Why does Adobe charge more for its software in AU/NZ?

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#762933 15-Feb-2013 11:36

ajobbins: They are cutting the price in A/NZ to be on par with the US price

http://www.afr.com/p/technology/adobe_cuts_australian_prices_after_BgBXyFaCrXRGNIrS1M2fNN

They're not cutting the prices the original question was about - ie. the Creative Suite product. They are reducing the Creative cloud pricing.

They're still happy to charge AU/NA customers twice the price for their traditional products, even when delivered electronically.

I recently bought Lightroom for under half the price the local adobe shop wanted to charge me.

Cheers - N

ps. A government inquiry into retail pricing in a competitive market? God help us.

Please note all comments are the product of my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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reven

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#762941 15-Feb-2013 11:52

well to be fair, they did starting give away CS2 for free.

oh but you're only suppose to use it if you already own a copy....

Talkiet

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#762943 15-Feb-2013 11:54

reven: well to be fair, they did starting give away CS2 for free.

oh but you're only suppose to use it if you already own a copy....

No, they never gave CS2 away. They made CS2 keys available online because the authentication servers were being shut down and they needed a way for existing users to be able to continue using the product. They just didn't have a process around ensuring only those entitled to the keys used them.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are the product of my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

BlueShift

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#762973 15-Feb-2013 12:32

knoydart: Maybe AirNZ need to run a promotion along those lines, fly to the States, get a camera/ipod/laptop/software at half price

Except AirNZ were in the papers a fortnite ago - return flight from NZ to UK costs waaayy more than return flight from UK to NZ.
Wonder if you can use a website to book a return flight from UK with the return date before the departure date...

mattwnz

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#762991 15-Feb-2013 12:50

Apples music pricing in NZ is just as bad even though it's also delivered electronically. Also cad software is also a lot more expensive than the usual pricing.

surfisup1000

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#763019 15-Feb-2013 13:16

garvani: They are being taken to task about it now by the Australian Federal Government. About time really, i hope this has some precedent here for us as well, considering a lot of our stock is sourced from Australian distributors it should mean better prices for us as well.

And what right does the Australian government have to order a software company to lower its prices?

It is not exactly a monopoly we are talking about here. Companies price on the ability of each market to pay.

The result is many people will find alternatives and that would be taken into account.

Maybe the aussie/nz market is so small Adobe want to boost profit because they can ? It's their right!

mattwnz

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#763060 15-Feb-2013 13:59

surfisup1000:
garvani: They are being taken to task about it now by the Australian Federal Government. About time really, i hope this has some precedent here for us as well, considering a lot of our stock is sourced from Australian distributors it should mean better prices for us as well.

And what right does the Australian government have to order a software company to lower its prices?

It is not exactly a monopoly we are talking about here. Companies price on the ability of each market to pay.

The result is many people will find alternatives and that would be taken into account.

Maybe the aussie/nz market is so small Adobe want to boost profit because they can ? It's their right!

Pretty sure that companies can only charge 'reasonable' prices, or market rates or products and services, especially if there isn't a huge amount of competition in the market. Otherwise you get regulation going on, which occurs in less competitive areas of the NZ market. There is also only one company I am aware of that produces 'Photoshop'. There maybe similar types of software, but nothing that compares to it that I have found.

Talkiet

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#763099 15-Feb-2013 14:29

mattwnz:
surfisup1000:
garvani: They are being taken to task about it now by the Australian Federal Government. About time really, i hope this has some precedent here for us as well, considering a lot of our stock is sourced from Australian distributors it should mean better prices for us as well.

And what right does the Australian government have to order a software company to lower its prices?

It is not exactly a monopoly we are talking about here. Companies price on the ability of each market to pay.

The result is many people will find alternatives and that would be taken into account.

Maybe the aussie/nz market is so small Adobe want to boost profit because they can ? It's their right!

Pretty sure that companies can only charge 'reasonable' prices, or market rates or products and services, especially if there isn't a huge amount of competition in the market. Otherwise you get regulation going on, which occurs in less competitive areas of the NZ market. There is also only one company I am aware of that produces 'Photoshop'. There maybe similar types of software, but nothing that compares to it that I have found.

Photoshop is certainly the Ferrari of image editing software... There are other less popular, less refined and less capable options available for cheaper prices.

I know most people here are going to disagree but I believe a company has a right to charge what they want for their software in different markets. Micosoft for example charge very very low rates in China and parts of the 3rd world in recognition of local conditions (high piracy, low comparative value of local currency etc)... Just because they charge $10 for a Windows license in China (total guess, probably wrong) doesn't mean they should have to charge $10 in the US, Europe or NZ does it?

How is Adobe choosing to price one market higher than others any different? Don't quote the costs involved. They are largely irrelevant... Focus on why a company shouldn't be allowed to choose to have different pricing schedules in different markets around the world.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are the product of my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

surfisup1000

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#763102 15-Feb-2013 14:32

mattwnz:
Pretty sure that companies can only charge 'reasonable' prices, or market rates or products and services, found.

No, companies can generally charge whatever they like.

There is some law that if the price is not agreed on until after the product / service was supplied, then the price must be fair. Lawyer Barry Hart got caught out by this rule .

One thing I noted, I just got an email from Air NZ advertising return flights from UK -> Los Angeles for $940. Not too bad, considering it is about 1/2 way and the cheapest air nz does NZ->LA is a little north of $1500.

Now, that is gouging but they are entitled to do it .

NZtechfreak

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#763113 15-Feb-2013 14:56

surfisup1000:
And what right does the Australian government have to order a software company to lower its prices?

Ah, they are the government?

They can choose to regulate their market however they like and dictate that to companies. Companies may of course, depending on the nature and extent of the regulation, have some recourse under international law to appeal the decision, but the fact that legislation may be moderated under law doesn't change a governments sovereign right to regulate.

Regulation is frequently necessary, since large companies are for the most part solely driven by the profit motive, which frequently clashes with the interests of citizens.

This 'right' you purport companies to have to set prices they like is only a right as long as government grants it.

Pharmac is an example of government dictating how companies can conduct their business in NZ.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

mattwnz

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#763120 15-Feb-2013 15:07

surfisup1000:
mattwnz:
Pretty sure that companies can only charge 'reasonable' prices, or market rates or products and services, found.

No, companies can generally charge whatever they like.

There is some law that if the price is not agreed on until after the product / service was supplied, then the price must be fair. Lawyer Barry Hart got caught out by this rule .

Any laws NZ has are probably irrelevant anyway, as it is an overseas based company. There are resellers in NZ that sell it, but they take their margin from the sale, so it would be expected that they would be quite a bit more expensive.

BlueShift

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#763141 15-Feb-2013 15:53

NZtechfreak:

Pharmac is an example of government dictating how companies can conduct their business in NZ.

Well, almost - Pharmac is basically the Govt bulk purchasing for the NZ public medical system. Otherwise Panadol wouldn't be $4.00 for the exact same active ingredient that Ethics sell for $1.00 (which the Govt get even cheaper from them in super-bulk).

NZtechfreak

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#763169 15-Feb-2013 17:04

BlueShift:
NZtechfreak:

Pharmac is an example of government dictating how companies can conduct their business in NZ.

Well, almost - Pharmac is basically the Govt bulk purchasing for the NZ public medical system. Otherwise Panadol wouldn't be $4.00 for the exact same active ingredient that Ethics sell for $1.00 (which the Govt get even cheaper from them in super-bulk).

They do a little more than that too in terms of regulating the availability of medicines, and additionally the situation here in NZ where most citizens do not have private healthcare insurance means no pharmac subsidy is very nearly as good as saying 'don't bother trying to sell this in NZ', so it has a very powerful effect over the market place that goes well beyond a simple bulk-buying scheme.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

Davy

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#764122 18-Feb-2013 12:42

I think that this is indeed one of those areas where the government should pull finger. It's not about compelling companies to adopt different pricing strategies - it's more about ensuring free trade so that you can purchase products legitimately from US or elsewhere. This freedom should be explicitly encouraged in the TPPA negotiations, so keep an eye out for what our politicians are doing, and don't let them get away with laziness.

Talkiet

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#764130 18-Feb-2013 12:52

Davy: I think that this is indeed one of those areas where the government should pull finger. It's not about compelling companies to adopt different pricing strategies - it's more about ensuring free trade so that you can purchase products legitimately from US or elsewhere. This freedom should be explicitly encouraged in the TPPA negotiations, so keep an eye out for what our politicians are doing, and don't let them get away with laziness.

Think for a moment about the logical endgame of what you think is a great idea... Everything has a single, global price.

That's great for you and me, and the US - but there are places in the world where the economies simply don't support incomes that could pay a global average, so most people living there wouldn't have a chance at buying software.

Now, if you agree that there are some places in the world that should have cheaper software because of local conditions, then surely you'd have to agree that people from richer countries shouldn't be able to buy that specially discounted software - if they did that then the local sellers wouldn't make any money because everyone wanted to pay 80% off from a 3rd world country.

SO I assert that there are good and rational reasons for different pricing around the world - and if there was a law requiring easy and unfettered purchases from other areas, you'll ultimately end up with a huge number of people more disadvantaged than you are by not having the cheapest software pricing in the world.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are the product of my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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