I was thinking more along the lines of a VAT tax.
Should have pre-ordered in Australia
- Thread starter Selous
- Start date
Cant be the reason because in the Uk, online retailers have pushed just about every high street book / music / DVD / game store to bankruptcy, and they would always price their stuff lower.
Theres now a story about it on IGN
http://au.ign.com/articles/2014/08/25/beyond-earth-price-jumps-by-80-percent-on-steam-for-australia
http://au.ign.com/articles/2014/08/25/beyond-earth-price-jumps-by-80-percent-on-steam-for-australia
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- 4,535
I preordered from these guys, found about them in the other thread on this topic
just hope they are good/reliable and i don't get ripped off!!
But seriously, i don't need an economics degree to know that this pricing is . Its the same product as what is being sold as the rest of the world, in the same currency as the Americans, yet with some huge markup .... that's what i call a bloody scam!!
I thought the price gouging was done by 2K. Discussion at Whirlpool forums Steam thread seem to indicate this. And most people have come to the conclusion that 2K is instigating the price hikes. Other games from other publishers don't seem to be affected unless it is a 2K game.
On Amazon digital download you use to be able to buy games from Australia, however you cant buy 2K games anymore as it seems 2K have told Amazon to stop selling it to Australians. You can still buy other publisher games though.
For the discussion about 2K price gouging you can see this thread which starts at page 37. You may have to sign up to see thread.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2281570&p=37
On Amazon digital download you use to be able to buy games from Australia, however you cant buy 2K games anymore as it seems 2K have told Amazon to stop selling it to Australians. You can still buy other publisher games though.
For the discussion about 2K price gouging you can see this thread which starts at page 37. You may have to sign up to see thread.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2281570&p=37
you know Battlefield 4 was the last EA game I will ever buy.. Beyond Earth may well be the last 2k game I buy
Thats not a bad site
I was thinking of Playasia (Hong Kong based) but Id have to wait on shipping
But OzGamestop (UK based) Will open the boxa nd email me the codes so I can then download the game from steam and play it on the release day (Presumably they still mail me the box and its contents)
You dealt with them before Dale?
http://www.g2play.net/store/
I live in Croatia and always had an issue with EU prices in a poor ass country such as mine. So over the years this site has proven pretty reliable. I added up all my purchases and it's over 700€ over a good 6 years.
So this is what I'd recommend for everyone who feels Australias pricing is unfair and doesn't mind that his game is just a key you get for steam
I live in Croatia and always had an issue with EU prices in a poor ass country such as mine. So over the years this site has proven pretty reliable. I added up all my purchases and it's over 700€ over a good 6 years.
So this is what I'd recommend for everyone who feels Australias pricing is unfair and doesn't mind that his game is just a key you get for steam
Dale
Mohawk Games Developer
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- Mar 14, 2002
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- 7,601
Not myself, but I know people who have. A quick Google also shows they've been around for a few years (not a fly-by-nighter) and rare complaints. Most of the complaints I saw revolved around slow physical delivery (deliveries held up somewhere, not OGS fault).
Nuuvem have it for $46.00 AU and it is region locked no surprise from 2K.
http://www.nuuvem.com.br/
http://www.nuuvem.com.br/
I preordered from these guys, found about them in the other thread on this topic
just hope they are good/reliable and i don't get ripped off!!
But seriously, i don't need an economics degree to know that this pricing is . Its the same product as what is being sold as the rest of the world, in the same currency as the Americans, yet with some huge markup .... that's what i call a bloody scam!!
make sure you buy the one where they will open the box for you and email you the codes otherwise u will have to wait until ur unopened box arrives in australia before you can play it
so the version that doesn't send a disk out?
arh, so after actually looking at all the options ... of course after the fact i have preordered already
... they have one which is purely a game code, one where they send u the disk and the last option of sending you the disk but emailing you the code as the game is released
I dont need disks, that is old school media, aka dead media ... imo anyways
arh, so after actually looking at all the options ... of course after the fact i have preordered already
... they have one which is purely a game code, one where they send u the disk and the last option of sending you the disk but emailing you the code as the game is releasedI dont need disks, that is old school media, aka dead media ... imo anyways
GeorgePatton
Chieftain
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- Jul 19, 2014
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they steal the keys on that website. thats how they are so cheap. its also not an authorized re seller.
iRule
Warlord
When BNW was released to pre-order, it was only US$ 2.00 in Brazil. Later they corrected it to US$ 29.99 or something.
Now ask me how much I paid...
Someone messed up at Steam Brazil. I remember that. It was shockingly hilarious.
I ended up buying through Steam Brazil (I was actually living in Brazil at the time) and it still was 10€ cheaper than in Portugal - but nothing close to the 2$ thing.
Edit: Aussies, that seems like a blatant rip-off, someone making a scheme and having an apparent monopoly over distribution. There are surely consumer rights associations in Australia - I think a group of you should just denounce it. I think it is a nuisance but someone has to give it a shot for the first time. Where I'm from that would be illegal - that's a cartel for all I can see.
I tried reporting them to the ACCC (Australian Consumer and Competition Commision) a few years back, no such luck:
Dear Mr XXXXX
Thank you for your correspondence of 31 October 2012 to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) regarding your allegations of anti-competitive conduct by Steampowered, in relation to the geographic restrictions imposed on consumers for the use of their gaming content. Your reference number for this matter is XXXXXXXXX.
The ACCC is responsible for administering the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 which incorporates the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The ACL is a national law which applies to all business sectors. It covers general standards of business conduct, prohibits harmful practices, regulates specific types of business-to-consumer transactions, provides basic consumer rights for goods and services and regulates the safety of consumer products and product-related services.
It should first be noted that, broadly speaking, companies are free to set the terms and conditions of their contracts as long as they do not engage in misleading or deceptive conduct or misrepresent their service. Furthermore, suppliers of goods and services are generally free to set their own prices and provided they do this independently it is unlikely to raise concerns under the Act.
The ACCC cannot pursue all the complaints it receives. While all complaints are carefully considered, the ACCC must exercise its discretion to direct resources to the investigation and resolution of matters that provide the greatest overall benefit for consumers and businesses. The ACCCs Compliance and Enforcement policy describes in more detail how this discretion is exercised. This policy, which is available on the ACCCs website [www.accc.gov.au], lists a number of factors that are weighed including whether conduct raises national or international issues, involves significant consumer detriment or a blatant disregard of the law.
It should also be noted that although the Act is designed to encourage fair trading and discourage anti-competitive conduct it does not prohibit every activity that every consumer or business perceives to be unfair and the ACCC must operate within the legislative framework which lays down a specific set of competition and consumer protection rules.
As part of its role the ACCC also monitors emerging trends across consumer and business complaints to determine whether there is a pattern of behaviour by a particular trader or in a particular industry that requires attention. In this regard, your complaint has been recorded and is an important part of our ongoing analysis.
Thank you for contacting the ACCC with your concerns.
Yours sincerely
XXXX
ACCC Infocentre
1300 302 502
iRule
Warlord
Figures.
"provided they do this independently it is unlikely to raise concerns under the Act."
Well, they don't. They settle the prices with local distributors and pretty much kill any competitiveness whatsoever.
It sucks, it's the kind of thing nobody is going to pay attention to until someone brings in the big shots (in other words, some law firm) - but hey guys, not to be a prick, but that's the cost of living in such a safe, well-run and beautiful country! (only that isn't the "cost", but that's me trying to cheer you up!)
P.S - then again, as you can see in their last paragraph, if only everyone submitted a complaint to those ACCC folks then maybe they'd be forced to investigate what is going on in Australia's gaming distribution.
Are you sure it is region locked?
Considering I'm sort of Brazilian - and once in a while my laptop flies to Brazil -I have bought games from their website while in Portugal before. The original Civ V was one of them - it wasn't region locked.
Nuuvem is absolutely safe by the way. Never had a single problem - but I guess if something goes wrong they won't be answering in English.
P.S.S - wow, they did block Nuuvem. It wasn't like that before. Anyway, it's pretty easy to get a VPN with a Brazilian IP - in fact there are several Brazilian universities running quite safe networks for that. I know that because I needed access to some paid scientific papers and I used a fairly easy, no-frills VPN my university in Rio de Janeiro provided (their IP was registered as having paid the fee for accessing those papers) while I was studying there. Just google around and you'll find it, but do it at your own risk! Use a virtual credit card or something, you know, those ones you only use once. Banks usually offer some service like that.
From the moment they rip you off like that moral conundrums as "should I be paying less for this?" kind of run flat.
"provided they do this independently it is unlikely to raise concerns under the Act."
Well, they don't. They settle the prices with local distributors and pretty much kill any competitiveness whatsoever.
It sucks, it's the kind of thing nobody is going to pay attention to until someone brings in the big shots (in other words, some law firm) - but hey guys, not to be a prick, but that's the cost of living in such a safe, well-run and beautiful country! (only that isn't the "cost", but that's me trying to cheer you up!)
P.S - then again, as you can see in their last paragraph, if only everyone submitted a complaint to those ACCC folks then maybe they'd be forced to investigate what is going on in Australia's gaming distribution.
Are you sure it is region locked?
Considering I'm sort of Brazilian - and once in a while my laptop flies to Brazil -I have bought games from their website while in Portugal before. The original Civ V was one of them - it wasn't region locked.
Nuuvem is absolutely safe by the way. Never had a single problem - but I guess if something goes wrong they won't be answering in English.
P.S.S - wow, they did block Nuuvem. It wasn't like that before. Anyway, it's pretty easy to get a VPN with a Brazilian IP - in fact there are several Brazilian universities running quite safe networks for that. I know that because I needed access to some paid scientific papers and I used a fairly easy, no-frills VPN my university in Rio de Janeiro provided (their IP was registered as having paid the fee for accessing those papers) while I was studying there. Just google around and you'll find it, but do it at your own risk! Use a virtual credit card or something, you know, those ones you only use once. Banks usually offer some service like that.
From the moment they rip you off like that moral conundrums as "should I be paying less for this?" kind of run flat.
Broncaholic7
Chieftain
How did it go up higher than the normal price? You sure you didn't get ripped?
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