Somethings smells...

[AnonymousKiwi1]

So I am thinking that I might like to get me some new software to go with my sparkley new computer. Lightroom3 seems like just the ticket, so I checked out Adobe's site.
Listed at the bottom of the page is the price for the full product US$299, which converts to NZ$402 at the current rate. OK - I can maybe save up for that.
Out of interest I go to the Buy page, which takes me to the Adobe Store - NZ. The price here is listed in Aussie dollars (go figure?) at A$375. My trusty currency converter tells me this equals NZ$511.
Am I getting ripped here??
Bearing in mind that there's no shipping involved. This is a straight out download. How can this difference be justified?

[RichardTaylor]

At least your not paying tax!

It's US companies ripping people off. I believe it happens everywhere outside the USA.

However it is a good product and I think it is worth it.
Once you are in the "system" I feel the Adobe upgrades are reasonably priced.

[AnonymousKiwi1]

It doesn't mention GST on the site. I can't imagine we'd get away without paying that. That's an interesting point.

[RichardTaylor]

Depends on your countries rules.
(Australian GST applies to my purchases from the Australian site).

[candleman]

I don't think you will be charged GST provided the company isn't registered in NZ and the value is under NZ$400.

being a downloadable product, it's impossible for themto charge you for it anyway as it doesn't pass through customs.

GST and duty wrangle heats up as threshold stays | Stuff.co.nz

[AnonymousKiwi1]

I see. No tax then.

Still, the tax question aside - I wonder how the difference in price is explained.
Twenty five percent more because I'm sitting at a computer in NZ, rather than one in the US?

[graciousness]

Adobe is trying to protect the local distributors for their products, it seems to me. They want to direct customer traffic to buy the products locally or within the same territory so that the distributors/dealers don't get cut off. They also probably have this agreement with their distributors. Pricing for products always vary depending on territory/countries.

Whilst there is not much you can do with local pricing for products, the only way you can go about getting the US price (which is always bloody cheaper than US or NZ) is to buy it from a non Adobe website who is willing to ship there.

Mind you, you shoudl think about shipping. If you look for it from the US, the shipping may cost a bit plus any customs charges. You may find that it maybe cheaper for you to just buy it from the Adobe NZ site anyway as then you'd be paying local shipping cost.

Worth a look and comparison.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by AnonymousKiwi1

I see. No tax then.

Still, the tax question aside - I wonder how the difference in price is explained.
Twenty five percent more because I'm sitting at a computer in NZ, rather than one in the US?

You think that's bad try sitting in Canada... and our dollar is worth more then theirs is.

Sometimes it has to do with local agreements or set market values. Other times it could be that an eStore is is using a set value that may not be even close to what the market is trading at. Have you tried using the other shops from the pull down menu under your cart? Might help, might not.

[dvtldav]

If you know someone who is in college or is a professor at a college or university sometimes they can get software at a discount. I got Lightroom 3 for $10 and Adobe Creative Suite 5 for $20 because my wife is on the faculty at the local university so check this out. You can also try LR3 for 30 days free.

Dave