Adobe still ripping off EU buyers

[Steve]

In a briefing last week by Adobe, members of the press were told outright that the company was going to be "levelling" the prices of its software between the USA and Europe - with prices in Euros being pegged far close to those in dollars. The upshot of this should mean - as we understood it - prices of Adobe software in Europe will no longer be a whole lot more that in the USA.

Trouble is, the people who briefed the people who briefed the press couldn't have given them chapter and verse on the relative prices on each side of the pond would be THIS week because, it looks to us, like Adobe is continuing to play that maddening old game ROCIE - Rip Off Customers In the EU.

As well as tabulating the prices - which to us are clear evidence that EU buyers of Adobe software are subsidising buyers in the USA - we've also taken the unusual step of making available for download the spreadsheet used to create the tables.

We've made the spreadsheet available so that the rest of world, if it has the urge, can look to widen the net (tighten the noose?) by adding in comparative figures for other nations and other Adobe programs or, better still, for products from other companies.

Why stop at Adobe? After all, this is something much bigger than a single-company issue.

Sound appealing? Then head over to the HEXUS.community and get involved in some concerted action about GAPDY - the Great Atlantic Price Divide.

Dive over and check out the HEXUS.lifestyle headline. This does concern YOU.

[Bob Crabtree]

So, what can we do, and what should we do?

I'm extremely open to suggestions cos, truth is (and as you might have figured), I'm seriously hacked off about GAPDY. And I have been for years; Adobe's prices are just the catalyst.

I started up - a long time ago - a web-based petition about this. That resulted in me collecting emails from disgruntled purchasers and also in letters dropping on a ministerial doormat.

That petition is still in place on the net, here on the site of the now-defunct Computer Video magazine.

By all means do check out that page and respond to the petition. It involves sending an email and writing to a minister (the correct one now, I think, is the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe - not The Minister for Trade Competitiveness).

However, what you might also care to do is vote in our poll and maybe even come up with some other ideas of getting some action going.

A good start might be to widen the survey on price discrepancies to include comparisons of other companies products in the UK, the wider EU and elsewhere in the world.

Hopefully, having that spreadsheet available for download will help.

Over to you, then, people. For now.


Bob C

[Moderskeppet]

Above the inflated european prices Adobe also adds another 30% (at least) for the translated version of the software.

Meaning that the Swedish version of CS premium cost about twice that of the English version bought on the other side of the Atlantic.

[Steve]

This really is nothing short of appalling.

[starbuck]

And here was I was about to buy the photo elements and premiere elements bundle.

[Ljuboja]

I cant agree more to help and join the barricade, i was nearly dumb enough to fork out all that money for 8 CS, but until i figured i could get 8 CS from another source, i got myself a copy.

I dont see why ntsc region is much cheaper prices compared to Europe, thats why there are so many graphic designers creating signatures all the time, because they can afford to - lucky chaps and he dont even understand what us Europe people have to put up with....................

[Matt1eD]

I don't know about the country price difference but Macromedia products are far from cheap and now Adobe has bought them I hope they don't go up even more. I think it's absolutely ridiculous, however imo there's little we can effectively do.