Curse

Shakkara · Jul 22, 2007, 07:21 PM // 19:21

A friend told me that he was paying in USD by setting his PlayNC account location to the US instead of an EU country.

Simple way to stop them from overcharging us, it seems.

Then again... Looking at http://www.pcmedia.nl for prices (they send a physical box by mail)

Prophecies
28.95 at PCMedia and get the 2006 bonus items for free
29.99 at the online store and +4.99 for the bonus items

Nightfall
39.95 at PCMedia
44.95 at the online store
23.95 at some Russian site, for access key and a chimeric prism, no box

Eye of the North Preorder kit
3.00 at PCMedia
4.95 at the online store

Eye of the North
29.95 at PCMedia
34.95 IIRC at the online store, maybe wrong, price not listed on the site right now.

Oh yes, and I get 10% discount as PCMedia member. So....

Tempy · Jul 22, 2007, 07:30 PM // 19:30

Once again...this is NCSoft doing it NOT ANet...Take your complaints to the right place. If you think NCSoft has people looking at these boards, step out of the fantasy world you are living in and wake up. This thread like all the other ones that has popped up are going nowhere, and Gaile already said she sent a copy on. So sit back and wait to see what happens or send a letter to NCSoft about your plight.

And yes Jongo there are a lot of us that hate it when the poster thinks they can just demand it...and it will happen. Even better is the spoiled one that has to go in on every thread and complain about what is post here and in the threads like it.

Happy Hunting

Rehnahvah Gahro · Jul 22, 2007, 08:58 PM // 20:58

I've just noticed that the 1 Million Upgrade (GW 06 Edition) costs 4.99 USD, but 4.49 € in the ingame store. It doesn't reflect the current exchange rate USD to €, but it is at least something...

BUT that means it is even more RIDICULOUS that NCSoft sells Gwen PreOrder for 4.99 €... I mean, they don't even try to cover it up, I feel like someone's spitting in my face!

There is NO reason for this price policy, except of ripping as much money as possible from customers... if I'm wrong, then bring forward proof.

Yours truly, angry mob!

milan · Jul 22, 2007, 09:15 PM // 21:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by TGgold

No, it's called Price Discrimination. Take Economics some time, it's a fairly basic principle that allows monopoly powers to increase their profit. Ever wonder why some people pay different prices for EXACTLY the same seat on a plane?
Secondly, it depends on the products elasticity of demand. How much of a difference will 3.61 to 4.99 make for many people? Quite frankly, not a whole lot. For the final prices, will 5 euros make a huge difference? If they decided to jack the price on the US side by 5 USD, I'd still be inclined to buy the product. The demand for the game is most likely inelastic for most of the range that it's in, give or take 5 dollars. NC probably sees this and is willing to make money off it.
Thirdly, I don't know how easy it is to obtain a hard copy in stores in Europe. I useually see people complaining on forums (mostly form Australia) about the lack of hard copies (and EB's monopoly on the game in Australia...).

1 - You need to go back to your books, although this is a product supplied from one source it is not a monopoly market for the product, NCsoft do not dictate the price to retailers to any major extent. Your seat analogy is deeply flawed; dates, times, even passenger weight and physical ability can, and are often factors, all irrelevant in this case.

2 - Your absolutely right, but this doesn't make it right. I know it's a 'perfect world' scenario, I and from the sound of things others dislike the feeling that they are getting gouged for no valid reason.

3 - Western Europe is a doddle, until recently I lived in a fairly small town, I had my choice of three shops I could buy from. I couldn't comment on Eastern Europe with any accuracy but from the number of Poles playing I'm guessing it's pretty freely available at least there.

Age · Jul 22, 2007, 09:51 PM // 21:51

It is the same reason that you lot over Europe are paying more for gasoline than us over here in North America.

Spura · Jul 23, 2007, 09:40 AM // 09:40

The problem isn't these 2 bucks. It is these 2 buck on a 5$ deal and the fact that it goes on with everything. 62$ for 45$ title. nearly 700$ for 500$ graphics card. It adds up when every transaction, you are paying nearly 40% more. And living in a country with the average income one third of that of US ppl, yeah it is a problem.

MirageMaster · Jul 23, 2007, 11:39 AM // 11:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spura

The problem isn't these 2 bucks. It is these 2 buck on a 5$ deal and the fact that it goes on with everything. 62$ for 45$ title. nearly 700$ for 500$ graphics card. It adds up when every transaction, you are paying nearly 40% more. And living in a country with the average income one third of that of US ppl, yeah it is a problem.

Finaly ppl starting to see the problem.Btw,in hungary GWEN is 24 euros,tell me again why i have to pay almost 2 times that ammount just to get that bloody bonus mission pack?

Yanman.be · Jul 23, 2007, 12:37 PM // 12:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delta_24

Perhaps the fact that people in the UK have to pay more tax on bought items? Things in the US have always been cheaper than the same item in the UK, at least the times that I've been over there.

UK doesn't use €. Learn something about the world, then open your mouth.

Phoenix Tears · Jul 23, 2007, 12:41 PM // 12:41

1$ is not so much worth as 1€.. Different taxed, different prices for deliveries and shipment and so on, man what for a wonder of intelligence r u ?

Thats normal that the price of USD and Euro are different, the prices in USD and Euro for every shit in the wolrd are different .. where do u live, that u think, prices would be everywhere the same with different kinds of money, that have different values ...

on the Moon ? maybe ...

I'd be angry now, when i would have to pay for example in germany more euro, as i would have to pay for GW:EN euro in france, the netherlands or belgium or god whatever for an other of the lands, which have Euro as their money -.-

MirageMaster · Jul 23, 2007, 12:45 PM // 12:45

the one problem is that internet puting every buyer so to speak in the world on equal footing,making price compare decicing factor.I take it Anet and NcSoft didnt thought of that.In game shop should take in to account what country you living in and adjust price accordingly otherwise ppl is some countries will pay more unfairly then the others.

dsielschott · Jul 23, 2007, 03:47 PM // 15:47

it's as simple as this.....

A-net being an american company will get a charge to convert your EU into useable money. This means that the charge they get for converting your EU is implemented into your bill. The exchange rates that you all are looking at are from an exchange office. A-net not being an exchange office gets charged for this so they dump that charge on you like any other company in this entire WORLD does.
Does it suck? Yes.
And if you buy from the store you get charged the same as Americans because the product is going to manufactured out of America anyways so that means everyone picks up that cost.

it's that simple.....A-net is a buisness that makes money, so for them to pick up that exchange charge would be rediculously idiotic on there part....

and again yes it does SUCK but cant change it so just gonna have to deal

o and btw changing your account to US instead of EU is one of the dumbest ideas ive heard yet........your bank account that gets billed is still in EU so that means the cost to u will still be the same thing. At their conversion rate and the conversion fees added in you will still be billed the same amount......come on people think before you post sometimes

prism2525 · Jul 23, 2007, 04:42 PM // 16:42

The process is entirely digital and nothing is shipped, so why do they frickin' raise the prices??

I would like them to send me a box and all though, I do love having all manuals and stuff.

Spura · Jul 23, 2007, 08:18 PM // 20:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsielschott

o and btw changing your account to US instead of EU is one of the dumbest ideas ive heard yet........your bank account that gets billed is still in EU so that means the cost to u will still be the same thing. At their conversion rate and the conversion fees added in you will still be billed the same amount......come on people think before you post sometimes

You are the dumb one here and you should think before you post. Conversion rate and conversion fees ARE NOT RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GOING 40% of TOTAL VALUE. THEY ARE RIPPING US OFF HERE. Conversion fees are 5% tops. Let me lay it out for you since you are incapable of thinking. Either I can buy stuff for 50 eur, which is almost 70$ for something and get assraped by greedy bastards or I can switch territory to US, pay 50$ and pay the conversion fee which is like 5%, which totals 52.5 $ or 38 eur.

Spura · Jul 23, 2007, 08:22 PM // 20:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsielschott

o and btw changing your account to US instead of EU is one of the dumbest ideas ive heard yet........your bank account that gets billed is still in EU so that means the cost to u will still be the same thing. At their conversion rate and the conversion fees added in you will still be billed the same amount......come on people think before you post sometimes

You are the dumb one here and you should think before you post. Conversion rate and conversion fees ARE NOT RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GOING 40% of TOTAL VALUE. THEY ARE RIPPING US OFF HERE. Conversion fees are 5% tops. Let me lay it out for you since you are incapable of thinking. Either I can buy stuff for 50 eur, which is almost 70$ for something and get assraped by greedy bastards or I can switch territory to US, pay 50$ and pay the conversion fee which is like 5%, which totals 52.5 $ or 38 eur.

Yeah I bet poor anet is charging us 40% extra to cover conversion fees.

Darksun · Jul 23, 2007, 08:29 PM // 20:29

It's not that simple. Why does it cost more to fly to Europe than to the US? Why does (average) housing cost more in England than the US? Why are brand name clothes cheaper n the US than England? If the US has more disposable income why not charge them more? It's complicated, not as simple as "we're a bigger country/co. , we're just gonna charge more" When you have countries/governments/trade/cost of living involved things get blurry.

TGgold · Jul 23, 2007, 08:33 PM // 20:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by milan

1 - You need to go back to your books, although this is a product supplied from one source it is not a monopoly market for the product, NCsoft do not dictate the price to retailers to any major extent. Your seat analogy is deeply flawed; dates, times, even passenger weight and physical ability can, and are often factors, all irrelevant in this case.

2 - Your absolutely right, but this doesn't make it right. I know it's a 'perfect world' scenario, I and from the sound of things others dislike the feeling that they are getting gouged for no valid reason.

3 - Western Europe is a doddle, until recently I lived in a fairly small town, I had my choice of three shops I could buy from. I couldn't comment on Eastern Europe with any accuracy but from the number of Poles playing I'm guessing it's pretty freely available at least there.

1- It's closer to an ologopolistic setting...but that's too technical to diagnose the problem. What is happening is there are relatively few providers for a standardized product. The "online store" is acting as a price leader. There is such a thing as a "suggested retail price" (or at least there is in the US). Regardless, NCsoft and the online Store still contain some monopoly power in the market for GW:EN. If they wanted to, they could withdraw all shipments and make all purchases digital. Anyway, that's enough of a tangent on that...in the end, NCsoft still has enough of a monopoly power to price discriminate, and that was my point.

2- In Econ, nothing is fair. Your valid reason is that NC needs to make profit. As we all know, they need money to grow and develop more. I consider it perfectly fine for them to charge us a minor fee for no "real reason". Consider it for the entrepreneurial talent and innovation. If there is a chance to increase revenue, it would be FOOLISH of NCsoft not to take up the offer. Seriously, if someone said "We could be making about 1,000,000 more in profits if we charge X amount more, since the elasticity of demand for this product would remain relatively unchanged" would YOU as an executive say "Well, let's give up that Million, I don't think the clients will really understand and it'd kind of not fair." No, no you would not say that (or if you did, you would find yourself without a job rather quickly...) When dealing with any industry, it is absolutely stupid to question why they would want to make more money...it's what business does...
On the bright side, just remember the more they make, the more they spend, and the better our future experiences will become =)

3- I'm glad to hear that there are lots of shops around in Eastern Europe. My cousin lives in England and always has trouble finding games and decent shops. Maybe he's just bad at looking... O_o

MirageMaster · Jul 23, 2007, 08:41 PM // 20:41

I am considering now if i want to buy GWEN from ingame shop and pay 40 euros(and get the bonus mission pack) or buy fron on line shop here in hungary for 24 euros with preorder but no mission pack.How lame anet(or ncsoft)... how lame.

Age · Jul 23, 2007, 09:14 PM // 21:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darksun

It's not that simple. Why does it cost more to fly to Europe than to the US? Why does (average) housing cost more in England than the US? Why are brand name clothes cheaper n the US than England? If the US has more disposable income why not charge them more? It's complicated, not as simple as "we're a bigger country/co. , we're just gonna charge more" When you have countries/governments/trade/cost of living involved things get blurry.

It is not because they are a bigger country or we would get charged more as well.Those of us being Canadian their nieghbours and biggest trading partners.The price is almost the same for us up here as it is for the US and the same goes with brand name clothes as well.I wouldn't say they targeting you for more money.How much do you pay for a CD or DvD compared to the US or even us CDN.

Enix · Jul 24, 2007, 12:54 AM // 00:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jongo River

It's not a game as such - it's 3 weapons, a useless trial and some demo time before the game goes live. And, when bought from the official store, it's virtual - so no manufacturing costs. So when you say precident, I'm going to assume you mean what's commonly referred to as "Rip-off Britain".

I bought it on a whim, but I almost certainly won't be buying the game from the store (I'm expecting the download to cost £24.99-£3.49, which is still a few quid more than 3 other retailers are offering the boxed version for). If Anet prove me wrong and manage to match the price offered by Amazon, Play or Gameplay (even if the price only matches with the pre-order discount), then I'll eat humble pie, but I doubt it. The store is a tool to gouge us with and nothing else.

Oh, and sure - close the thread now I've had *my* say. P.S. Does anyone else hate it when posters think they can demand this?

Yes, I hate it when poeple ask for thread locks, when it is anything but a whiner "why not me?" thread. I have seen threads locked for less.

Still though, your preorder money goes to the purchase of the retail version when you purchase through PlayNC. Be pissed at bulk pricing and low overhead, not at Anet. They are probably required to charge MSRP by their publishers/distrubuter/retailers or else they would get sued (see: Steam/Half-Life 2).

This thread needs to be locked before it turns into a US vs Euro thread.

BTW - Your copies need to cost more BECAUSE YOU HAVE FAVOR TOO MUCH. How is that for fair?

scrinner · Jul 24, 2007, 02:26 AM // 02:26

Quote:

BTW - Your copies need to cost more BECAUSE YOU HAVE FAVOR TOO MUCH. How is that for fair?

Quoted for the hilarity of that post.

For those that are wondering why you are being being charged the MRSP as the box heres two reasons.

1) Bandwith. Those without frequent -image wont have the full GWEN client on their desktop saving Arena Net Bandwith. They need money for bandwith. Its not cheap transffering 3 gigs over the itnernet. Not a big majority of the Guildwars Fanbase uses the -image command. Atleast thats what I've learned from experience anyways.

2) If they charged 40% less then the retailers, Alot more people would be inclined to buy straight from them then from the retailers thus hurting the publishing industry badly. While I agree that the prices are much higher in some cases, Arena Net should implement some sort of system that allows them to have sales on their games thus creating a "Win-Win" situation for everybody.

And heres two odd thought bubbles you guys should wonder about.

Why are you guys being charged extra for everything in Europe?
Also, Why are you guys complaining at a fansite and not bothering to send e-mails to NCSoft instead of whining?

- The Scrin