Rip Off Britain, Creatively
We’ve heard it all before. We are more than aware that in the UK we pay more for just about everything than anywhere else in the world. Corporations know they can get away with it and we moan a bit but carry on shelling out.
At today’s exchange rate of £1 = $2.0037, to fill an average family car with petrol in the UK costs £50 or $100. It is, we’re told, due to Government import duties and taxes. To fill the same car in the US would set you back less than a quarter of that.
Sony’s PlayStation 3 is selling for £400 in the UK. The US price is currently $499, so again we’re stung for $300 more than an American would have to pay.
Microsoft’s Expression Web upgrade, $99 as opposed to £99. Apparently Microsoft reckoned this was because in talks, the UK retailers were the ones who wanted to sell at £99 so they had no choice but to agree to raking in double the money.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen something for sale on the web at a reasonable price in dollars. The instant I hit the ‘what country are you in?’ selection, the price doubles. Why? It’s coming from exactly the same place, it’s the same item. I could understand a hike of 17.5% to cover VAT. I can understand we have to pay import duty and postage for a physical item. That does not equate to double the price, apart from which, import and postage are usually extra.
It’s pretty much the same story across the board but I was completely gobsmacked whilst checking out prices for Adobe’s new Creative Suite 3. According to their own site, the price for the full product in the UK is £1665.88 whilst in the US it’s $1799. Again pretty much double to us in ripped off Britain, but the real shocker is the upgrade price.
In the US it starts at $440. The lucky shoppers in the UK get a massive hike at £703.82! That’s $1409.97, almost 4 times as much. Now in the words of the TV advert, and to stop me using language totally unsuitable for the web, HOW THE ECKY PECK CAN THEY POSSIBLY JUSTIFY THAT ONE!!!!
I’m intending to fire off a less than complimentary email to Adobe to ask the reasoning behind this astute piece of marketing. I’m sure they’ll have a perfectly reasonable explanation up their sleeves. It’s probably because the cost of fuel over here makes it much more expensive to get it to the shops, or some other piece of lame backside covering. Whatever it is, it’s the last straw.
I’ve dumped Microsoft Office and have started using Open Office which has very similar features and in some areas is actually better. It means I can have a copy on my PC and my Mac and it costs me the princely sum of £0. Nothing. Zip, nada, free. I’ve dumped Dreamweaver, Flash, Illustrator all of which have been replaced with much cheaper alternatives. The only one I haven’t been able to replace is Photoshop which I find unbeatable for certain tasks. I’ll keep looking.
It’s our own fault for buying the stuff. We have the web, we have worldwide collaboration and conversation. If we all get ourselves a web pal in the US who is willing to buy the darn things for us and them ship them over, we could not only save ourselves a small fortune, even taking into account import duty, but we could also give a warning to the rip off merchants that we won’t put up with it.
Unfortunately, Adobe have thought of this and included a clause in their EULA expressly forbidding sales outside of the US. I forsee a huge rise in pirate copies and Adobe will only have themselves to blame.
Since originally writing this, I’ve been in touch with Danielle Libine, an erstwhile Financial Analyst in Switzerland, who has started a web petition with the intent of sending it to Adobe and also the EU Commission. She has put together a detailed breakdown of all the cost comparisons and counter claims to Adobe’s reasons for their massive price differences. You can read the article on her site at Fair Prices Blog and please go sign the petition at Fair Pricing for European Software
There is also a site with further information on just how bad the problem is as a whole - Rip-Off Britain
TJolly responds:
Posted: April 19th, 2007 at 10:59 am →
Well written and I have to agree with everything you have said. Look forward to reading any response from Adobe.
Jaybee responds:
Posted: April 19th, 2007 at 11:44 am →
I also look forward to reading a reply. It took some considerable searching to find anyone I could email and I finally found the addresses of the UK PR team. I’ve sent a request for information to Barbara Gibson and Nick Peart at United Kingdom + CEEA (United Kingdom, Ireland, Central Eastern Europe, Poland, Czech Republic, South Africa)
Try fitting that on your business card.
Helena Boylen responds:
Posted: April 19th, 2007 at 1:02 pm →
Ridiculous isn’t it? This is why I refuse to pay for stuff. I either get it OS or I hang around conferences pocketing everything I can get my hands on
I will admit to having bought Swish and Photoshop Elements - but that’s it. The costs are ridiculous.
Jaybee responds:
Posted: April 21st, 2007 at 2:51 pm →
It seems highly likely that I will wait for a reply to my email in vain. A quick trip around the web and a couple of phone calls to journo pals indicates that Adobe have assumed Ostrich pose and are hoping that it all just goes away. However, it seems the worm is turning and I’m not the only one who is hacked off by both the prices and Adobe’s silence. There’s a petition for anyone who wants to object at Fair Pricing for European Software and there are 6764 signatures on it as I write.
Make that 6765.
Seems Adobe keep changing the prices as well. All the sites I’ve been reading have different figures. This one, A man with a Pencil has some interesting price comparisons and debunks a lot of Adobe’s excuses.
Jaybee responds:
Posted: January 6th, 2008 at 1:38 pm →
Eight months later and still no reply from Adobe.
One of their reasons for the price increase was the cost of support to UK customers.
What support would that be then?
Danielle Libine on the other hand did get further. Despite sending the petition, which closed at over 10,000 signatures, and several follow-up messages to the European Commission, they steadfastly couldn’t be bothered to reply. So much for supporting us, I know where my vote goes if we’re ever allowed a say on staying in or getting the hell out.
She did however get a response from Adobe. A quick precis of that page is that Adobe hear us, the pricing structure for a product never changes so CS3 will continue to cost the UK 190% more than the US, but they’re looking into future pricing.
The upshot is, Adobe is well aware of what they’re doing. If you’re idiot enough to buy their products then they’ll sting you for as much as they can get.
JImmy responds:
Posted: March 3rd, 2008 at 4:22 pm →
Rip off Britain! I totally agree with you, but that’s life everyone trying to make a fast buck at the expense of everyone else. People shouldn’t pay more for a service just because of where they live!