Re: showing code in vb2005

"Robert Morley" <rmorley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:ef7PC5aaIHA.4208@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And I agree completely. There certainly might be reasons
for increased prices, such as additional shipping costs,
duties, etc., but double the price sounds way out of line to me.

Exactly, especially as most of the Microsoft software we purchase in England is pressed and printed at a plant in Ireland, which is virtually next door! And yet we are asked to pay *an EXTRA $300 or more for a copy*!!!

And if indeed it IS a scam, as I suspect it is, then it's something
that needs to be set right. Having said that, however, the fact
that it's so pervasive makes me at least consider whether there's
something else at play (like the previously-mentioned taxes, duties,
shipping, etc.)...at least in part.

There is indeed something else at play, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with taxes or duties or shipping, other than perhaps a minimal amount in some circumstances. In fact many of the products for which we pay extra are made almost locally. The main problem is we British are loath to complain about anything, and will do anything for an easy life. Almost dilatory or lethargic really. We are quite happy to stand in queues waiting for things and we almost never complain when we are given a bad meal in a restaurant (in fact we will give a rather large tip even if the meal and the service was crap!). It's just something in our make up and most of us don't even know we're doing it! Multinational corporations are well aware of that fact, and they will take advantage of it at every opportunity. The Americans are not like that. If an American see something in a shop which he believes is being sold at a rip off price he will simply refuse to buy it, on a matter of principle. And if an American gets a crap meal in a restaurant he will say outright that it is crap, and in many cases he will even refuse to pay for it. An Englishman, by contrast, will pay whatever price is aksed for almost anything, and will not only fail to complain but he will pay in full, and probably give a large tip as well! Anything rather than "cause a fuss"! We're a funny lot, us Brits.

I'm assuming that you're correct. As I said, I think 100%
more sounds extremely high for any legitimate sale.

Agreed. Especially as in some cases that amount to an extra $300 dollars or more, for a f*c*ing disk and a four page booklet!

But the fact that it's so pervasive makes me curious to know
if there ARE legitimate reasons for it to be that high. The only
way to know that, however, would be to trace the costs from manufacturer to distributor to store to consumer, and I haven't
got the slightest skill in that area whatsoever. :)

Well not really. There is another way to do it. You already know exactly how much Amazon are prepared to sell a copy of Vista Ultimate for to someone who lives in America. All you need to do is add a few dollars for shipping costs and perhaps an extra 10% for export duties onto that amount and see what it comes to. In my book it comes to about $35 max! And that's even allowing for the fact that export duty if payable in addition to import VAT here in the UK, which I believe is not the case. But even if it is, that accounts for $35 max. So where did the extar $300 come from? Besides, if I but a copy of Vista from a shop in England, that copy of Vista (the disk and the packaging) was made in ireland, in a plant which turns them out at a similar costr to their plants in America (and in any case the manufacturing costs are just a few dollars anyway!). What I am paying Micro$oft for is the licence. The actual material costs them almost nothing by comparison. It is the licence they are charging me an extra $300 for!! Robbing bastards!

All I was really saying when this thread started out is that you
haven't proven that Amazon is deliberately doing anything
wrong here.

No. And I don't need to. It is Micro$oft who are the main bastards here, not Amazon.

AFAIK, right or wrong, MS has the right to change their prices
based on the country they're shipping to.

Yes. You are quite correct. Microsoft do not need to sell a single copy to anybody if they do not wish to. And they can ask whatever price they wish, based on whatever criteria they choose. It is up to the purchaser to look at the price Micro$oft are offering and to decide whether or not to buy. Micro$oft can charge twice their normal price to a specific wholesaler than they charge to some other wholesaler. But they have no *legitimate reason* for charging twice as much to a UK wholesaler than they do to an American wholesaler, any more than they have a legitimate reason to charge three or four times as much to a wholesaler who they believe has what they them might appear to be strange sexual preferences, or perhaps is black or has a religion that they do not approve of. Micro$oft are attempting to rip me off purely on the ground that I live in England, and there is no way I am going to ever allow them to do it, and I reserve the right to complain vehemently about it at every opportunity!

Mike



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