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Australians get ripped off again
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Nemesis7884✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭its the same in EUR
for example Digital Upgrade - 40 USD; in Australia its around 51 USD; in EUR its around 50 USD....
and i assume crown prices are the same for AUD...this is what bothers me even more...constantly paying 25% more for crowns is just not feasible1 -
Why does your pay matter? Simple economics because they think in the market (the Aus. market) they can have you pay more or less and therefore offer it at different price. If few people pay it, the price might lower. (With the Euro it creates a problem for the countries with a lower living wage etc. because they can't offer the goods at a price that would be enticing for fear of a "black market" like some Canadians have been speaking about.) It's simple because it's supply and demand. The basics of capitalism.
Why are the prices listed normally as 29.99 or 29.95 and not 30? What does one penny/whatever currency matter? It's a business tactic. It's psychological. You may know intellectually it's 30 but you're still reading it as 20.
The business heads didn't think their product wasn't worth less than 54 AUD etc. or it didn't cover all the costs.
Are there digital tariffs? Yes there are actually. Europe is considering putting in some new ones. In the US, some states force companies to pay a sales tax by law on digital purchases, not all though. How much corporate law do you know in the Aus.?
There's probably some other reasons but business is business.Edited by robertbmilesb14_ESO on March 22, 2018 5:16AM1 -
kijima✭✭✭✭✭
✭ForsakenSin wrote: »
except affordable houses or units LOL
If you stop buying crown crates and smashed avo, you'll find the housing market more affordable.
FWIW I don't buy smashed avo, I have my own home.
Been here since Feb 2014 - You'd think I'd be half reasonable at this game by now...0 -
kyle.wilson✭✭✭✭✭
✭Call you local representative. It worked for Adobe.
https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/02/dont-believe-the-adobe-price-cut-hype-its-still-gauging-you-silly/0 -
TheRealPotoroo✭✭✭✭✭
✭
You didn't offer anything except bile. You've done nothing but belittle my complaint and your "explanation" was no explanation at all - I'm still waiting for you to tell us why you included a 10% VAT when according to Bethesda no taxes have been added and which doesn't adequately explain the difference anyway.Anotherone773 wrote: »TheRealPotoroo wrote: »Thank God for that, since you've contributed exactly nothing to it.
Yeah i cant let that go. Multiple people including me have offered you reasons why you pay more. Many of them are quite sound. It is more than likely a combination of the reasons mentioned as well as ones we dont even know about. You however refuse to accept that.
Instead you created an entire thread so you could cry, whine, and throw a hissy fit and when people offer you solutions and reason why something is you dismiss it as BS and them as idiots that dont know what they are talking about. Get over yourself and grow the hell up.
Weird. Trust me, Commbank never misses an opportunity to charge a fee so I don't understand it.TheRealPotoroo wrote: »TheRealPotoroo wrote: »
In the meantime, you haven't answered my question about whether you're talking about Bethesda or Steam regarding not actually charging us in AUD.
ESO website charges in USD. i can confirm every purchase iv made there has been charged a currency conversion fee.
Interesting. The web site says pricing is determined by the country of registration, which is why it has always shown prices to me in AUD. I checked my credit card statements and Morrowind was charged in AUD. It must think you're in America.
it shows me AUD prices yet i get charged a currency conversion for every transaction. maybe your bank doesnt charge you the fee, mine had like a year when it didnt (was great for travelling)
Of your four possibilities only one is reasonable but that doesn't mean it's correct. Tariffs are out because it's a private purchase and no product is being imported for resale. The "dealing with the nanny state" is just a cynical ideological hack that explains nothing. The GST is possible but nowhere doe Bethesda mention any added taxes and the numbers don't work out - when you subtract one eleventh there's still a sizeable gap. That leaves the pricing parity between digital and physical items as the only one of your points that is interesting as an explanation. I'd like some evidence for it first though - that's what accepting reality means.
A country can charge tariffs on any goods or services offered in their country including digital ones if they want to.TheRealPotoroo wrote: »Nope. It's a digital product being purchased from an overseas web site so no tariff could be applied even they existed on these types of products.
Because no company has ever made a mistake when dealing foreign regulations before.Nope. For the fourth time, if Bethesda are collecting GST they are obliged by law to make that explicit but there's no mention of added taxes anywhere.
Almost all major retailers demand parity pricing between physical and digital copies, not just EB Games.So Bethesda charge Australians more because of EB Games?
I wish I was.Nope. Now you're just making *** up.
Just because you don't want to accept reality doesn't make it any less true.Nope.
Europe has a server and support staff, which must be paid for by somebody. It may be that EU gets charged more than NA because of its higher operating costs.Nemesis7884 wrote: »its the same in EUR
for example Digital Upgrade - 40 USD; in Australia its around 51 USD; in EUR its around 50 USD....
and i assume crown prices are the same for AUD...this is what bothers me even more...constantly paying 25% more for crowns is just not feasibleEdited by TheRealPotoroo on March 22, 2018 6:47AMPC NA, PC EU
"Instead of taking the best of the dolmens (predictable rotation), the best of the geysers (scalability based on number of players), and the best of the dragons (map location and health indicators) and adding them together to make a fun and dynamic world event scenario, they gave us....... harrowstorms." https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/6850523/#Comment_68505230 -
boony✭✭Didn't have a problem paying the $59.95 (Collector's Edition Upgrade), thought it was a reasonable price.0
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Narvuntien✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭TheRealPotoroo wrote: »Narvuntien wrote: »You have to remember that people get payed a lot more money in Australia. Our minimum wage is twice the USAs. People have the money to spend and are used to everything being more expensive so even if we are buying on steam we will do it.
$40 is probably a snap buy for me $50 I am going to have to see a bit more of it before I decide. I hope its a bit more lively than morrowind/vvaadenfel.
Why do people keep saying our wages are higher as if it meant something? Our costs are also higher so the two cancel each other out. The point remains, we are being over-charged compared to Americans for the exact same product (which has NO shipping costs).
Annnnnnd buying Summerset is part of the higher costs. I am not sure where the disagreement is. Company looks at the numbers and sees that Australians have more money so we can charge more for a thing and it wont price people out out of purchasing the product.
It isn't any different to people in Vietnam getting Nikes for $2 and it being $150 in the USA. Its priced for what the market can afford to pay. It isn't at all priced at the cost to produce the product.
Multinational companies are set up to produce the product wherever the cost of labour is the least (but still have the required expertise), put their company headquarters wherever has the lowest company taxes (i.e 0% ) then they price the product at whatever price the market expects traditionally.
Australia has always payed a lot more for games, $100 were the norm through the early 2000s (the exchange rate was a lot worse before the 2008 crisis we didn't have), we might have digital distribution now but the expectations of the public haven't changed all that much.
If you think that is exploitative, well yeah okay, I guess so, but you have a lot more people to complain to than just ZoS.Edited by Narvuntien on March 22, 2018 6:52AM5 -
you like first day in school or what?
submitt a ticket asking to change your country in you ESO account
problem solved0 -
Violynne✭✭✭✭✭
✭
Thank you for taking the time to remove the issue of the taxes and tariffs imposed by Australia to ship anything to the country, digital or not.TheRealPotoroo wrote: »As usual, Australians are being grossly over charged for the digital editions (= no shipping costs) of the Summerset chapter.
We wouldn't want things like "facts" to interfere with this conversation.
Side note: we Americans get the same treatment when we buy from Australia.
Don't like it? Stop complaining to companies who have no control over this and instead take it up with your government.
Good luck with that.
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TheRealPotoroo✭✭✭✭✭
✭
Thank you for taking the time to remove the issue of the taxes and tariffs imposed by Australia to ship anything to the country, digital or not.TheRealPotoroo wrote: »As usual, Australians are being grossly over charged for the digital editions (= no shipping costs) of the Summerset chapter.
We wouldn't want things like "facts" to interfere with this conversation.
Side note: we Americans get the same treatment when we buy from Australia.
Don't like it? Stop complaining to companies who have no control over this and instead take it up with your government.
Good luck with that.
I love facts. It's a shame you and you ilk don't. I've already pointed out that even if we imposed tariffs on software (nobody has shown we do and we famously eliminated a huge number of tariffs in the Hawke/Keating era), they don't apply to private purchases like this. GST could apply, but for the fifth time, if Bethesda are collecting GST on behalf of the ATO they aren't saying so on their web site, as they are obliged to do by law, and the numbers don't add up anyway. If Bethesda aren't collecting GST then it wouldn't apply because the price is under $1,000 AUD and the government doesn't start collecting GST on low value imported goods until 1 July, 2018. That Bethesda are just being greedy because they can get away with it remains by far the most plausible explanation and it is well worth complaining about.PC NA, PC EU
"Instead of taking the best of the dolmens (predictable rotation), the best of the geysers (scalability based on number of players), and the best of the dragons (map location and health indicators) and adding them together to make a fun and dynamic world event scenario, they gave us....... harrowstorms." https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/6850523/#Comment_68505231 -
Hokiewa✭✭✭✭TheRealPotoroo wrote: »Narvuntien wrote: »You have to remember that people get payed a lot more money in Australia. Our minimum wage is twice the USAs. People have the money to spend and are used to everything being more expensive so even if we are buying on steam we will do it.
$40 is probably a snap buy for me $50 I am going to have to see a bit more of it before I decide. I hope its a bit more lively than morrowind/vvaadenfel.
Why do people keep saying our wages are higher as if it meant something? Our costs are also higher so the two cancel each other out. The point remains, we are being over-charged compared to Americans for the exact same product (which has NO shipping costs).
This isn't limited to just Zenimax. Virtually every digital game produced charges more for Australians then the US. There are dozens of reasons why, including market trends. You yourself have just explained one without realizing it. "Why do people keep saying our wages are higher....Our costs are also higher...". This game is a "cost". A previous poster did an exceptional analysis of the currency conversion as well. Additionally, Australia is a smaller market, with more restrictions and regulations. The cost of dealing with those restrictions and regulations is likely an additional factor. In the end, people pay more or less depending on where they live for a mulititude of reasons, none of them intentionally malicious.3 -
TheRealPotoroo✭✭✭✭✭
✭TheRealPotoroo wrote: »Narvuntien wrote: »You have to remember that people get payed a lot more money in Australia. Our minimum wage is twice the USAs. People have the money to spend and are used to everything being more expensive so even if we are buying on steam we will do it.
$40 is probably a snap buy for me $50 I am going to have to see a bit more of it before I decide. I hope its a bit more lively than morrowind/vvaadenfel.
Why do people keep saying our wages are higher as if it meant something? Our costs are also higher so the two cancel each other out. The point remains, we are being over-charged compared to Americans for the exact same product (which has NO shipping costs).
This isn't limited to just Zenimax. Virtually every digital game produced charges more for Australians then the US. There are dozens of reasons why, including market trends. You yourself have just explained one without realizing it. "Why do people keep saying our wages are higher....Our costs are also higher...". This game is a "cost". A previous poster did an exceptional analysis of the currency conversion as well. Additionally, Australia is a smaller market, with more restrictions and regulations. The cost of dealing with those restrictions and regulations is likely an additional factor. In the end, people pay more or less depending on where they live for a mulititude of reasons, none of them intentionally malicious.
What you are talking about applies to importing physical goods into Australia, which brings in all the rules and regulations thereof. I'm talking specifically and only about Australians purchasing digital software from an overseas web site. That web site chooses to charge more for the same product, which has no distribution costs, simply because of where you live. If anything it's a hangover from the days when distribution costs and physical distance meant something but they don't apply to digital products and the Bethesdas of this world should not be allowed to get away with what is a blatant ripoff.PC NA, PC EU
"Instead of taking the best of the dolmens (predictable rotation), the best of the geysers (scalability based on number of players), and the best of the dragons (map location and health indicators) and adding them together to make a fun and dynamic world event scenario, they gave us....... harrowstorms." https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/6850523/#Comment_68505230 -
Kuramas9tails✭✭✭✭✭
✭LittlePinkDot wrote: »Wreuntzylla wrote: »LittlePinkDot wrote: »Bonzodog01 wrote: »Meanwhile in UK (on XBox Console) -
Summerset Collectors Edition Digital Download = £39.99 GBP
Summerset Standard Digital Download = £29.99 GBP
Only two available on console.
Now THAT is a real rip off
But has anyone seen the prices for Canada? I havent logged on yet today. But im pretty sure Canadians get ripped off the worst.
Thats why we shop across the border. Or order things online to a warehouse/ house across the border then go pick it up and pay 5$ to whoever owns the warehouse/ house
Sooooo... your method of protest is to violate Canadian law?
I dont drive, so I cant. But its well known ALOT of Canadians shop across the border. Most large cities are near to the border. I heard theres a HUGE professional warehouse in New York. Its not our problem that the government doesnt want to take the time with every car coming back across the border to visually search through their car to confirm that what theyre claiming is all their is. It would be gridlock. Theres way too much traffic across the border in some places, and not enough infrastructure to police it all.
And even some things from the US I order online to my door are significantly cheaper.
The Aquarium light I got online for 77$ USD was somewhere a bit over 200$ plus shipping from Amazon.ca.
Im not going to just get ripped off if I dont have to.
Nobody likes getting ripped off, so Nobody here cares that we shop for certain things across the border.
@LittlePinkDot That is so funny because my boyfriend is in Canada and I live close to the boarder so whenever I go visit, I pick up stuff that isn't sold in Canada and bring it to his family and then I pick up ketchup chips and bring them to America from Canada for my coworkers. lol. Illegal or not, boarder control sees the food items I bring and don't care.
But they took my flowers and "destroyed them". 
But yeah. Overall, everything is cheaper in America than Canada (exchange rate included). A lot cross the boarder for cheaper goods. Your friendly neighborhood crazy cat lady of ESO
New PSN name: SundariTheLast. Proud seller in RedEye Empire, PURPLE GANG and Backalley Trading.
AD High Elf Mageblade DPS (General)(Former Empress) -- Stormproof/VMOL, VHOF, VDSA completion
AD Khajiit Mageblade DPS -- Flawless Conquerer
FOR THE QUEEN!
PS4/NA0 -
RobbieRocket✭✭✭The price difference will come down to one thing and that is because you are buying a product (that is essentially the same) from a different commercial and legal outlet.
If you could buy a product in the US and bring it home you (obviously) would pay the same.
If you could buy a product from the US and have it shipped you would pay the same but add shipping costs.
When you buy a game or add-on like this, you are doing neither of these things. Instead you are purchasing something that has applicable pricing, laws and taxation appropriate to your country. These considerations are different from country to country and this is why your numbers are different. I would imagine the (end) profit margin for ZOS is comparable per sale in the US market as it is the US market.
If not, they would consider removing the sale opportunity for certain regions of the world.1 -
Juju_beans✭✭✭✭✭
✭TheRealPotoroo wrote: »What you are talking about applies to importing physical goods into Australia, which brings in all the rules and regulations thereof. I'm talking specifically and only about Australians purchasing digital software from an overseas web site. That web site chooses to charge more for the same product, which has no distribution costs, simply because of where you live. If anything it's a hangover from the days when distribution costs and physical distance meant something but they don't apply to digital products and the Bethesdas of this world should not be allowed to get away with what is a blatant ripoff.
It also applies to digital purchases as well. Governments are slow to catch up but they do eventually.
Digital goods do get charged GST (10%).
https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/International-tax-for-business/In-detail/Buying-digital-goods-or-services-from-overseas---for-Australian-consumers/Edited by Juju_beans on March 22, 2018 1:59PM2 -
LittlePinkDot✭✭✭✭✭LittlePinkDot wrote: »Wreuntzylla wrote: »LittlePinkDot wrote: »Bonzodog01 wrote: »Meanwhile in UK (on XBox Console) -
Summerset Collectors Edition Digital Download = £39.99 GBP
Summerset Standard Digital Download = £29.99 GBP
Only two available on console.
Now THAT is a real rip off
But has anyone seen the prices for Canada? I havent logged on yet today. But im pretty sure Canadians get ripped off the worst.
Thats why we shop across the border. Or order things online to a warehouse/ house across the border then go pick it up and pay 5$ to whoever owns the warehouse/ house
Sooooo... your method of protest is to violate Canadian law?
I dont drive, so I cant. But its well known ALOT of Canadians shop across the border. Most large cities are near to the border. I heard theres a HUGE professional warehouse in New York. Its not our problem that the government doesnt want to take the time with every car coming back across the border to visually search through their car to confirm that what theyre claiming is all their is. It would be gridlock. Theres way too much traffic across the border in some places, and not enough infrastructure to police it all.Kuramas9tails wrote: »LittlePinkDot wrote: »Wreuntzylla wrote: »LittlePinkDot wrote: »Bonzodog01 wrote: »Meanwhile in UK (on XBox Console) -
Summerset Collectors Edition Digital Download = £39.99 GBP
Summerset Standard Digital Download = £29.99 GBP
Only two available on console.
Now THAT is a real rip off
But has anyone seen the prices for Canada? I havent logged on yet today. But im pretty sure Canadians get ripped off the worst.
Thats why we shop across the border. Or order things online to a warehouse/ house across the border then go pick it up and pay 5$ to whoever owns the warehouse/ house
Sooooo... your method of protest is to violate Canadian law?
I dont drive, so I cant. But its well known ALOT of Canadians shop across the border. Most large cities are near to the border. I heard theres a HUGE professional warehouse in New York. Its not our problem that the government doesnt want to take the time with every car coming back across the border to visually search through their car to confirm that what theyre claiming is all their is. It would be gridlock. Theres way too much traffic across the border in some places, and not enough infrastructure to police it all.
And even some things from the US I order online to my door are significantly cheaper.
The Aquarium light I got online for 77$ USD was somewhere a bit over 200$ plus shipping from Amazon.ca.
Im not going to just get ripped off if I dont have to.
Nobody likes getting ripped off, so Nobody here cares that we shop for certain things across the border.
@LittlePinkDot That is so funny because my boyfriend is in Canada and I live close to the boarder so whenever I go visit, I pick up stuff that isn't sold in Canada and bring it to his family and then I pick up ketchup chips and bring them to America from Canada for my coworkers. lol. Illegal or not, boarder control sees the food items I bring and don't care. But they took my flowers and "destroyed them". But yeah. Overall, everything is cheaper in America than Canada (exchange rate included). A lot cross the boarder for cheaper goods.
Cross border shopping seems to be the only method Canadians have to protest against taxes or ridiculously high prices.
Although when I hear about Americans buying stuff across the border I wonder what the hell it is that they cant find in the US.0 -
Hokiewa✭✭✭✭TheRealPotoroo wrote: »TheRealPotoroo wrote: »Narvuntien wrote: »You have to remember that people get payed a lot more money in Australia. Our minimum wage is twice the USAs. People have the money to spend and are used to everything being more expensive so even if we are buying on steam we will do it.
$40 is probably a snap buy for me $50 I am going to have to see a bit more of it before I decide. I hope its a bit more lively than morrowind/vvaadenfel.
Why do people keep saying our wages are higher as if it meant something? Our costs are also higher so the two cancel each other out. The point remains, we are being over-charged compared to Americans for the exact same product (which has NO shipping costs).
This isn't limited to just Zenimax. Virtually every digital game produced charges more for Australians then the US. There are dozens of reasons why, including market trends. You yourself have just explained one without realizing it. "Why do people keep saying our wages are higher....Our costs are also higher...". This game is a "cost". A previous poster did an exceptional analysis of the currency conversion as well. Additionally, Australia is a smaller market, with more restrictions and regulations. The cost of dealing with those restrictions and regulations is likely an additional factor. In the end, people pay more or less depending on where they live for a mulititude of reasons, none of them intentionally malicious.
What you are talking about applies to importing physical goods into Australia, which brings in all the rules and regulations thereof. I'm talking specifically and only about Australians purchasing digital software from an overseas web site. That web site chooses to charge more for the same product, which has no distribution costs, simply because of where you live. If anything it's a hangover from the days when distribution costs and physical distance meant something but they don't apply to digital products and the Bethesdas of this world should not be allowed to get away with what is a blatant ripoff.
No, it actually doesn't apply to just physical goods. You know that endlessly long EULA that every so often you have to agree to? That's drafted and updated periodically for all regions that the game is sold in. In order to comply with every regulation in every locality, somebody has to research that. That's a cost that's associated with your price point. That's just one example. Every market is different. Digital or not, markets differ based upon location, and so does the applicable price point. In this case, it's not remotely a huge difference.
Business taxes, licensing fees, market value per market share, currency conversion, and virtually a dozen other things can be attributed to a higher price point in Australia, Canada etc....
Edited in: If you add the 10% GST on digital goods (which Zenimax does not have to disclose at check out, as they have covered this language in the EULA), you end up with roughly a price point after currency conversion of 84.79 for the Summerset Digital Collector's Edition for just the bare minimum of what is required. Essentially, the end price point difference is $5 AUD. I'd hardly call that a rip off.Edited by Hokiewa on March 22, 2018 2:24PM2 -
swippy✭✭✭✭✭LittlePinkDot wrote: »Although when I hear about Americans buying stuff across the border I wonder what the hell it is that they cant find in the US.
Toronto has the coolest little fashion boutiques. i could probably find similar stuff in NYC but i'd drive farther to get there, it'd be more expensive, and i'd have to cover a lot more ground to locate any 2 of them. but yeah you're mostly right, that's just a great niche.0 -
Saturnana✭✭✭✭✭EU gets ripped off as well.
$39,99 =/= €39,99 ZOS, ask your bank!
Forty bucks is closer to 32 euros.@Saturnna | PC / EU
Nâmae Rin : Dragonknight | Dr Milodas Ra'Himo : Templar | Mira Motierre : Sorceress
Plays-ln-Puddles : Warden | Lady Neria : Dragonknight | Philadore : Nightblade
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"Ha! I do love it when the mortals know they're being manipulated. Makes things infinitely more interesting."
- Sheogorath1 -
TheRealPotoroo✭✭✭✭✭
✭Juju_beans wrote: »TheRealPotoroo wrote: »What you are talking about applies to importing physical goods into Australia, which brings in all the rules and regulations thereof. I'm talking specifically and only about Australians purchasing digital software from an overseas web site. That web site chooses to charge more for the same product, which has no distribution costs, simply because of where you live. If anything it's a hangover from the days when distribution costs and physical distance meant something but they don't apply to digital products and the Bethesdas of this world should not be allowed to get away with what is a blatant ripoff.
It also applies to digital purchases as well. Governments are slow to catch up but they do eventually.
Digital goods do get charged GST (10%).
https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/International-tax-for-business/In-detail/Buying-digital-goods-or-services-from-overseas---for-Australian-consumers/
Digital goods currently do not get charged GST when they are purchased overseas and the price is under $1000 AUD. As I already said, the government doesn't start collecting GST on low value imported goods until 1 July, 2018.
https://www.ato.gov.au/General/New-legislation/In-detail/Indirect-taxes/GST/GST-on-low-value-imported-goods/TheRealPotoroo wrote: »TheRealPotoroo wrote: »Narvuntien wrote: »You have to remember that people get payed a lot more money in Australia. Our minimum wage is twice the USAs. People have the money to spend and are used to everything being more expensive so even if we are buying on steam we will do it.
$40 is probably a snap buy for me $50 I am going to have to see a bit more of it before I decide. I hope its a bit more lively than morrowind/vvaadenfel.
Why do people keep saying our wages are higher as if it meant something? Our costs are also higher so the two cancel each other out. The point remains, we are being over-charged compared to Americans for the exact same product (which has NO shipping costs).
This isn't limited to just Zenimax. Virtually every digital game produced charges more for Australians then the US. There are dozens of reasons why, including market trends. You yourself have just explained one without realizing it. "Why do people keep saying our wages are higher....Our costs are also higher...". This game is a "cost". A previous poster did an exceptional analysis of the currency conversion as well. Additionally, Australia is a smaller market, with more restrictions and regulations. The cost of dealing with those restrictions and regulations is likely an additional factor. In the end, people pay more or less depending on where they live for a mulititude of reasons, none of them intentionally malicious.
What you are talking about applies to importing physical goods into Australia, which brings in all the rules and regulations thereof. I'm talking specifically and only about Australians purchasing digital software from an overseas web site. That web site chooses to charge more for the same product, which has no distribution costs, simply because of where you live. If anything it's a hangover from the days when distribution costs and physical distance meant something but they don't apply to digital products and the Bethesdas of this world should not be allowed to get away with what is a blatant ripoff.
No, it actually doesn't apply to just physical goods. You know that endlessly long EULA that every so often you have to agree to? That's drafted and updated periodically for all regions that the game is sold in. In order to comply with every regulation in every locality, somebody has to research that. That's a cost that's associated with your price point. That's just one example. Every market is different. Digital or not, markets differ based upon location, and so does the applicable price point. In this case, it's not remotely a huge difference.
Business taxes, licensing fees, market value per market share, currency conversion, and virtually a dozen other things can be attributed to a higher price point in Australia, Canada etc....
Business taxes, licensing fees etc do not apply to digital products that individual Australian consumers purchase from overseas web sites. The question here is why Bethesda have chosen the grossly unreasonable exchange rate that they have, which bears next to no resemblance to reality.Edited in: If you add the 10% GST on digital goods (which Zenimax does not have to disclose at check out, as they have covered this language in the EULA), you end up with roughly a price point after currency conversion of 84.79 for the Summerset Digital Collector's Edition for just the bare minimum of what is required. Essentially, the end price point difference is $5 AUD. I'd hardly call that a rip off.
If Zenimax is collecting GST on behalf of the Australian government then they are absolutely required by law to make that abundantly clear at the point of sale. No company's EULA can ever supersede the laws of sovereign nations. If they are not then the question remains wide open. I maintain that Bethesda's greed is the simplest and most plausible explanation.PC NA, PC EU
"Instead of taking the best of the dolmens (predictable rotation), the best of the geysers (scalability based on number of players), and the best of the dragons (map location and health indicators) and adding them together to make a fun and dynamic world event scenario, they gave us....... harrowstorms." https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/6850523/#Comment_68505230 -
Hokiewa✭✭✭✭Any cost a business incurs is going to be passed onto the consumer, regardless of medium. Digital, physical, it does not matter nor does the location. Zenimax is hardly the first. You can continue to make the assumption that this is only an exchange issue when other companies have done the exact same thing regarding digital delivery of video games for the past 6 months. ESO is not an outlier in this regard, it is the norm.
Maintain what you want if that helps you sleep. Either buy it or don't, but a 5% variance in price is hardly the definition of a rip off.
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mythlover20✭✭✭Okay, for you Americans, there was a little experiment done a few years ago that will explain just how much Australians get ripped off.
One journalism company bought some high end electronics, and even a car. One set was bought in Australia, with all relevant taxes and shipping costs, and one set was bought in America. In the end, it was worked out that it was cheaper to fly to America (economy class, of course, because we're trying to save money here), buy the items, pay for shipping via American Post, then fly back home again. It was one of the morning shows on Channel 7, I think. Either Channel 7, or 9, or 10. One of the commercial stations.
The Australia tax is *** ridiculous. I mean, just look at the crown store. For us the Erstwhile Sanctuary cost 13000, which in Australian dollars equals $130. Unfurnished. That's more than my fortnightly grocery bill. The Sithis statue was $35. The Banker and Merchant are $50 each. The 4 crown crate pack is $15, which is the exact same price as the monthly subscription (the half-yearly is $90). Mounts are anywhere between $20 and $50. The rare motifs that pop up every now and again are usually around $30.
ZOS rips everyone off, but Australia gets doubly screwed. We've even had paid television programs explain in detail how to break the law and avoid the Australia tax, and not a single one of them was ever charged for it. That was the "At The Checkout" show on the ABC about ... two years ago or so.
So, yeah, Australia (and the pacific region in general) are always *** over when it comes to money. Every. Gods. Damned. Time.Edited by mythlover20 on March 22, 2018 6:12PM"In the darkness all is the same, all is equal. It is the light which casts the shadow, and turns to evil that which simply was." - Me.
mythlover20/The Plant Baron
Officer in Blood Moon Traders trade guild.
Blood Moon Traders is a laid back, werewolf-themed Trade Guild with a stable trader in Sentinel, in the Alik'r Desert. We have weekly raffles and auctions, as well as a variety of events throughout the week, and a monthly Yard Sale. Join us and you'll have access to a fully-stocked Guild Hall, a Discord Server, and a website. In return all we ask for is active participation in our events or making 25k gold in sales each week. Search for Blood Moon Traders in the Guild Finder or message me in-game for an invite.1 -
pod88kk✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Try being in the Euro where gauge the prices from richer countries like Germany and charge them to countries where the minimum wage is quite low0 -
Thogard✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭If you didn’t want to pay more, maybe you shouldn’t have lost a war or two against flightless birds.PC NA - @dazkt - Dazk Ardoonkt / Sir Thogalot / Dask Dragoh’t / Dazk Dragoh’t / El Thogardo
Stream: twitch.tv/THOGARDvsThePeasants
YouTube: http://youtube.com/c/thogardpvp4 -
Juju_beans✭✭✭✭✭
✭TheRealPotoroo wrote: »Juju_beans wrote: »TheRealPotoroo wrote: »What you are talking about applies to importing physical goods into Australia, which brings in all the rules and regulations thereof. I'm talking specifically and only about Australians purchasing digital software from an overseas web site. That web site chooses to charge more for the same product, which has no distribution costs, simply because of where you live. If anything it's a hangover from the days when distribution costs and physical distance meant something but they don't apply to digital products and the Bethesdas of this world should not be allowed to get away with what is a blatant ripoff.
It also applies to digital purchases as well. Governments are slow to catch up but they do eventually.
Digital goods do get charged GST (10%).
https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/International-tax-for-business/In-detail/Buying-digital-goods-or-services-from-overseas---for-Australian-consumers/
Digital goods currently do not get charged GST when they are purchased overseas and the price is under $1000 AUD. As I already said, the government doesn't start collecting GST on low value imported goods until 1 July, 2018.
https://www.ato.gov.au/General/New-legislation/In-detail/Indirect-taxes/GST/GST-on-low-value-imported-goods/
My link quoted a new GST law that went into effect last July 2017..if a company makes over $75K in sales to Australian consumers then they must register and charge GST.
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Drachenfier✭✭✭✭✭
✭mythlover20 wrote: »Okay, for you Americans, there was a little experiment done a few years ago that will explain just how much Australians get ripped off.
One journalism company bought some high end electronics, and even a car. One set was bought in Australia, with all relevant taxes and shipping costs, and one set was bought in America. In the end, it was worked out that it was cheaper to fly to America (economy class, of course, because we're trying to save money here), buy the items, pay for shipping via American Post, then fly back home again. It was one of the morning shows on Channel 7, I think. Either Channel 7, or 9, or 10. One of the commercial stations.
The Australia tax is *** ridiculous. I mean, just look at the crown store. For us the Erstwhile Sanctuary cost 13000, which in Australian dollars equals $130. Unfurnished. That's more than my fortnightly grocery bill. The Sithis statue was $35. The Banker and Merchant are $50 each. The 4 crown crate pack is $15, which is the exact same price as the monthly subscription (the half-yearly is $90). Mounts are anywhere between $20 and $50. The rare motifs that pop up every now and again are usually around $30.
ZOS rips everyone off, but Australia gets doubly screwed. We've even had paid television programs explain in detail how to break the law and avoid the Australia tax, and not a single one of them was ever charged for it. That was the "At The Checkout" show on the ABC about ... two years ago or so.
So, yeah, Australia (and the pacific region in general) are always *** over when it comes to money. Every. Gods. Damned. Time.
That sounds more like an Australia problem than ZOS ripping you guys off.8
This discussion has been closed.