That was what I was trying to say when you order stuff from online shops in the USA they sometimes do not charge the individual tax for a category of items and so when they deliver the item you end up having to pay the postman the excess charge. So blizzard probably add the cost of those taxes and so the item becomes more expansive in Australian dollars.
Also if you go buy stuff in Ebay they take upfront extra money to cover taxes that might be imposed on the item they are selling and you still have to pay extra in Europe if they amount is not enough.
Yes, correct. Taxes are another important factor. This is the reason why the price in €-Europe (where I live) is so much higher compared to the actual converted price. You also have to take into account that even if digital purchases are taxed lower (which I do not know if that is the case or not), they have to sell at a price comparable to retail stores.
Certain countries have rules to protect their own local retailers and online shops so the item you buy directly from overseas get extra added costs to it. That is probably what the support guy from Blizzard said but said it poorly.
Certain countries have rules to protect their own local retailers and online shops so the item you buy directly from overseas get extra added costs to it. That is probably what the support guy from Blizzard said but said it poorly.
I love how people are so quick to blame companies instead of their own corrupt, ineffective, self-serving, greedy governments.
True. That is particularly true in my country in the caribbean. Games and other imported goods are a lot more expensive and we also pay custom taxes that they made up for anything over $200 bucks. What i make here in the US in one week as part time is a monthly salary in my country, and sometimes a lot less than that doing the exact same job with the same level of education while all the products are priced equal than in US and higher for being imported. As a result, video game piracy is so big in my country that 6-7 out of every 10 consoles is hacked/flashed to read non genuine copies, and PC gamers torrent everything.
Thanks to massive sales on steam, amazon, etc, more people are buying more retail/digital games there, but its still ridiculous. And Xbox live and PSN dont support my country so people cant use their credit cards there, they have to buy game codes and/or used games on amazon/ebay or pay more at a retail store.
I love how people are so quick to blame companies instead of their own corrupt, ineffective, self-serving, greedy governments.
O ill tell you right now our county government is greedy as, never had a problem buying digital copy of games such as albion, Crowfall, Sony Games and steam games without paying additional fees and things like that. It just cost me the converted value of the US value.
So i was gonna buy overwatch however when i seethe game was $70 dollar for the basic game for the Australian audience and $40 US for the America Playerbase the conversion rate didnt seem right so i checked the conversion rate which is $40 US = $55Au so im like ok wonder what the conversion rate for other countries area.
When u select countries US $40= $55.21 Australian South Korean Won 45,000 = $52.38 Australian New Taiwan Dollar 1,300 = $55 Australian Euro $40 = $61.53 Australian
Like serious its kinda stupid why not let us pay the converted price of the US value like you do for everyone else around the world. I can select New Zealand for country and it be $40 us Dollars
Think Aussies are ripped off by Blizzard? Look at it from the EU point of view as well... Blizzard is using a 1:1 USD-EUR conversion rate making the Overwatch Origin Edition €60, which at the current rate is the same as $69. And with the higher gaming population in the EU compared to Australia, the actual extra 'profit' that Blizzard makes from this 1:1 conversion is immense!
Yeah as Aussie you pay relatively more than EU players and that sucks balls. But it's just mind blowing that companies keep using these kind of extreme currency exchange rates, and even more mind blowing that gamers are just dumb enough to go along with it and keep paying those extreme rates!
So i was gonna buy overwatch however when i seethe game was $70 dollar for the basic game for the Australian audience and $40 US for the America Playerbase the conversion rate didnt seem right so i checked the conversion rate which is $40 US = $55Au so im like ok wonder what the conversion rate for other countries area.
When u select countries US $40= $55.21 Australian South Korean Won 45,000 = $52.38 Australian New Taiwan Dollar 1,300 = $55 Australian Euro $40 = $61.53 Australian
Like serious its kinda stupid why not let us pay the converted price of the US value like you do for everyone else around the world. I can select New Zealand for country and it be $40 us Dollars
Think Aussies are ripped off by Blizzard? Look at it from the EU point of view as well... Blizzard is using a 1:1 USD-EUR conversion rate making the Overwatch Origin Edition €60, which at the current rate is the same as $69. And with the higher gaming population in the EU compared to Australia, the actual extra 'profit' that Blizzard makes from this 1:1 conversion is immense!
Yeah as Aussie you pay relatively more than EU players and that sucks balls. But it's just mind blowing that companies keep using these kind of extreme currency exchange rates, and even more mind blowing that gamers are just dumb enough to go along with it and keep paying those extreme rates!
Im pretty much refusing to buy it at this stage simply cause of the marked up price myself.
So i was gonna buy overwatch however when i seethe game was $70 dollar for the basic game for the Australian audience and $40 US for the America Playerbase the conversion rate didnt seem right so i checked the conversion rate which is $40 US = $55Au so im like ok wonder what the conversion rate for other countries area.
When u select countries US $40= $55.21 Australian South Korean Won 45,000 = $52.38 Australian New Taiwan Dollar 1,300 = $55 Australian Euro $40 = $61.53 Australian
Like serious its kinda stupid why not let us pay the converted price of the US value like you do for everyone else around the world. I can select New Zealand for country and it be $40 us Dollars
Part of it is the basic cost of having things shipped to other countries and taxes of other countries. There is a reason imports always cost more. So no a person living on an island nation where everything is shipped by boat or plane just to get there should not cost the same as someone driving down the road from a local retail site to get one.
So i was gonna buy overwatch however when i seethe game was $70 dollar for the basic game for the Australian audience and $40 US for the America Playerbase the conversion rate didnt seem right so i checked the conversion rate which is $40 US = $55Au so im like ok wonder what the conversion rate for other countries area.
When u select countries US $40= $55.21 Australian South Korean Won 45,000 = $52.38 Australian New Taiwan Dollar 1,300 = $55 Australian Euro $40 = $61.53 Australian
Like serious its kinda stupid why not let us pay the converted price of the US value like you do for everyone else around the world. I can select New Zealand for country and it be $40 us Dollars
Part of it is the basic cost of having things shipped to other countries and taxes of other countries. There is a reason imports always cost more. So no a person living on an island nation where everything is shipped by boat or plane just to get there should not cost the same as someone driving down the road from a local retail site to get one.
So i was gonna buy overwatch however when i seethe game was $70 dollar for the basic game for the Australian audience and $40 US for the America Playerbase the conversion rate didnt seem right so i checked the conversion rate which is $40 US = $55Au so im like ok wonder what the conversion rate for other countries area.
When u select countries US $40= $55.21 Australian South Korean Won 45,000 = $52.38 Australian New Taiwan Dollar 1,300 = $55 Australian Euro $40 = $61.53 Australian
Like serious its kinda stupid why not let us pay the converted price of the US value like you do for everyone else around the world. I can select New Zealand for country and it be $40 us Dollars
Part of it is the basic cost of having things shipped to other countries and taxes of other countries. There is a reason imports always cost more. So no a person living on an island nation where everything is shipped by boat or plane just to get there should not cost the same as someone driving down the road from a local retail site to get one.
Not shipped its a digital version for that price and our next door island neighbours gets to pay $40 US instead of the AU $70 and will be playing on the same servers as Aussies.
ok... seeing as you all basically ignore my posts.. let me break this down for you
in the past few weeks... i've spent about $800 on digital games.. basically everything thats been coming out... there is no taxing on digital goods, overwatch is the only one of these games that has had an intentional markup.
i dont really care because it was like $7 but it's not a standard thing... in all the games i've purchased
Battleborn, total war warhammer, overwatch, paragon, paladins, riders of icarus, doom, fragmented and a bunch of other titles i cant think of at the moment.. really carefully now read my next line of text
I have never paid intention markups on digital games including blizzard games outside of overwatch, it's not a standard thing and i don't think it'll be an ongoing precedent...
ok... seeing as you all basically ignore my posts.. let me break this down for you
in the past few weeks... i've spent about $800 on digital games.. basically everything thats been coming out... there is no taxing on digital goods, overwatch is the only one of these games that has had an intentional markup.
i dont really care because it was like $7 but it's not a standard thing... in all the games i've purchased
Battleborn, total war warhammer, overwatch, paragon, paladins, riders of icarus, doom, fragmented and a bunch of other titles i cant think of at the moment.. really carefully now read my next line of text
I have never paid intention markups on digital games including blizzard games outside of overwatch, it's not a standard thing and i don't think it'll be an ongoing precedent...
I can forgive any company for a slight mark-up if it has a statue like this outside its head office:
They usually do the same for Europe...some companies charge the same amount on dollars or euros even though on Euros is more expensive. And not...it´s not fair.
ok... seeing as you all basically ignore my posts.. let me break this down for you
in the past few weeks... i've spent about $800 on digital games.. basically everything thats been coming out... there is no taxing on digital goods, overwatch is the only one of these games that has had an intentional markup.
i dont really care because it was like $7 but it's not a standard thing... in all the games i've purchased
Battleborn, total war warhammer, overwatch, paragon, paladins, riders of icarus, doom, fragmented and a bunch of other titles i cant think of at the moment.. really carefully now read my next line of text
I have never paid intention markups on digital games including blizzard games outside of overwatch, it's not a standard thing and i don't think it'll be an ongoing precedent...
I can forgive any company for a slight mark-up if it has a statue like this outside its head office:
i agree + overwatch is baller as fuck, so an extra $7 is worth it!
I believe that there is standardized pricing that is carried across the board, no?
Like a new console game in AU is like $100. That's regardless of the current exchange rate. Same deal with Canada, it's like $80 for a new game regardless of the exchange rate. Then in the rates change there is some play, until such a time that the base price for that country requires adjustment. So when the exchange rates are in the favor of the companies, they'll make more money, I'm assuming. When it isn't, then they won't make as much money. There was a time when the CAD was exchanging higher than the USD, but Canadians were still spending more than an American for a new game. Game prices don't fluctuate with the ever-changing economy.
Oh!!! Idea! We should just have a single currency for the entire world!!! We'll call it the USD.
I would have to disagree, at least when it came to computer games through the 80's and 90's. We very much got the better end of the stick here because games pretty much had the same sticker price on either side of the border. Back in the 80's The only retailer in the Vancouver area that had any kind of selection was Super Software in Richmond, I'd drive right down to Seattle to get a game that wasn't in stock up here. Back then computer games were priced at $49 either side of the border with a 69 cent dollar you definitely got more bang for your buck up here. I also found that you got an advantage buying components up here as well, not the same as the games but a price advantage none the less.
something weird is going on blizzard doesn't usually mark up other than exchange rate differences and if you look at origin edition
Origin Edition $60US - $89.95AU
exchange - $60US = $82.85AU
so there is only a $7 mark up on the origin edition but on the standard edition it's more like $15... which again is still weird, because most blizzard games i've never paid an intentional mark up on it's only been the exchange difference
Its like this for every one of blizzards games australian pay an extra $10-30 for every single one of there games after conversion
I have no issues playing conversion rates however im not gonna pay conversion + extra for a digital copy. Physical i dont mind paying extra due to shipping costs.
that isnt true....
World of Warcraft Legion : Digital Deluxe $70US - $94.95AU
converted 70US is $96.65
and i've spent over $380 in HoTS and all of it has been just currency rate more than the US price.
it's only been like this with overwatch, i'm looking at all the money i've spent on blizzard games in my account settings, and none of my purchases have been marked up $10 - $30 compared to the US rate
$380 on HOTS. Clearly explains why Blizzard gave up on monthly sub games, just no money in them these days.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
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"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
something weird is going on blizzard doesn't usually mark up other than exchange rate differences and if you look at origin edition
Origin Edition $60US - $89.95AU
exchange - $60US = $82.85AU
so there is only a $7 mark up on the origin edition but on the standard edition it's more like $15... which again is still weird, because most blizzard games i've never paid an intentional mark up on it's only been the exchange difference
Its like this for every one of blizzards games australian pay an extra $10-30 for every single one of there games after conversion
I have no issues playing conversion rates however im not gonna pay conversion + extra for a digital copy. Physical i dont mind paying extra due to shipping costs.
that isnt true....
World of Warcraft Legion : Digital Deluxe $70US - $94.95AU
converted 70US is $96.65
and i've spent over $380 in HoTS and all of it has been just currency rate more than the US price.
it's only been like this with overwatch, i'm looking at all the money i've spent on blizzard games in my account settings, and none of my purchases have been marked up $10 - $30 compared to the US rate
$380 on HOTS. Clearly explains why Blizzard gave up on monthly sub games, just no money in them these days.
i mean... i chose to spend that money, i like the game much better than LoL or DoTA and thats because of the speed of things... i don't like the whole 40 - 90 minute games of barely anything going on.. i like the fast action paced feel of HoTS... i own all the characters released to date and a good portion of the skins, and i mean $380 over a year or something isnt a great deal if you think about it.
So i was gonna buy overwatch however when i seethe game was $70 dollar for the basic game for the Australian audience and $40 US for the America Playerbase the conversion rate didnt seem right so i checked the conversion rate which is $40 US = $55Au so im like ok wonder what the conversion rate for other countries area.
When u select countries US $40= $55.21 Australian South Korean Won 45,000 = $52.38 Australian New Taiwan Dollar 1,300 = $55 Australian Euro $40 = $61.53 Australian
Like serious its kinda stupid why not let us pay the converted price of the US value like you do for everyone else around the world. I can select New Zealand for country and it be $40 us Dollars
Part of it is the basic cost of having things shipped to other countries and taxes of other countries. There is a reason imports always cost more. So no a person living on an island nation where everything is shipped by boat or plane just to get there should not cost the same as someone driving down the road from a local retail site to get one.
Its not shipped, its electronic, like steam.
I was talking about in general, not just for the games. Also some people still prefer physical copies so games are not just electronic. But even the games will be taxed by the local government and it still wont cost the same as a person living in the area the game is released. Every country is different and has different rules and regulations, those are the defining reason for difference in prices.
So i was gonna buy overwatch however when i seethe game was $70 dollar for the basic game for the Australian audience and $40 US for the America Playerbase the conversion rate didnt seem right so i checked the conversion rate which is $40 US = $55Au so im like ok wonder what the conversion rate for other countries area.
When u select countries US $40= $55.21 Australian South Korean Won 45,000 = $52.38 Australian New Taiwan Dollar 1,300 = $55 Australian Euro $40 = $61.53 Australian
Like serious its kinda stupid why not let us pay the converted price of the US value like you do for everyone else around the world. I can select New Zealand for country and it be $40 us Dollars
Part of it is the basic cost of having things shipped to other countries and taxes of other countries. There is a reason imports always cost more. So no a person living on an island nation where everything is shipped by boat or plane just to get there should not cost the same as someone driving down the road from a local retail site to get one.
Not shipped its a digital version for that price and our next door island neighbours gets to pay $40 US instead of the AU $70 and will be playing on the same servers as Aussies.
It looks like as of May 5th 2016 digital goods will start to be taxed. The law takes full effect July 1st 2016. could be Blizzard was preparing for this.
something weird is going on blizzard doesn't usually mark up other than exchange rate differences and if you look at origin edition
Origin Edition $60US - $89.95AU
exchange - $60US = $82.85AU
so there is only a $7 mark up on the origin edition but on the standard edition it's more like $15... which again is still weird, because most blizzard games i've never paid an intentional mark up on it's only been the exchange difference
Its like this for every one of blizzards games australian pay an extra $10-30 for every single one of there games after conversion
I have no issues playing conversion rates however im not gonna pay conversion + extra for a digital copy. Physical i dont mind paying extra due to shipping costs.
that isnt true....
World of Warcraft Legion : Digital Deluxe $70US - $94.95AU
converted 70US is $96.65
and i've spent over $380 in HoTS and all of it has been just currency rate more than the US price.
it's only been like this with overwatch, i'm looking at all the money i've spent on blizzard games in my account settings, and none of my purchases have been marked up $10 - $30 compared to the US rate
$380 on HOTS. Clearly explains why Blizzard gave up on monthly sub games, just no money in them these days.
i mean... i chose to spend that money, i like the game much better than LoL or DoTA and thats because of the speed of things... i don't like the whole 40 - 90 minute games of barely anything going on.. i like the fast action paced feel of HoTS... i own all the characters released to date and a good portion of the skins, and i mean $380 over a year or something isnt a great deal if you think about it.
Nope, $380 over the course of a year on one game is.. umm.. er...
That's like 3 years' worth of monthly sub back in the "good 'ole days" (if you paid annually).
Like @Kyleran said, no wonder developers gave up on monthly sub games, there's just no money in them anymore, lol
Hell would freeze over before gamers would be willing to pay $380 for ONE years worth of subs, but they'll happily spend that in the cash shop over the same period AND probably walk away feeling like they got great value for money...
Australia is a fairly unimportant market in the grand scheme of things. That's why most online games don't really care about it, they rarely have servers for them etc.
Does Overwatch have servers for that region or do you connect to EU ones? if so there is your extra cost, goes into buying servers for such a small region.
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Also if you go buy stuff in Ebay they take upfront extra money to cover taxes that might be imposed on the item they are selling and you still have to pay extra in Europe if they amount is not enough.
You also have to take into account that even if digital purchases are taxed lower (which I do not know if that is the case or not), they have to sell at a price comparable to retail stores.
tariffs.
Thanks to massive sales on steam, amazon, etc, more people are buying more retail/digital games there, but its still ridiculous. And Xbox live and PSN dont support my country so people cant use their credit cards there, they have to buy game codes and/or used games on amazon/ebay or pay more at a retail store.
Yeah as Aussie you pay relatively more than EU players and that sucks balls. But it's just mind blowing that companies keep using these kind of extreme currency exchange rates, and even more mind blowing that gamers are just dumb enough to go along with it and keep paying those extreme rates!
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in the past few weeks... i've spent about $800 on digital games.. basically everything thats been coming out... there is no taxing on digital goods, overwatch is the only one of these games that has had an intentional markup.
i dont really care because it was like $7 but it's not a standard thing... in all the games i've purchased
Battleborn, total war warhammer, overwatch, paragon, paladins, riders of icarus, doom, fragmented and a bunch of other titles i cant think of at the moment.. really carefully now read my next line of text
I have never paid intention markups on digital games including blizzard games outside of overwatch, it's not a standard thing and i don't think it'll be an ongoing precedent...
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
i mean... i chose to spend that money, i like the game much better than LoL or DoTA and thats because of the speed of things... i don't like the whole 40 - 90 minute games of barely anything going on.. i like the fast action paced feel of HoTS... i own all the characters released to date and a good portion of the skins, and i mean $380 over a year or something isnt a great deal if you think about it.
This isn't a signature, you just think it is.
That's like 3 years' worth of monthly sub back in the "good 'ole days" (if you paid annually).
Like @Kyleran said, no wonder developers gave up on monthly sub games, there's just no money in them anymore, lol
Hell would freeze over before gamers would be willing to pay $380 for ONE years worth of subs, but they'll happily spend that in the cash shop over the same period AND probably walk away feeling like they got great value for money...
Does Overwatch have servers for that region or do you connect to EU ones? if so there is your extra cost, goes into buying servers for such a small region.