Windows 8 Pricing Goes back to normal

[Wenda]

why would you pay $69.99 for it when you can get it for $39.99 online direct from ms?

prices are different in australia. The australian dollar is worth less (i know, hard to believe) and there is import taxes and other taxes.

a$1.00 = us$1.05

 

[Mystere]

While that may be true, it's actual *value* as in, what it can buy, particularly in goods imported from outside AU makes it effectively worth less. Everything is priced more expensively there.

 

[Wenda]

While that may be true, it's actual *value* as in, what it can buy, particularly in goods imported from outside AU makes it effectively worth less. Everything is priced more expensively there.

Yes, I know. I live there. And there isn't very much at all that we don't pay 'over-the-odds' for, sadly.
Wenda.

 

[Ray8]

Prices are different in Australia. The Australian dollar is worth less (I know, hard to believe) and there is import taxes and other taxes.

My good man, AUS$1 is worth US$1.06. The Australian dollar is worth more than the US dollar and has been for over a year.

 

[Mystere]

As I said to Wenda, that may be true from a strict currency exchange standpoint, but is not true in actual buying power of the currency, since almost everything costs significantly more.

 

[Ray8]

As I said to Wenda, that may be true from a strict currency exchange standpoint, but is not true in actual buying power of the currency, since almost everything costs significantly more.

What has that got to do with the exchange rate? If I go to the US, for every AUS$1000, I can but the equivalent of US$1060 of stuff. What do you know of the cost of living in Australia?

 

[Mystere]

Really? You're going to pretend that i'm not right? You know I didn't say anything about the exchange rate. I said the AU dollar isn't worth what the US dollar is. "Worth" relates to what you can buy with it, or what its value is. It takes many more dollars to buy the same things in AU than it does in the US to buy the same things.

Cost of Living Comparison Between Minneapolis, MN, United States And Sydney, Australia

With few exceptions, everything is higher, and most things are significantly more expensive, as much as 200% more expensive.

It's a good thing you lot make 2x as much on average, or you'd all be destitute. This tells me that someone is playing games with the value of the currency.

In any event, it doesn't change the fact the upgrade costs more in AU than it does in the US.

 

[Ray8]

Everything is relative, some say that you need to compare the cost of a Big Mac around the world to make things relative. But you clearly don't have an appreciation of actual cost of living worldwide, not that you should be expected to do so, but the issue is much more simplistic than that. The Australian government has been trying to tackle this very issue of the cost of software in Australia over the last six months, but most of the major software companies refuse to engage with the government.

People like to call it the Australia tax; charge Australians 3-4x the retail cost of software because they can, not because there are overheads justifying the cost. Prior to the end of the month, Microsoft has been selling Windows 8 at the same US dollar rate everywhere in the world, so why should it revert to US$199 in the US and AUS$399 (US$376) in Australia next month? That's even with a software download from Microsoft - no handling, shipping etc costs involved.

 

[MrShowdown]

1 AU$ : IDR 10119
1 US$ : IDR 9625

Technically, Australian Dollar is worth more than US Dollar, but that doesn't count many external factors.

 

[Mystere]

Everything is relative, some say that you need to compare the cost of a Big Mac around the world to make things relative. But you clearly don't have an appreciation of actual cost of living worldwide, not that you should be expected to do so, but the issue is much more simplistic than that. The Australian government has been trying to tackle this very issue of the cost of software in Australia over the last six months, but most of the major software companies refuse to engage with the government.

It's not just the cost of a big mac. It's virtually EVERYTHING. Why single out software when everything else is just as expensive? Why, for instance, is a bottle of DOMESTIC beer more expensive than a bottle of imported beer? And why is domestic beer 3x the cost of beer here?

The fact is, Australia's economy is wonky. Because people are paid so much, the cost of everything is much higher as well. That's called Inflation. But inflation should show up in global exchange rates, which it's not. That seems to indicate something very strange, and that currency exchange rates are being manipulated somehow.

 

[Ray8]

You're now taking this well outside the germane point of this discussion, which is about the pricing of Windows 8 (aka software). I wish I could say more.

 

[MrShowdown]

Australia suffers the expensive thing on software, Indonesia suffers the expensive thing on anything (especially NERF and other toy blaster)

 

[Mystere]

Look, the fact of the matter is, you actually have it quite good. Notice, in that chart the "Local Purchasing Power", what that means is that based on average salary, you end up paying less of your monthly income on average than most people do for things.

Yes, software may be more expensive, as is everything else, but you make more for doing the same work. In effect, if you base it solely on percentage of income, you pay less for software as a percentage of your income, than do I. So I fail to see what there is to complain about.

 

[Wenda]

You're now taking this well outside the germane point of this discussion, which is about the pricing of Windows 8 (aka software). I wish I could say more.

And I'd like to hear it.
But yes, we are way off-topic. To return...
I'm personally glad that MS did give us this period where we could purchase it cheaply.
Some may otherwise not have bothered, given W8's largely unjustified panning by those who should (and often do) know better. And others, myself included, would otherwise have been unable to afford it.
I think MS has got this right.
Wenda.

 

[MrShowdown]

[Back-to-topic-mode]

Hmm... Microsoft maybe normalized the W8 pricing a bit too fast.
It hasn't been widely adopted yet, being only 1.7x% total usage globally.
I don't know whether the usage rate includes software usage by pirates. If it counts, the count may increase dramatically.

 

[Ray8]

And I'd like to hear it.

I've had too many posts inexplicably deleted, without knowing why, so I must have been treading a very thin line. That's pretty awkward coming from Australian forums where you can speak fairly openly. Therefore, I have to be far more circumspect in what I say, especially if I challenge popular thought.

 

[Wenda]

And I'd like to hear it.

I've had too many posts inexplicably deleted, without knowing why, so I must have been treading a very thin line. That's pretty awkward coming from Australian forums where you can speak fairly openly. Therefore, I have to be far more circumspect in what I say, especially if I challenge popular thought.

Sorry, mate, I didn't mean I wanted you to let rip here, and/or say anything that could get you in strife. Another time and place, however...
I do agree that Aussie forums seem to be a bit more 'laid-back' in what's acceptable, but hey. When in Rome, and all that.
Cheers!
Wenda.

 

[freeky1]

Why would you pay $69.99 for it when you can get it for $39.99 online direct from MS?

Prices are different in Australia. The Australian dollar is worth less (I know, hard to believe) and there is import taxes and other taxes.

I see. I did not realize that you were in Australia.

 

[cytherian]

I'll bet anything you will see Windows 8 discounting return, maybe in 6-12 months from now as Microsoft realizes that it's just not selling enough.

I didn't buy Windows 8 because I figured that I'll be getting it by default when I buy my next laptop (which I anticipate in another 1-2 years).

 

[DavidY]

Just found the "normal" pricing of Windows 8 Pro here in the UK.
£24.99 now
£189.99 after 31 January.
That's an even bigger step up than in the US.
Microsoft Store United Kingdom Online Store - Buy and download Windows 7 Professional, home file sharing, network connectivity, Home Premium

Edit: Just noticed the title of the link which the Forum has filled in for me: "Buy and download Windows 7 Professional"... er... someone at Microsoft needs to update something somewhere.