Software prices

[Ciqala]

Software prices in the uk are becoming stupid...

I have been looking to buy a copy of photoshop 7 because I am setting up office at home and need legitimate licences for my software. well at dabs and amazon it comes in at £585.

well i was doing some searching and found a place in america that is selling it for $445 (note: thats the dollar price not pounds). thats under £300. how is it that they can justify charging double the cost for a piece of software merely because i am in a different country. adobe is a large enough company they would have stock here in the uk so it cant be down to shipping... its just another case of rip-off britain...

anyways if i were to purchase it from the site i found it on directly i would still be penalised for my location... not only with international shipping costs but also this damn 17.5% vat added on all online purchases now. ffs i hate this country so much...

anyways i have now got a friend in california to buy it for me and i have paypalled him the cash. but even after buying the software, getting next day delivery to my pals home, giving him enough to package it and post it to me from california with enough left over for a drink as a thanks for his help. the total cost = £350. its around the houses but thats still saved me £235. its kin ridiculous.

anyways he's kindly going to wrap it up all nice for me as a late birthday present. so the grabbing gits at customs (not kustom :) ) cant try and squeeze more tax out of me there as well.

/end rant

but despite all that i'm happy cos i'm getting a legal copy of photoshop woo-hoo :)

[sambartle]

Originally posted by Ciqala


anyways if i were to purchase it from the site i found it on directly i would still be penalised for my location... not only with international shipping costs but also this damn 17.5% vat added on all online purchases now. ffs i hate this country so much...


the 17.5% isnt anything new youve always had to pay that, and you will be charged this time if customs open it.
The thing that changed recently is on digital services, previously if it was delivered electronically you wouldnt pay VAT, whereas now you do. (things like eDownloads, and registration keys and email services or web services from other countries are now taxable thats what changed)

If your friend bought it as a gift for you and m,arks it as such on the customs declaration you should be ok though.

[brianhabby]

I am also disgusted with the software companies for over charging in the UK.

I suspect that you may have made a mistake in buying Photoshop from America because Adobe told me that if I did the same (I very nearly bough a US version on Ebay) they would not allow me to register it nor offer any support and they would consider it illegal software.

It seems they have got us by the short and curlies with this, I just wish I knew what the answer is.

[Sparky__H]

Well look at it from this angle..

If adobe tried to charge $1200 for Photoshop in America I can guarantee you most people would tell them what they can do with their product and stop using it (well legit copies).

Here in England we just bitch and whine but in the end pay the price. Its rip off Britain because we let them get away with it. If business started to switch to a competitor then Adobe would lower their prices (to the same as the competitor).

You want discussing prices hikes what about the £180 odd price difference between XP Pro OEM and retail edition, I am pretty sure cardboard isn’t that expensive. Also XP pro is just over £30 per OEM copy in yankyland.

[Sub]

ya can get adobe cs 2 for about 300 from adobe...

[Zozart]

ya can get adobe cs 2 for about 300 from adobe...

Not sure where you're looking, but on their site it still costs close to £500. :eek:

It is indeed annoying having to pay more than American citizens, especially paying VAT on things bought out of the UK.

However, in the past, buying games on Direct2Drive (http://direct2drive.com) I didn't have to pay any VAT. :rolleyes:

[jsnemesis]

Holy Thread Resurection Batman!

:D

JS

[mr-white]

and they wonder why software piracy is so high :rolleyes:

MW

[shifty.ricky]

Has anyone used www.parcel2go.com

They offer you a mailbox in the US which you can get stuff mailed to and then forwarded on to you.

[brianhabby]

Has anyone used www.parcel2go.com

They offer you a mailbox in the US which you can get stuff mailed to and then forwarded on to you.


See my comments above. If you buy a US version of Photoshop then Adobe will not allow you to register it in the UK.

I have sent another email to adobe to confirm this and if they reply (Which I somehow doubt) I will post the reply here ... watch this space...!

[casperjr]

Whats the difference between not paying VAT and software piracy???

[Kynoch]

One is screwing the government and your pocket, the other is just making the software manufacturer lose out on some profit.

[toryboy2000]

Version 8 is on eBay, Full retail packaged with manuals etc for £214.99

Version 6 with un-used Version 7 Upgrade @ £195.00

Both on BUY IT NOW! Appear to be genuine offers :rolleyes:

+ Lotso £14.99 versions LOL LOL LOL :D

[casperjr]

Yes but the guy said,
Software prices in the uk are becoming stupid...

I have been looking to buy a copy of photoshop 7 because I am setting up office at home and need legitimate licences for my software. well at dabs and amazon it comes in at £585.


One is screwing the government and your pocket, the other is just making the software manufacturer lose out on some profit.

So surely if you want to be legit then you get your software from a source where you pay the VAT on it to???

[davidmoore83]

Just a few comments for the thread starter. Now to set the scene my gf is american lives in america and i spend alot of time out there. Now for me when i go across there i am twice as rich almost :D The thing is $400+ for them is just like £400+ for us - i.e. it gives you the same sick feeling when you spend it. Its only becasue when we convert our currency to theirs it appears cheaper in our own currency.

In essence what i am saying is if you were living there you would think it no cheaper than living here if that makes sense :confused:

As for the VAT thing. You said you need it legit for business etc so why don't you become VAT registered and claim VAT back on all ligitimate items purchased for your business???

[Cosmo_1847]

i'm a sturdent, so i have no money and no job as my exams start near the end of this month. i have about £1500 of software on my computer. and the computer has had about £1200 spend on it and upgrades.

when i get a job i will get some of this software on sturdent licanes as i will be in collage. i know that MS office has a licenes for it to be installed on 3 computer.

if you or your child go to school, you can get software on sturdent licenes. admitadly i am the child and i do use all this software.

[brianhabby]

I said above that I have emailed Adobe and if they reply I will post that reply here. Well they did reply but first here is the text of my email to them:

Dear Adobe

Can you explain to me why your products cost so much more in the UK than in America.

For example Photoshop CS2 in currently $599.00 on adobe.com which equates to approximately £314.00 but you are asking your UK users to pay £522.00 which is about 66% (That's sixty six percent) more ......!

Even allowing for V.A.T. which accounts for £77.74 still makes Photoshop CS2 over 41 percent more expensive in the UK than in the US.

If I were to buy the whole Creative Suite the price difference is even greater.

Creative Suite Standard in the US is $899.00 which equates to £471.12 but in the UK it is £705.00 plus V.A.T. a difference of £233.88 which is almost 50 percent more expensive excluding V.A.T.

Creative Suite Premium in the US is $1,199.00 which equates to £628.34 but in the UK it is £895.00 plus V.A.T. a difference of £266.66 which is over 42 percent more expensive excluding the V.A.T.

Why should I buy your products at such inflated prices?

A recent article in PC PRO magazine highlighted software theft and spoke of the millions of pounds that are lost in the UK through people ripping off the software companies, but when I see such blatantly over-priced software I have to ask myself "Who is ripping who off here?"

If I buy your software through a US source and have it shipped to me here in the UK, will you allow me to validate and register it and will you offer me technical support?

I look forward to your reply with eager anticipation, and perhaps the offer to buy a UK version at a US price.

Yours

Brian Hall

And this is what Adobe had to say in reply:

Dear Mr. Hall,

Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding the price difference of Adobe products in the US and the UK.

As you correctly noted, there is a price difference in Adobe products in the US and Europe. There are several reasons for this. Developing and testing applications for several local markets in Europe, as well as for several operating systems, causes additional expenses. We also offer Warranty support for our registered customers that covers product installation and defect issues of the current version of Adobe?s desktop applications.

Even though Adobe Europe and Adobe US are parts of the same global company, European Marketing strategies and pricing are not directly related on strategies used for the US. The prices are not simply converted from the dollar pricing used for US products. The pricing used for each country in the European region may vary.

You can purchase an American product and use it in Europe. We offer technical support for US products under the following conditions. The Customer must provide proof that he/she purchased the product legitimately i.e. by means of an invoice. Additionally the customer must have purchased the US product either in Europe, or in the USA while living there.

I hope this answers your query.

Yours sincerely,

Marjo
Adobe Customer Service
Tel: (UK) 02073650733
Tel: (Eire) 012421552
Fax: 0031 20 5820800
Email: english-custserv@adobe.com


So there you have it - straight from the horse's mouth so to speak. If you accept their reasons (excuses) then go ahead and buy the software.

Does anyone know of a company in the UK selling US versions?