Oxitron Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Sorry if this question doesn't belong here. Why does Australian membership cost 9.50 when American is like 6? Exchange rate is ~1 AUD to 0.978 USD which means if the price was 9.50 AUD then it should be like 9 USD, or if it is 6 USD, 6.50 AUD? I know it's like 3 dollars, but that is a bottle of coca-cola lol. Also if it was a tad cheaper I could actually play this and my other MMO (WoW of course) without having to choose one or the other p/month. Sup kids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riptide Mage Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Sorry if this question doesn't belong here. Why does Australian membership cost 9.50 when American is like 6? Exchange rate is ~1 AUD to 0.978 USD which means if the price was 9.50 AUD then it should be like 9 USD, or if it is 6 USD, 6.50 AUD? I know it's like 3 dollars, but that is a bottle of coca-cola lol. Also if it was a tad cheaper I could actually play this and my other MMO (WoW of course) without having to choose one or the other p/month. Exchange rate doesn't account for exchanging and processing fees. You make it sound like running through a few level 87 monsters is hard which it really shouldn't be at your level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxitron Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Exchange rate doesn't account for exchanging and processing fees. Fair enough.If we factor that in I still don't think that equates to 1/3 of the cost. Sup kids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bxpprod Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 The answer is more than just this, but a main one is economies of scale. It also may have to do with costs of providing a membership service to us at all (costs money, albeit not $3 worth) in changing from AUD to USD or BPNDS. You cannot simply say the because the US value is [x] and the US membership price is [y] that we should be charged [x]/[y], because costs encountered aren't the same, and it'd be unwise from a business perspective to do so. [bleep] OFF HOW ARE U SO [bleep]ING LUCKY U PIECE OF [bleep]ING SHIT [bleep] [bleep] [wagon] MUNCHER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxitron Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 The answer is more than just this, but a main one is economies of scale. It also may have to do with costs of providing a membership service to us at all (costs money, albeit not $3 worth) in changing from AUD to USD or BPNDS. You cannot simply say the because the US value is [x] and the US membership price is [y] that we should be charged [x]/[y], because costs encountered aren't the same, and it'd be unwise from a business perspective to do so Hm, that seems like the only actual reason. I don't get how the American costs are basically a direct conversion of USD -> Pounds (GBP?) if not a minimal bit more, considering that these USD have to be turned to GBP because Jagex is located in the UK (right?) Shouldn't it be roughly the same for Australians? Sup kids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riptide Mage Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 There is a large number of American servers, so a chunk of the American membership fees don't need to be converted. You make it sound like running through a few level 87 monsters is hard which it really shouldn't be at your level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bxpprod Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 The answer is more than just this, but a main one is economies of scale. It also may have to do with costs of providing a membership service to us at all (costs money, albeit not $3 worth) in changing from AUD to USD or BPNDS. You cannot simply say the because the US value is [x] and the US membership price is [y] that we should be charged [x]/[y], because costs encountered aren't the same, and it'd be unwise from a business perspective to do so Hm, that seems like the only actual reason. I don't get how the American costs are basically a direct conversion of USD -> Pounds (GBP?) if not a minimal bit more, considering that these USD have to be turned to GBP because Jagex is located in the UK (right?) Shouldn't it be roughly the same for Australians? You have to factor in the EOS factor. The added costs of conversion can easily be nullified by the fact that the US has a much, much larger gamer base than the UK and Australia. So the fixed costs faced to provide the service are reduced, meaning that the price at customer end can be reduced. Eg 1. $1000 bill fixed cost for some boat, 50 people.$20/head Eg 2. $1000 bill fixed cost for the same boat but with 200 people.$5/head So realistically, the cost is going to be much cheaper on boat 2. Now, I'm not sure what costs are faced by Jagex in the entirity, but I'm going to move out on a limb and say that it's much more complex than this and the margins are much smaller. So you can't simply take one factor by itself, you need to take in a number of them. [bleep] OFF HOW ARE U SO [bleep]ING LUCKY U PIECE OF [bleep]ING SHIT [bleep] [bleep] [wagon] MUNCHER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxitron Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 You have to factor in the EOS factor. The added costs of conversion can easily be nullified by the fact that the US has a much, much larger gamer base than the UK and Australia. So the fixed costs faced to provide the service are reduced, meaning that the price at customer end can be reduced. Eg 1. $1000 bill fixed cost for some boat, 50 people.$20/head Eg 2. $1000 bill fixed cost for the same boat but with 200 people.$5/head So realistically, the cost is going to be much cheaper on boat 2. Now, I'm not sure what costs are faced by Jagex in the entirity, but I'm going to move out on a limb and say that it's much more complex than this and the margins are much smaller. So you can't simply take one factor by itself, you need to take in a number of them. Alright, so point one that means that the American exchanging costs is nullified right?Doesn't that mean that the Australian cost should be minimal? Not 1/3 of the Membership costs itself? Let me ask you though.All the reasons you can think of, do you actually think that warrants that $3 more per person? Sup kids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvus Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Well, In terms of reducing the price you can always get the Loyalty discount after a year of subscribing , not sure what it would be on Australian Credit card payments (I assume that is what you mean otherwise you are comparing apples to oranges) as on Us credit cards its something like 17% off Thanks to DrCue at DeviantArt for the signature source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxitron Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Well, In terms of reducing the price you can always get the Loyalty discount after a year of subscribing , not sure what it would be on Australian Credit card payments (I assume that is what you mean otherwise you are comparing apples to oranges) as on Us credit cards its something like 17% off Is that from Jagex because of new membership stuff? 'cause I was previously subbed for 2 years straight and I feel kinda ripped off. Sup kids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bxpprod Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 You have to factor in the EOS factor. The added costs of conversion can easily be nullified by the fact that the US has a much, much larger gamer base than the UK and Australia. So the fixed costs faced to provide the service are reduced, meaning that the price at customer end can be reduced. Eg 1. $1000 bill fixed cost for some boat, 50 people.$20/head Eg 2. $1000 bill fixed cost for the same boat but with 200 people.$5/head So realistically, the cost is going to be much cheaper on boat 2. Now, I'm not sure what costs are faced by Jagex in the entirity, but I'm going to move out on a limb and say that it's much more complex than this and the margins are much smaller. So you can't simply take one factor by itself, you need to take in a number of them. Alright, so point one that means that the American exchanging costs is nullified right?Doesn't that mean that the Australian cost should be minimal? Not 1/3 of the Membership costs itself? You need to take into account the vast difference in populations of the United States and Australia, which does then trickle down to vast size difference between American "Gaming" Population and the Australian equivilient. They have no need to charge the US the same amount as they do us - in fact it'd be seen as simply a money grab because the profit margins would be much higher. You see $3 difference, the pricing people see it in terms of a profit margin. Charging us $9.95 whatever it is, might only give them a 3% profit margin, but then taking a look at US prices, only be pulling 3% there as well. Simply looking at the raw prices, which is what the majority of customers do, is rarely going to provide an accurate picture of what is going on for the company. Let me ask you though.All the reasons you can think of, do you actually think that warrants that $3 more per person? Find me a consumer that honestly doesn't want to pay less for their goods. Heck, if I had been able to pay in US dollars when AUD was buying ~$1.05 you bet I would have done it.But from a non-consumer perspective, I can't say. I'm not in possession of all the information that helps determine pricing structures. I would imagine though that given all this data, the team of people that sets these prices, yeah, it does warrant $3 more. Well, In terms of reducing the price you can always get the Loyalty discount after a year of subscribing , not sure what it would be on Australian Credit card payments (I assume that is what you mean otherwise you are comparing apples to oranges) as on Us credit cards its something like 17% off The price of CC payment for Aus is cheaper when compared to other methods of pay, but still more expensive than the US. This seems to be the "gripe" [bleep] OFF HOW ARE U SO [bleep]ING LUCKY U PIECE OF [bleep]ING SHIT [bleep] [bleep] [wagon] MUNCHER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winarr Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Id be happy paying $15 AUD if our few locally hosted servers didnt lag worse then "200ms" US worlds. Sony tried charging more for Australians for DC:UO when that launched, they ended up back-flipping when everyone complained about getting charged different prices for the same digital service. No idea why Jagex hasn't done the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvus Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Well, In terms of reducing the price you can always get the Loyalty discount after a year of subscribing , not sure what it would be on Australian Credit card payments (I assume that is what you mean otherwise you are comparing apples to oranges) as on Us credit cards its something like 17% off Is that from Jagex because of new membership stuff? 'cause I was previously subbed for 2 years straight and I feel kinda ripped off. Its been going on for several years, specifically ever since they raised the membership prices. The way it works is that the price for membership drops if you have subscribed for atleast a year and do not allow your membership to lapse for more than 14 days. Though from what I have heard you have to cancel your membership and start a new one in order for the price changes to actually take effect. (I haven't had to deal with it as I was grandfathered into the loyalty discount and haven't had more than a 2 week lapse in membership) Thanks to DrCue at DeviantArt for the signature source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxitron Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Find me a consumer that honestly doesn't want to pay less for their goods. Heck, if I had been able to pay in US dollars when AUD was buying ~$1.05 you bet I would have done it.But from a non-consumer perspective, I can't say. I'm not in possession of all the information that helps determine pricing structures. I would imagine though that given all this data, the team of people that sets these prices, yeah, it does warrant $3 more. I guess you're right. I just hate how Australia seems to get ripped off so much by other, larger countries lol. When I tried to buy a Razer mouse from the AU shop it costed 30 dollars more (plus more P&H) than it did in America, even though these were being made in the Asian region. Though I guess that story is just blatant money-grabbing. Anyway, I completely understand you, ll0rt, but however much evidence and reasoning there is, I still don't feel like that 1/3 the price is anything but a tactic to steal money from Australians. (don't ask me why). I'd be fine with 7. I really would. I mean, if I didn't play WoW I would still pay for RuneScape as I would play it primarily but I would like to play both as they both get pretty boring after a while, and you don't want to take a month off of either one because they're both pretty competitive. Sup kids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bxpprod Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Buying power controls prices. If you want to see it as a money grab, that's up to you, but you seem stuck on this idea that costs are universally uniform. Just remember:-~22m potential consumers in Australia~307m potential consumers in the US [bleep] OFF HOW ARE U SO [bleep]ING LUCKY U PIECE OF [bleep]ING SHIT [bleep] [bleep] [wagon] MUNCHER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxitron Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Buying power controls prices. If you want to see it as a money grab, that's up to you, but you seem stuck on this idea that costs are universally uniform. Naw, lol, I said I completely understand, I just don't see how all these reasons combined = $3 dollars p/head Sup kids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agen Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Id be happy paying $15 AUD if our few locally hosted servers didnt lag worse then "200ms" US worlds. Sony tried charging more for Australians for DC:UO when that launched, they ended up back-flipping when everyone complained about getting charged different prices for the same digital service. No idea why Jagex hasn't done the sameBecause it's been happening for so long it's practically been grandfathered in. And the Australian servers do suck, I can't believe they might actually be hosted in Australia. Goals for 2012:Quest CapeMAX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low C Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Because of basic economy principles, one being supply and demand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtis95112 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Another factor might be that Australians are simply willing to pay more than Americans are. A smaller userbase can mean a higher proportion of dedicated players. Castle of Zoltar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazhar Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 kangaroo tax m8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaaps1 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 $3 for a bottle of coca cola dats whack also im sure the servers cost just as much if not more to maintain and operate in austraila as in the UK/US. also there are far fewer players from austrailia than UK/US. thus you have less players required to pay for servers of same or greater cost, and thus the only reasonable solution is to increase membership subscription fees. ~It's Super Effective! (The Zaaps Blog)~My YouTube Channel, where you get to watch me go around and make a fool out of myself and all comp capersGuides:~Yeah I wrote them once~Suggestions:~Yeah I made those once~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieBrown Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 That theory is all well and good ^Except for the fact that Australian servers [bleep]ing suck.99% Of australians will agree with me.We all play on us/uk servers as they're wayy more stable.I may get better ping on aussie servers, but i get less lag on american. Main Account - Max cape achieved 10th September 2011 Noob Account - 2300 total and climbing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaaps1 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 That theory is all well and good ^Except for the fact that Australian servers [bleep]ing suck.99% Of australians will agree with me.We all play on us/uk servers as they're wayy more stable.I may get better ping on aussie servers, but i get less lag on american. the fact that they suck doesnt necessarily mean theyre cheap servers. it might just mean jagex cant find any better in austrailia, which means even crappy companys can charge high amounts if theres no competition there. idk just speculation ~It's Super Effective! (The Zaaps Blog)~My YouTube Channel, where you get to watch me go around and make a fool out of myself and all comp capersGuides:~Yeah I wrote them once~Suggestions:~Yeah I made those once~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlanders Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Australia's minimum wage is a whooping $15.51 per hour. You could work literally 1 hour every month at a shit job and be able to pay membership and have $6 leftover. I don't see any problem. Australia has high prices, but very high salaries to go with it. 2480+ total Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieBrown Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 That theory is all well and good ^Except for the fact that Australian servers [bleep]ing suck.99% Of australians will agree with me.We all play on us/uk servers as they're wayy more stable.I may get better ping on aussie servers, but i get less lag on american. the fact that they suck doesnt necessarily mean theyre cheap servers. it might just mean jagex cant find any better in austrailia, which means even crappy companys can charge high amounts if theres no competition there. idk just speculation The point i was trying to make is australians don't use the servers, so why have them. Get rid of them. There are rants all over high level forums about aussie servers being shitty.We pay more for something we don't use because the people who pay less have better serversWat. Main Account - Max cape achieved 10th September 2011 Noob Account - 2300 total and climbing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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