I was just checking the weekend promotions on Steam and saw a curious one:
Heroes of Might and Magic V + both expansion packs = US$ 12,99
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic = US$ 4,99
Heroes pack (all 4 games above) = 19,96
So... if I buy the Heroes V pack and then buy Dark Messiah, I pay US$ 17,98
If I buy the pack with everything, I'll actually be paying US$1,98 more.
Really, a clever business model. Very clever.

Wait, what? Steam has a bad business logic? Now that's new.

Not surprising considering it's coming from the same people who thought 1 Euro = 1 $.
"It's just a European version of a dollar!! It's the SAME THING!!!"

That looks more like a silly mistake (or a crafty one depending on your view of Steam) rather than bad buines logic as such.

Yeah, probably just a mistake. They are known to make a few every now and then *cough*.

This is not their first package price mistake, for example Company of Heroes + Opposing fronts pack had wrong price too.

Steam is overpriced. Period.
(But I bought Zeno Clash in weekend deal today anyway :P )

Of course, for me that is €12,99. Not buying anything on Steam.

No news here. :/

Meh. Just meh.

Doesn't surprise me ....

The UK price doesn't appear to be screwed up as far as Pack vs Single Purchase is concerned. But I can see it's a mess if you look to purchase in dollars.
Same old STEAM :)
I used to own HOMM5, but I hated it. Probably due to the fact I was such a bad player, I found it way to hard and linear to be enjoyable. Shame really as I enjoyed the previous games.

I have noticed such weird package pricing problems a number of times on steam. As well as the alternate issue ... " lets put up the wrong prices and totally confuse people for a few hours" pricing structure. The first I don't care about ... yes its slightly annoying but its quite similar to grocery store loss leader items, where yes there are deals on everything but the largest package is not necessarily the best value. The second is a serious problem and they clearly need a better process when posting.

I think the UK is basically the only region when it makes sense to buy the heroes pack. But then, they only get around 50% off the prices as the games are cheaper for the UK anyhow. Elsewhere, the games range from 50% to 75% off, and DM isn't even sold in some regions, despite the Heroes pack still being offered (so you wind up paying $19.99 for the $12.99 pack -- and I get the impression Valve do that on purpose).
I more info on this on the didimatic onsale page where I advise not purchasing the heroes pack. But this isn't unique to Steam, Gamersgate current has 2 Anno series related packs, the cheaper of which gives you 2 games and expansions, and the more expensive one only one game and its expansions. =/