Windows Vista - Spot the difference

[Jumpinbeans]

True Charleski the 300 dollar difference is helped by the fact the dollar has got weaker.

The point though is when Microsoft released their product for the US they stated on their site a RRP of $399 which at the time would have been no lower than around $1.72/pound BBC site showing comparison which means a price change of approx 10% over the last year.

This indicates Microsoft were ripping us off then, just by not as much I agree though that they do it because we are an easy target.

In response to Kalniel, sure they do marketing but dont you think it would cost more to market a product to the entire US than to little britain. They have vastly more mediaoutlets which would all need to be covered. Here they only need an advert in the sun to cover 1/2 the country

[alexpollard]

True Charleski the 300 dollar difference is helped by the fact the dollar has got weaker.

The point though is when Microsoft released their product for the US they stated on their site a RRP of $399 which at the time would have been no lower than around $1.72/pound BBC site showing comparison which means a price change of approx 10% over the last year.

This indicates Microsoft were ripping us off then, just by not as much I agree though that they do it because we are an easy target.

In response to Kalniel, sure they do marketing but dont you think it would cost more to market a product to the entire US than to little britain. They have vastly more mediaoutlets which would all need to be covered. Here they only need an advert in the sun to cover 1/2 the country

Whoa, stop the debate! This was posted at 06:49 on a Sunday. Clearly this man is insane

[torched_geek]

The reason we pay more, is due to the 1337 Strength of the pound, if you haven't already realised (Which I am sure you all already have).

And I was up at 6:49 Am this morning, Heck I was up before then (Although I did go to bed a little later). I really can't imagine me buying Vista Ultimate, even the OEM version will be too steep, Lol.

The features seem to be nice if you have the money, but no thanks.

Business looks right for me. -Checks his wallet-
Still going to break the bank, Lol. I'll wait for decent DX10 games out before I make the commitment, like I believe a lot of tech loving people are. Let the idiots test for bugs. -Whistles-.

[Steve]

Quite a ruckus was caused by HEXUS.community members on Friday when it was revealed that e-tailer Amazon was listing Microsoft's up-coming operating system here in the UK for a price significantly higher than that of our friends in the US.

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=7551

[ajbrun]

surely people in the UK can install a US copy can't they? Aren't they all the same? You pick which language you want on install, so unless they have some protection against other countries installing their version (why would they?), I don't see why not.

[JPreston]

...unless they have some protection against other countries installing their version (why would they?)....

To allow regional price-fixing? Surely Microsoft wouldn't stoop so low...

I admit, having read the news item and MS's response I'm confused by the exchange issue because I don't know much economics.

Sure the dollar is worth nothing, but why doesn't that mean we see a reduction in the amount we pay that reflects the fact that we could buy some dollars and (after blowing our noses in them and using some of them to wedge under our wobbly chairs) buy US Vista for peanuts? I understand that the costs MS incur inside the UK are now more expensive for them but as pointed out above these are pretty small. And licencing goes way beyond absorbing the cost of production anyway.

Is it not just a question of MS taking all the exchange rate upside and not passing anything on the customer in the UK, i.e. negating our purchasing power because they have exclusivity?

[Aurhinius]

I think everyone is missing the REAL issue here.

Do people not remember how much MS got fined for anti competition or whatever crap it was to do with Windows Media player?

Oh yes this is microsoft making their money back from all the costs they incurred during that whole debacle.

You all have short term memories ;-)

Please note it was only the european union that demanded they remove windows media player.

[Clunk]

379.99 USD United States Dollars = 196.835 GBP United Kingdom Pounds

1 USD = 0.518000 GBP
1 GBP = 1.93050 USD

So vista works out at about £240 inc vat and import taxes at todays exchange rates.

If we can get a few orders together, it might be worth a trip over there and post them back as gifts? Im not sure on the legality of that, but Im sure someone else will comment if its not legal

[charleski]

Do people not remember how much MS got fined for anti competition or whatever crap it was to do with Windows Media player?

Oh yes this is microsoft making their money back from all the costs they incurred during that whole debacle.

MS doesn't need any excuses to squeeze money from people. Last time I checked, Australia wasn't in the EU, but the price of a Vista Ultimate licence there is around A$719, which is $560.

[ExceededGoku]

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=7551

Nice work Steve , I already ordered the OEM version of Vista Ultimate because I can't be asked paying a million pounds more for a retail version... I currently have an OEM version of XP Pro which has worked through numerous hardware upgrades (although I always crack the activation because I can't be bothered phoning asia to explain why I have changed my hardware)

[starbuck]

It's a common business rule called "charging what the market will bear" which means that the us won't stand for ridiculus prices so they don't set the prices that high. The british on the other hand, have a tendancy not to complain so businesses charge us whatever they want to as know we would buy their products anyway.

Personally, I'm probably looking at an OEM version as I'm due a major upgrade. Will most likely wait until the DX10 cards have been out for a bit though before I take the plunge.

[kalniel]

Is it not just a question of MS taking all the exchange rate upside and not passing anything on the customer in the UK, i.e. negating our purchasing power because they have exclusivity?

That would be illegal.

It is however charging 'the market price', which because they are the only players, is virtually the same thing

[alsenior]

you cant legally export a copy of widows because it contains crypto and it is illegal to take outside the us because it is classed as munitions. if your caught it is a hefty fine.

[JPreston]

That would be illegal.

It is however charging 'the market price', which because they are the only players, is virtually the same thing

Oh yeah, but am I missing out on something fundamental to do with exchange rates here, or they really are just ratcheting up the price because they think people will pay it?

[charleski]

Oh yeah, but am I missing out on something fundamental to do with exchange rates here, or they really are just ratcheting up the price because they think people will pay it?

The price is set according to what they think the market will bear. All the exchange rate changes mean to them is that MS's EU division will end up posting a higher profit from Vista sales, and they're happy with that.

Of course if the dollar rose in value we'd quickly see a rise in prices here...

[hibby]

you cant legally export a copy of widows because it contains crypto and it is illegal to take outside the us because it is classed as munitions. if your caught it is a hefty fine.

In which case, Microsoft themselves would be in violation of that law. Even if the CDs are pressed outside of the US, the software code has to be exported sometime.