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

TheRealPotoroo · September 2017

DaiKahn wrote: »

BlueViolet wrote: »

I just went to have a look too. I'm in AU and our crown packs have gone up by about $4.95 each, apart from the 5500 pack which went up by $9.95

That's put an end to my extra crown purchases. I used to purchase extra crown packs often, because they were quite good value. Now they're not.
It would have been decent of you, Zenimax, if you had announced it, rather than borrowing tactics from EA and just raising the prices without a word of warning.

Don't forget that our Government in it's money-grabbing wisdom now makes it law for our GST to be applied to ALL transactions on the internet since September 1st, 2017. This doesn't account for the 14.88% increase on top of our 10% GST, but hey, this is ZO$

It's not because of GST. The increases are far too big (25% increase in the price of the 5500 Crown pack, for example), and if ZoS were collecting GST on behalf of the Australian government then they are legally obliged to display the amount at the time of the transaction. No, it's just a money grab. Somebody at ZoS woke up to the fact that currency fluctuations meant that some of us were getting better deals than others (AUD40 today for 5500 Crowns is considerably cheaper than USD40, a year or two back it wasn't).

Slick_007 · September 2017

so the question is, what is the USD prices, and is it possible we can pay in USD if we reside outside of the US
if my bank can give me a better conversion that ZOS, id rather take that.

Riptide · September 2017

Exchange rates matter. Why wouldn't they? They went a very long time without a correction. What mystery is there? What injustice? Seriously get a grip folks. Whether it is an automobile or virtual currency, national currency matters.

I'm just going to point out that for all the whinging and gnashing of teeth that goes on on this forum about every single thing imaginable and many things not - there weren't many or any threads with Yanks stomping up and down about the inequity of the prices before.

But that was an actual issue that actually would have been understandable. We should pay more, for a product created here? Such monstrous entitlement some have. You should be protesting national policy, not trashing up a gaming forum.

But then, debating on a gaming forum is what passes for civic activism for many. Which is what got us the populist, garbage messes we have in several lynchpin economies now.

Pick up and read the Economist for heaven's sakes.

Mureel · September 2017

Kildayen wrote: »

mb10 wrote: »

Crowns increase in price.
Crown store items increase in price.

Crown store quality stays the same.

why they did it? Because of the demand for crowns. They believe increasing the price will not change the demand and the supply is constant so they're laughing all the way to the bank.
The suckers are the ones buying the crowns lol this is your fault but it's not my money so I couldn't care less. I never buy crowns anymore and I probably never will

It's my fault! I purchased 14 5,500 crown packs this past sale. I purchased 10 5,500 packs a few months ago during the other sale. I have purchased crowns every time they were on sale, as well as times that they aren't on sale. I also subscribe and have done so since beta. I don't need the crowns. I could care less about housing so I don't need them for that. I'm sitting on 90k of them now.

Why did I purchase them? Because I can. That's all that matters. If I could buy crowns and gift them to some of my guildies I would do that too. It's only a plus that it makes people rage when they hear of people buying them. I like making people rage over stupid things like buying crowns. The only reason you would call somebody who purchased crowns a sucker is because it makes you rage. Deep down inside you are raging. It isn't healthy to rage. Maybe you shouldn't call people names because they purchase crowns. Maybe you shouldn't rage. Maybe you should have a glass of milk instead.

Complaining on forums about people buying crowns is just silly.

This post needs less rage and more cowbell. And some milk.

And some sense. No one cares if you buy or don't buy crowns. Logical people would just like to understand the unannounced price hike.

Aurie · September 2017

anitajoneb17_ESO wrote: »

I can only see current prices for my country (France) in my currency (EUR).

But from reading all the posts on the subject, which report many inconsistencies, I've come to wonder if the whole thing may be a huge mess-up with the announced prices, that may be corrected soon(tm). I mean, simply a coding mistake.

One can live in hope.

Tandor · September 2017

Riptide wrote: »

Exchange rates matter. Why wouldn't they? They went a very long time without a correction. What mystery is there? What injustice? Seriously get a grip folks. Whether it is an automobile or virtual currency, national currency matters.

None of that justifies applying an increase without announcing it, or giving the reasons for it. Slipping it in unannounced at the end of the sale (perhaps in the hope that as prices were going back up anyway nobody would notice) simply isn't good customer relations.

You're confident, presumably, that Crown prices will come down as soon as the exchange rates move the other way?

SodanTok · September 2017

Mureel wrote: »

SodanTok wrote: »

Classic post-Brexit rage post

To explain, author is mad that ZoS increased price of crowns to value that is not anymore 10EUR cheaper than EU prices.

I am shocked too - but didn't know Euro prices.

Don't bring politics into this lol.

It is SHADY, no matter what, to have unannounced price hikes. I mean 23.99 to 29.99 is a BIG jump. You have to be utterly blind to not see that.

If other prices were less etc., you cannot really fault us, as not like those prices show/load for us to even see.

I never knew till now that prices were different in different places.

How can I not bring politics into this when the politics is the reason for this? Or do you have better reason why GBP fell by 29% (waow, thats almost like the price hike of 25%, totally unrelated amirite) over last year and half?

SirGabenOfSteamia · September 2017

Slick_007 wrote: »

SirGabenOfSteamia wrote: »

Canadian also. Preexisting crown packs cost the exact same, only the new packs are different than the American prices. Which is weird because you'd think that the larger packs would have more value. Now instead the crowns they provide are worth more or less 1.25x the 5500 pack.

AUS. preexisting crown packs went up.
750 - $9.95 (9.99 Canadian)
1500 - $18.45 (18.99 CAD)
3000 - $29.95 (29.99 CAD)
5500 - $49.95 - this was $40 on 15/8 before the sale. and $24 during the sale. (49.99 CAD)
14000 - $124.95 (129.99 CAD)
21000 - $184.95 (179.99 CAD)

only the bottom 2 are new. and the 5500 went up 25%
unsure what the other prices were before.

current exchange rate is 1AUD to .99 CAD

I can see how you'd think that's unfair.

Yeah, old crown packs are the exact same.
750 for $7.99
1500 for $14.99
3000 for $25.99
5500 for $39.99.
14400 for $134.99
And 22000 for $199.99
All In CAD.

EXACTLY the same as before. I keep checking to see if they fix the pricing, because... you know, the 22000 pack is priced so differently than the 5500 pack.

Hoping that the larger packs get brought down in price to coincide better with the old ones, but I feel like they'll only go higher with the information you've given me. What they're doing to you guys is, like, super unreasonable.

VvardeFellow · September 2017

Why would or should they explain? It's capitalism, it's their business to run.

Bam_Bam · September 2017

VvardeFellow wrote: »

Why would or should they explain? It's capitalism, it's their business to run.

And it's me, their paying loyal customer, who is being blatently ripped off. Assuming you buy crown packs, would you be happy in our circumstances? If no - then sit down and stop trolling. If yes - I simply don't believe you.

ZOS_GinaBruno · September 2017

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.

vyndral13preub18_ESO · September 2017

I guess no one who lives in a country where they decreased noticed. Or they kept to themselves so we don't all move there. Those dirty sons of....whatever it is in their country.

Tandor · September 2017

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.

Thanks for the information, @ZOS_GinaBruno , I hope that you'll pass along the message that when these sorts of thing happen in future it would be best to bite the bullet and come out openly with an announcement straightaway. Most people are reasonable and can understand the situation when it's explained to them but when it's just pushed through without a word of explanation it looks underhand and people tend to assume the worst.

Riptide · September 2017

Tandor wrote: »

None of that justifies applying an increase without announcing it, or giving the reasons for it. Slipping it in unannounced at the end of the sale (perhaps in the hope that as prices were going back up anyway nobody would notice) simply isn't good customer relations.

Obvious reasons were obvious. Seriously here - there was never any mystery, only manufactured displeasure. People here demanded to know what color the sky was, people told them, now some will demand to be told sooner and preemptively.

Maybe make a note...sky, blue

You're confident, presumably, that Crown prices will come down as soon as the exchange rates move the other way?

Since I read and keep up with international news and commerce, and have made sticky notes about the sky...I feel confident (at least where the UK is concerned) than "soon" and "the other way" are not going to meet outside of blips. And that it is extremely likely to trend this direction for a couple of years.

And that since this is the only correction they've made (ever?), that chances are that their lack of regular updates, on the long haul, will continue to be advantageous to folks abroad as compared to actual rates.

Tandor · September 2017

Riptide wrote: »

Tandor wrote: »

None of that justifies applying an increase without announcing it, or giving the reasons for it. Slipping it in unannounced at the end of the sale (perhaps in the hope that as prices were going back up anyway nobody would notice) simply isn't good customer relations.

Obvious reasons were obvious. Seriously here - there was never any mystery, only manufactured displeasure. People here demanded to know what color the sky was, people told them, now some will demand to be told sooner and preemptively.

Maybe make a note...sky, blue

You're confident, presumably, that Crown prices will come down as soon as the exchange rates move the other way?

Since I read and keep up with international news and commerce, and have made sticky notes about the sky...I feel confident (at least where the UK is concerned) than "soon" and "the other way" are not going to meet outside of blips. And that it is extremely likely to trend this direction for a couple of years.

And that since this is the only correction they've made (ever?), that chances are that their lack of regular updates, on the long haul, will continue to be advantageous to folks abroad as compared to actual rates.

Whether it was obvious is irrelevant - in fact tho it wasn't obvious at first because until people started discussing it nobody knew that it related to certain currencies only.

It's simply a point of being upfront and open about such things. That's always preferable to keeping quiet and hoping people don't notice it.

Hallothiel · September 2017

An announcement would have made sense to ensure good customer relations.

An example of how to do this is PSN. Prices for PS+ went up at the end of August but they sent emails out advising of this at least a month before PLUS they then had an offer of 15 months for the price of 12.

Zos really needs to up their customer service/relations. Seriously. (I mean, I could do a better job than whomever is overseeing it at present. Hell, my teenager has a better understanding.)

Hallothiel · September 2017

Also I am slightly confused by the exchange rate excuse, as we are not talking about physical items but pixels. They are not having to adjust for fluctuations in the price of raw materials.

The majority of items in the crown store are either already designed or re-skins so whilst I understand there are some running costs I can't see why exchange rates would really matter that much.

My grasp of economics isn't brilliant (gave it up to study Latin) so quite happy to listen if someone can explain!

anitajoneb17_ESO · September 2017

Hallothiel wrote: »

My grasp of economics isn't brilliant (gave it up to study Latin) so quite happy to listen if someone can explain!

the price of any good or service isn't determined by the cost of providing it, but by offer and demand. If the cost of providing it is higher than the market price, the good/service is simply not produced. If the cost are lowered, it leads to an increased margin, not a decrease in price.

That's the global reasoning - which can be tweaked by various marketing/positioning/pricing strategies.

Following that reasoning, exchange rate fluctuations are a false reason to increase the price, since they're "costs". But there's another factor that interferes here : business plans. They are the guideline for investors and must be respected, otherwise your investors just flee. Now if a currency as important (quantitatively) as GBP crashes to the extent that it has crashed since last June, you must reconsider your pricing policy in order to preserve your margins, cashflow and business plan. Which is what ZOS is doing, and in that regard, it's a valid reason to increase prices. Even at the risk of loosing some customers along the way.

The_Smilemeister · September 2017

I've just checked (PS4 UK) and apart from new 14k and 21k options now available it doesn't look as though the prices have changed. Maybe the 1.5k crown pack has increased by £1, but that's all I've noticed. Then again as a Brexiteer I'm not too fussed anyway. It's a risk worth taking.

Slick_007 · September 2017

SirGabenOfSteamia wrote: »

Slick_007 wrote: »

SirGabenOfSteamia wrote: »

Canadian also. Preexisting crown packs cost the exact same, only the new packs are different than the American prices. Which is weird because you'd think that the larger packs would have more value. Now instead the crowns they provide are worth more or less 1.25x the 5500 pack.

AUS. preexisting crown packs went up.
750 - $9.95 (9.99 Canadian)
1500 - $18.45 (18.99 CAD)
3000 - $29.95 (29.99 CAD)
5500 - $49.95 - this was $40 on 15/8 before the sale. and $24 during the sale. (49.99 CAD)
14000 - $124.95 (129.99 CAD)
21000 - $184.95 (179.99 CAD)

only the bottom 2 are new. and the 5500 went up 25%
unsure what the other prices were before.

current exchange rate is 1AUD to .99 CAD

I can see how you'd think that's unfair.

Yeah, old crown packs are the exact same.
750 for $7.99
1500 for $14.99
3000 for $25.99
5500 for $39.99.
14400 for $134.99
And 22000 for $199.99
All In CAD.

EXACTLY the same as before. I keep checking to see if they fix the pricing, because... you know, the 22000 pack is priced so differently than the 5500 pack.

Hoping that the larger packs get brought down in price to coincide better with the old ones, but I feel like they'll only go higher with the information you've given me. What they're doing to you guys is, like, super unreasonable.

how are you getting those prices? unless they changed since i looked. i was using a vpn connected to canada and went to the website, not logged in and thats how i got my CAD prices. the 179.99 seems odd, maybe it should be 189. i'll check next time im on the vpn

Hallothiel · September 2017

@anitajoneb17_ESO

Thank you! I do understand about profit margins etc but I have never understood why some businesses think it is a good idea to put UP prices when things go off plan - they would actually get more profit surely if they lowered prices - when things get economically tough people can cut back on frivolities so I would thought offering a decent price would encourage people to keep spending rather than stop altogether!

But as I said, gave up economics for Latin so....

Nifty2g · September 2017

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

FriedEggSandwich · September 2017

I noticed the other day that while my vpn was connected to brussels I could pay for crowns in euros rather than gbp. I didn't because it would have been more expensive, but I did wonder if it could work the other way. Next time I buy crowns I might try with my vpn connected to the states to see what happens. I'm sure they've thought of that though, I'm probably missing something.

Nebthet78 · September 2017

whiteshadow711jppreub18_ESO wrote: »

MissBizz wrote: »

whiteshadow711jppreub18_ESO wrote: »

this affects you too buddy, Aerius_Sygale since you from Canada...

@whiteshadow711jppreub18_ESO Canadian prices did not increase. (I'm Canadian)

When My friend Looked at the 21000 crowns it was $199.99 Canadian

in American its $149.99..

difference at a currency converter..

@MissBizz

Then that doesn't have anything to do with ZOS then, because on PC in Canadian funds the 21000 pack in $179.99

Perhaps you get added fees by Console..

TheRealPotoroo · September 2017

ZoS are not being consistent though. Today charging AUD50 and USD40 for the 5500 crown pack is explicable (AUD1 = USD0.80). However, the 21k pack (USD150) is AUD185 instead of AUD180. Similarly, the 14k pack (USD100) should be AUD120 but instead it's AUD125. If they're going to use the exchange rate excuse they could at least be consistent and not so blatantly abusing it.

vrine · September 2017

TheRealPotoroo wrote: »

ZoS are not being consistent though. Today charging AUD50 and USD40 for the 5500 crown pack is explicable (AUD1 = USD0.80). However, the 21k pack (USD150) is AUD185 instead of AUD180. Similarly, the 14k pack (USD100) should be AUD120 but instead it's AUD125. If they're going to use the exchange rate excuse they could at least be consistent and not so blatantly abusing it.

I double checked this as I was in disbelief. What a disappointing thing to discover.

Slick_007 · September 2017

so 79.90 AUD gets me 5500+3000 = 8500 crowns
a 6month sub cost me 78 AUD and gets me 9000 crowns + the ESO benefits.

Does this mean ESO+ is going up?

Dubhliam · September 2017

Axoinus wrote: »

The justification is to increase profits.

Your Welcome.

You're*

StackonClown · September 2017

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.

Can you please provide a list of all the changes?
Where was the price decreased?
What happens when exchange rates change again? Will you change the prices again and if so how often?
How much do exchange rates need to change by to trigger the next change?

lagrue · September 2017

whiteshadow711jppreub18_ESO wrote: »

MissBizz wrote: »

whiteshadow711jppreub18_ESO wrote: »

this affects you too buddy, Aerius_Sygale since you from Canada...

@whiteshadow711jppreub18_ESO Canadian prices did not increase. (I'm Canadian)

When My friend Looked at the 21000 crowns it was $199.99 Canadian
-snip-

As a Canadian I can safely say they aren't using the current exchange rate. It actually seems they're going by our dollars value at the beginning of the year. Our dollar went up 5 cents about 2 months ago, to now converting at 81% of a USD, but previously it was as low as 75%, which more accurately reflects what ZOS has dropped on us.

Basically ZOS used the old conversion rate, and now it's overpriced compared to the Americans

We also have the same issue in the game Warframe - except when they bumped their prices up, it was actually when they made sense - but since our dollar has increased, they've never adjusted the prices - meaning we're still being ripped off by them too by a factor of like 5-10 cents per dollar.