Why do gems cost more for Brits?
minimum wage where I live in the US is also 7.50. What is your minimum wage?
I don’t know the minimum wage in England and that’s not the point. The price itself doesn’t bother me, it’s just I don’t understand why Americans pay much less, when it should be equal.
Aga: You probably have noticed that it’s not just in this game, but in just about everything the English buy is at a higher cost than to US. That is because of the high taxes that your country has on everything. Simply put, it costs ANet/NCSoft more to do business in England, therefore it’s going to cost the consumer more.
In war the worst thing you could do is die for your country, make the other jerk die for his!
I don’t think it costs Anet much to do transactions, even overseas; just be glad its not like most other games where 10$=10£ and so forth..they at least TRIED to lower the price, another problem people often overlook is that currency fluctuates daily so the store would have to be set up to automatically convert currency dependent on daily fluctuations
Agreed with the other posts. Or at the very least weekly. Which can lead to mistakes of like bazillion gems for 1 euro possibly. That is clearly outlandish but you get my point I’m trying to make. Realistically speaking – you are better off as people say.
UK and EU prices have 20% VAT included. Yes it’s still not exactly the same amount, but closer than what you perceive currently.
One – Piken Square
illgot has a point about minimum wage as just converting the currencies would not reflect the price of living in various countries. But in answer to illgot, the minimum wage in the UK is £6.08 for aged 21 and over (roughly $9.85).
But as mentioned at least Arena.net hasn’t done the lazy $=£=€ conversion.
it can be as low as 6.00 to as high as 8.50 in the US, varies by state, and if you are a waiter, bartender, etc it can be as low as 2.13 per hour.
I would think ANet would base it on the countries average cost of living.
http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/GB/US
Americans make 32% more money than the British.
Its even worse for me (Portugal). We make 2.1 times less money and still have to pay more.
This isn’t just a black and white issue, as people are trying to tell you guys. It isn’t as simple as matching the exchange rate and cost of living. You have to account for taxes, the current market of other similar things, etc… Can you name an MMO that makes it completely fair for every country? It is cheaper to run things here in the US, so they can charge us less.
If you are annoyed at loosing $3, spend the time to farm the gold to then exchange gold for gems. That exchange rate is global.
I’m from England and to buy gems it’s £8.50 for 800 gems, for the Euro/dollar it’s 10 for 800 gems.
Given cuurent exchange rate, £8.50 is equal to $13.75, so if I was to buy gems I’d be paying $3.75 more, is this fair?…
What numbers are you using to say it’s $10 for 800 gems? I do not have in-game access at this time.
Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione.
(edited by Dishconnected.8360)
http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/GB/US
Americans make 32% more money than the British.
Its even worse for me (Portugal). We make 2.1 times less money and still have to pay more.
yeah but you all have those nifty “free” socialist programs… don’t worry we’ll be there soon in the US…
Arena Soft has to pay the VAT to the British government I think. There no American VAT.
http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/GB/US
Americans make 32% more money than the British.
Its even worse for me (Portugal). We make 2.1 times less money and still have to pay more.
yeah but you all have those nifty “free” socialist programs… don’t worry we’ll be there soon in the US…
A fair exchange rate has absolutely NOTHING to do with politics. US$10 is US$10. GBP 8.50 is US$13.
ANet isn’t paying additional employees to process the gem transactions in the EU, so I don’t know why minimum wage has ANYTHING to do with the discussion.
The ONLY fact presented so far that is germane is VAT, and assuming VAT AFTER a fair exchange rate means that gems should, in the UK, be ~GBP7.50.
Arena Soft has to pay the VAT to the British government I think. There no American VAT.
Yes, and VAT is 20%.
The exchange rate, as currently stands, means $10 == GBP6.20
If people want to use VAT as an excuse, they should explain why ANet is, apparently, charging a 40% VAT, double the actual rate.
This isn’t just a black and white issue, as people are trying to tell you guys. It isn’t as simple as matching the exchange rate and cost of living. You have to account for taxes, the current market of other similar things, etc… Can you name an MMO that makes it completely fair for every country? It is cheaper to run things here in the US, so they can charge us less.
As you said, it’s not a black and white issue. It isn’t as simple as matching the exchange rate and cost of living. You basically can’t compare the two systems. Consumer electronics are, on average, cheaper in the US than in Europe. Conversely, food is apparently cheaper in Europe than in the US. House prices are shockingly similar, but US houses tend to be made from wood while European houses tend to be made from brick or concrete. And let’s not get into gas prices.
(The above is of course a gross oversimplification. None of this may apply in Albania, Romania, Greece or similarly poor European countries for example.)
Which is to say, there is no point of reference. Other than the exchange rate. Even discounting 19% VAT it looks to me like ANet is still taking 10% extra from Europeans. And apparently a bit more from Brits.
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another problem people often overlook is that currency fluctuates daily so the store would have to be set up to automatically convert currency dependent on daily fluctuations
Actually, it used to be that MMOs just list their prices in USD and tagged you with the conversion fee. Then the Dollar tanked and they realized how cheaply Europeans were getting their goods now. So they introduced fixed Euro and GBP prices cause, well, companies exist to make money.
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err i checked, and the rates seem fine.
pretty sure we pay the same as the americans or close enough to not make me care a jot.
i’m sure thier is some elaborate equation to work out the value per region that makes sence to someone.