International pricing

[sgroarke]

I just ordered/paid/downloaded Contrast Master. A long-time user of B&W Styler, I'm looking forward to it!

Thought I'd mention something which potentially could put some folks off the ordering process (it nearly did me) When it came time to pay my $69.95, Element5 option uses an exchange rate (to Euros - not sure what it would do with other currencies) that is HUGELY wrong and in their favour. I know they have to make a cut, but this was riduculous!

I nearly bailed out at that point, thinking "I'm no sucker" but looked at the PayPal option first: they use a normal exchange rate. So I went ahead and bought.

The difference between the PayPal price and Elements5 was just over 6 Euros. That's a big difference.

Since I assume that they both pay the developer the same $69.95, I have no worry that I'm depriving Harald of extra income! I'm depriving Element5 of extra income! So do check those options carefully. We want Harald to get our hard-earned money for his work, not some intermediary.

Hope you don't mind me posting this information - as I say, it nearly put me off buying, so you don't want to accidentally lose potential customers!

[HaraldHeim]

I appreciate your comment! Actually we mainly provide the Element5 option for people who do not like to use Paypal or have problems using Paypal. Most customers are using Paypal anyway.

I am not sure if we earn more because Element5 has a higher dollar/euro exchange rate. Element5 charges much higher fees for order processing. So I doubt it.

Anyway, if you pay by credit card using Element5, you can switch back to the dollar amount and pay in dollars even if you are from Europe. That way the dollar/euro conversion will be done by your credit card company, which should be more favorable for you. Unless your credit card company charges your an extra fee for currency conversions, which I cannot imagine.

[pszilard]

Well, I am in Australia. The AU$ buys US$0.917 today. I went to purchase LightMachine which is on special at US$49.95 (let's call it 50 bucks). Element 5 wanted to bill me in AU$ at AU$60 - that's a 20% markup instead of the 9% true. I also was about to cancel, but instead I kept switching the VISA currency back to US$ and completed the purchase at US$50. It hasn't hit my bank yet, but I bet it will be less than AU$60

So in summary, make sure you buy in US Dollars!

[pszilard]

My purchase has arrived on my bank statement. It is AU$55, That's nearly 10% differnce.

[HaraldHeim]

I just investigated the matter. It seem we get the payment in dollar, so the money that element5 makes through currency conversion is what they keep.

I also tried to make USD the default currency on the order page, but I did not find a way. So each user has to select the currency manually. Sorry.