Just buy it somewhere other than steam where it's cheaper. This is not something I'd join a facebook group over, especially when there are options available to you that are cheaper than the US version.
Publisher: pls explain 80USD Australia price on Steam
- Thread starter OzJeremy
- Start date
Lancor
Prince
Just sneaking into the topic, looking what's all the fuss is about and then...
... for real?
You are talking about being ripped off and helping people by offering them something in context with ... facebook?
I don't know if to cry or to laugh.
... for real?
You are talking about being ripped off and helping people by offering them something in context with ... facebook?
I don't know if to cry or to laugh.
wow, thats amazing how much we r being ripped, i didnt think it was that much
guess its a good thing we are all amazingly rich
So you think a $40 per unit price hike is justified by a single (up to) $2040 per title classification fee? In other words, they expected all sales of Civ V to Australia to total no more than 50 units?
That stretches the bow a little long to find a pricing defense.
Anyway, it doesn't matter. We've found other legitimate suppliers and the thieves won't get our gold.
JoeHollywood
Warlord
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2006
- Messages
- 235
No, I'm saying that the profit ( not revenue ) is going to reflect that. Most likely they're taking a conservative estimate, and if you figure a 10% per unit margin, you'd have to garentee 500 units.
The wording was also confusing to me that it might even refer to every VENDOR not the publisher was responsible for that 2000 bucks.
So you have Steam having to move 500 units for the break even, as well as each and every other retailer having to move 500 units.
That also doesn't mean that it's the only tax/tariff on the item.
Like I said, my research time consisted of all of 28 seconds worth of googling.
You're welcome to call a civil servant from either country to ask about tariff's and or taxes that are applicable.
JoeHollyWood:
Australia may or may not have hidden tariffs, but that blog gives no information about that (not that i'd call one blogger a reliable source but anyways). The only thing that blog mentioned is a small fee for game classification (small compared to the development costs of commercial video games). That companies like Microsoft/Bungie can spend tens of millions developing Halo Reach but can't stomach a $2000 fee to have the game classified defies belief.
Also saying that because you found one tax means there is others is fallacious. I'm inclined to agree with you in this case but in terms of arguments that's very a weak leg to stand on and you shouldn't really use that logic.
Not sure about New Zealand at all, I know next to nothing about the situation there except that they complain about prices too.
Australia may or may not have hidden tariffs, but that blog gives no information about that (not that i'd call one blogger a reliable source but anyways). The only thing that blog mentioned is a small fee for game classification (small compared to the development costs of commercial video games). That companies like Microsoft/Bungie can spend tens of millions developing Halo Reach but can't stomach a $2000 fee to have the game classified defies belief.
Also saying that because you found one tax means there is others is fallacious. I'm inclined to agree with you in this case but in terms of arguments that's very a weak leg to stand on and you shouldn't really use that logic.
Not sure about New Zealand at all, I know next to nothing about the situation there except that they complain about prices too.
That would be ozgameshop.com
My Pre-Order was shipped out on Friday and is on it's way down under as we speak
And what happened to the profit margin in the US price? But even if your claim of 500 units was correct, a population of 21 million is easily going to get thousands of sales from major titles, not a few hundred. We are talking about a cost difference in cents, not dollars.
I could understand you might be confused about it if you have never had anything to do with Australian law (and yet strangely you feel the need to try and use it to defend Steam/2K).
A media classification application can come from anybody (even people not involved in production or distribution could do it, although that would be rare). It doesn't matter who it is, because it only has to be done once and the classification then applies universally to all sales and distributions of that media in Australia. You never have to get media reclassified unless you are unhappy with the original classification and want to lodge an appeal.
Whoever did lodge the application - 2K or steam or other, it doesn't justify the extra cost by a long shot.
Occam's razor applies. Building a house of cards on the basis of vague and unsubstantiated claims is no way to build an argument. There is absolutely no evidence of this hidden tax/tariff despite the Australian government agencies working under a policy of publicising such information (see below about the classification fee), so it is not reasonable to claim they are the reason for the price hike.
And no additional searching has found anything other than the well known GST, and thsi so called hidden tariff* classification fee.
* The classification fee information is actually freely available and easily found in fewer seconds and in much greater detail than your Google find on the Australian government classifications website via clearly articulated links from their home page. So much for it being "hidden".
I have more than enough contacts in the public service and I have a significantly higher than average knowledge of Australian federal law and policy than my fellow countrymen, whereas you are attempting to defend 2K/Steam pricing on arguments that clearly you know nothing about. Again, it is strange that you feel on safe ground lecturing Australians about their own laws as if we are completely ignorant of them under the circumstances of your own knowledge.
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