 5500 and smaller packs, along with subs will be going up in price, probably very soon.

soon as the sub goes up thats me off, i think the sub is reasonably priced for what we get now, any more will be just a cash grab, they wont be grabbing my cash if thats the case.

Tommy_The_Gun

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Hey, everyone. From time to time, we need to update the pricing for some of our products to reflect the current exchange rates. Crown Packs were due for an update as we haven’t adjusted the prices since they were released, and as such, the prices for some territories have either increased or decreased.

ZOS_RyanM wrote: »

We have removed several posts that were of a political nature.

Kharnis

Tommy_The_Gun wrote: »

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Hey, everyone. From time to time, we need to update the pricing for some of our products to reflect the current exchange rates. Crown Packs were due for an update as we haven’t adjusted the prices since they were released, and as such, the prices for some territories have either increased or decreased.

ZOS_RyanM wrote: »

We have removed several posts that were of a political nature.

This is why Alanis Morrisette has a lot to answer for. This is not irony. Gina's explanation is not political; it's economical. You may not like the reason, you may not agree with it, but it isn't ironic in any way.

synnerman

I see, well I have adjusted the price of my sub aswell ...to £0

MercyKilling

ZOS_RyanM wrote: »

We have removed several posts that were of a political nature. As our forum rules state we do not allow the discussion of topics that deal with real world politics, as they often cause unnecessary disruption to the conversation. Please keep your posts on topic and avoid bringing up controversial political topics.

This post is likely the only official word on this subject. No answer on why. Like so many others, I've adjusted my spending on this game to $0.

WyndStryke

randomkeyhits wrote: »

Just tells me that the 5500 and smaller packs, along with subs will be going up in price, probably very soon.
...

Do you know if we can stock up on more months of the sub now, before the price goes up? Half way through a 6-month pack.