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General discussion (archive)Currency conversion(74 posts)(74 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted July 09, 2013
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xyem: As the USD -> GBP conversion ratio is less than 1, I just read the prices as if they were GBP.

Then the difference is always in your favour!
In your imagination, yes. That's how I also prefer to think, by the way, but I know when I'm being shafted, even if I'm not au fait with all the "worldly details" like some people seem to be. My way of thinking about the world is and always has been more "cosmic", man. The internet is an evil invention because it is a way of connecting up a previously relatively disconnected world. People are now having their national identities taken away from them by means of this evil tool. I don't WANT foreign business thinking / practices in the UK but it looks like we are "globalising" and that, sadly, the future is all mapped out. I'm glad I'm relatively old (45) and remain unmoved by all these hideous changes but I think the future of mankind is bleak so I worry for my little 2 year-old nephew. But he will no doubt adjust to the new way of thinking. In just a few decades the world will have been fundamentally changed, but on the basis of stupid ideas. It will fail, there's no doubt about it. The absolute killer thought has already been thought and resides in philosophy : it is the thought of a German philosopher named Martin Heidegger. Just sayiin' ....

Edit : typo.
Post edited July 09, 2013 by Theoclymenus
Posted July 09, 2013
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Nuclear84: Well I suppose I can just start using my converter app on my phone for now. But, I honestly believe GOG are alienating a lot of potential customers by simply not having regional equivalent prices on their site, it really is off putting when you're not sure how much a product really is.
Despite also paying with GBP, I prefer the prices in USD. It allows me to more clearly compare prices to other places like the Humble Store. I'm quite used to buying games using USD and dislike it when sites use regional pricing.

Since GOG doesn't use regional pricing, all of the prices in other currencies would be in flux and would also be 'ugly' (by which I mean not rounded to the nearest .99, .49 .00 or .50).

Not only that, but if people were shown their local currency they'd expect to be charged in that. GOG would either have to start supporting a large number of currencies OR people would be surprised when they get charged for currency conversion.

Basically I think the costs outweigh the benefits, and using one currency underlines their "one price worldwide" policy very clearly.
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Theoclymenus: In your imagination, yes.
...
Just sayiin' ....
Huh? What has any of that got to do with Xyem's post? I can't tell if you're serious or not, apologies if I'm ruining a joke.
Post edited July 09, 2013 by SirPrimalform
Posted July 09, 2013
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Nuclear84: Well I suppose I can just start using my converter app on my phone for now. But, I honestly believe GOG are alienating a lot of potential customers by simply not having regional equivalent prices on their site, it really is off putting when you're not sure how much a product really is.
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SirPrimalform: Despite also paying with GBP, I prefer the prices in USD. It allows me to more clearly compare prices to other places like the Humble Store. I'm quite used to buying games using USD and dislike it when sites use regional pricing.

Since GOG doesn't use regional pricing, all of the prices in other currencies would be in flux and would also be 'ugly' (by which I mean not rounded to the nearest .99, .49 .00 or .50).

Not only that, but if people were shown their local currency they'd expect to be charged in that. GOG would either have to start supporting a large number of currencies OR people would be surprised when they get charged for currency conversion.

Basically I think the costs outweigh the benefits, and using one currency underlines their "one price worldwide" policy very clearly.
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Theoclymenus: In your imagination, yes.
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Just sayiin' ....
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SirPrimalform: Huh? What has any of that got to do with Xyem's post? I can't tell if you're serious or not, apologies if I'm ruining a joke.
It has nothing to do with his post directly but you can't think about these things in isolation : everything in the world and every change in the world takes place in the context of whatever philosophy is doing the rounds at any given time. Present day philosophy (the "philosophy of science") is utterly retarded and has led to ideas such as the internet, but the philosophy which will inevitably replace it is utterly opposed to it and will prevail in the end because it is TRUE. You should think all of your thoughts, even the smallest ones, in the context of your philosophy. You should make yourself aware of what you really believe in before you start overconfidently making pronouncements on individual issues. Xylem's post was cool, I just thought I would "elaborate" and show how I think.

Edit : typo.
Post edited July 09, 2013 by Theoclymenus
Posted July 09, 2013
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JMich: If you wish to travel from UK to another country, your pounds and pennies won't be accepted there. So you have to find a money changer to convert your currency to the one you will be using. That money changer charges a fee. Depending on money changer, it may be a percentage or a flat rate. And no, no matter how nicely you ask, you cannot use pounds to pay for something in the US, even though the US dollar was (at some point) honored worldwide.
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Theoclymenus: Oh no, it's the Devil's advocate ! Every corrupt idea is fine by you isn't it, JMich ? Why don't you just become a politician or a barrister and have done with it ? It doesn't surprise me that you are trying to justify this. What WORK, exactly, is involved in converting currency in an online transaction ?
Well, in the world in modern, digital banking, banks don't actually convert anything anymore. They manage a treasury and a wide variety of lines in a wide array of currencies. Still, as for them "changing" is an operation, they charge you. that's called generating revenue. There are many other ways to generate revenue. My preferred is that when you have 50 on your account, deposit electronically 100 at 9:00 and withdraw 80 at 12:00, they will account the withdrawal before the deposit and charge you 7 euros because you went negative.
Posted July 09, 2013
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Theoclymenus: Oh no, it's the Devil's advocate ! Every corrupt idea is fine by you isn't it, JMich ? Why don't you just become a politician or a barrister and have done with it ? It doesn't surprise me that you are trying to justify this. What WORK, exactly, is involved in converting currency in an online transaction ?
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Phc7006: Well, in the world in modern, digital banking, banks don't actually convert anything anymore. They manage a treasury and a wide variety of lines in a wide array of currencies. Still, as for them "changing" is an operation, they charge you. that's called generating revenue. There are many other ways to generate revenue. My preferred is that when you have 50 on your account, deposit electronically 100 at 9:00 and withdraw 80 at 12:00, they will account the withdrawal before the deposit and charge you 7 euros because you went negative.
You've just got to love this wonderfully selfish thinking (NOT). It's just so damn cheeky it's unreal. There WERE actually times in the past when this kind of thinking wasn't so rampant. Banks don't absolutely NEED to charge for things such as currency conversion but they CHOOSE to do so merely because they CAN and they take great care to hire rhetoricians, in the JMich mould, who are capable of arguing the hind legs off a donkey (I quite admire him for his argumentative abilities by the way, but not for his prejudices : he ought to consider coming over to the light side and using his chicanery for good ends).

Why should ANY bank customer be charged for ANYTHING ? What's going to happen to cash ? I have £60 on me at the moment and I feel really old-fashioned having these notes and coins in my pocket. But cash is like a DRM-free game : once you own it you own it forever (until you decide to spend it of course). I totally resent the internet and the effect it is having on how people live their lives.
Posted July 09, 2013
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Theoclymenus: I totally resent the internet and the effect it is having on how people live their lives.
Resent the people doing the usage, not the medium. The internet isn't evil in itself, no more than a knife is, or a newspaper. Same holds true for science as well. It's not evil by itself, but people do use it for evil purposes.

As for using my argumentative abilities for "good", I always think that trying to make people see why the other party makes its choices is good, even if you don't agree with their choices or reasons.
Posted July 09, 2013
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reaver894: I dont think GoG should start regional pricing,
Regional pricing and on-the-fly conversion is not the same thing. Some sites will actually show me what they're going to charge me in my local currency. Does not mean I get a "special" price.

Get a clue people, jeez.
Posted July 09, 2013
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Theoclymenus: Oh no, it's the Devil's advocate.
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JMich: Thank you for the compliment. You do know who "The Devil's Advocate" actually is, right?

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Theoclymenus: What WORK, exactly, is involved in converting currency in an online transaction ?
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JMich: None. I never said that it's ok for online transactions to use foreign fees. So far though, only banks I've seen that keep using it are the UK ones, so I'd say ask your bankers why they keep using it. Hell, even greek banks don't use foreign transaction fees, and I think they haven't used them from 2000 or so...
Greek branches of international banks do though - Citibank, for example, applies a certain percentage to calculate transaction fees if you buy something in US dollars from a digital store within the EU (like GOG) and another if you do from one outside the EU (like HIB or IR).
I suppose you're referring to strictly Greek banks and not banks operating in Greece in general?
Posted July 09, 2013
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reaver894: I dont think GoG should start regional pricing,
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silviucc: Regional pricing and on-the-fly conversion is not the same thing. Some sites will actually show me what they're going to charge me in my local currency. Does not mean I get a "special" price.

Get a clue people, jeez.
Opening post states "Can you please add a UK currency across your site?" not can you add on the fly conversions. looking at other digital distributors, they offer regional pricing aswell, when GoG first started selling the witcher 2, there were methods put in place so that the price was fair for all countries, so before you start picking flies maybe look into past practices before telling people to "Get a clue"
Post edited July 09, 2013 by reaver894
Posted July 09, 2013
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HypersomniacLive: I suppose you're referring to strictly Greek banks and not banks operating in Greece in general?
The two I've used before on GOG, amazon and Kickstarter haven't had any extra fees, or at least none that was readily identifiable. Both are Greek banks though, and not international ones. Unsure about Citibank, since it has been quite some time since I last had to use it.
Or I may have been lucky in the card contracts I've signed.
Posted July 09, 2013
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Theoclymenus: What's going to happen to cash ?
Cash is expensive to manufacture, transport and distribute. And it's a security risk. That's the official charade. Not that I bemieve that, of course.
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Theoclymenus: Why should ANY bank customer be charged for ANYTHING ? What's going to happen to cash ? I have £60 on me at the moment and I feel really old-fashioned having these notes and coins in my pocket. But cash is like a DRM-free game : once you own it you own it forever (until you decide to spend it of course). I totally resent the internet and the effect it is having on how people live their lives.
Remember that when you deposit money in a bank, it's not your money anymore. The bank becomes the legal owner of the said deposit, and you become a mere creditor. ( call it the Cyprus case law ..) When you use the money, you cancel part of that credit and the bank has to fund another source of funds. Surely that means you ought to compensate the bank... /sarc
Post edited July 09, 2013 by Phc7006
Posted July 09, 2013
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reaver894: Opening post states "Can you please add a UK currency across your site?" not can you add on the fly conversions. looking at other digital distributors, they offer regional pricing aswell, when GoG first started selling the witcher 2, there were methods put in place so that the price was fair for all countries, so before you start picking flies maybe look into past practices before telling people to "Get a clue"
The opening post was about a guy that did not want the additional bother of having to convert prices. If you had bothered to read the post, that was the main idea. So, at least read a post before replying to it with your butt clenched because "oh noes, you're asking them to go Steam on us".

If it was too long and you did not read, please abstain. There are other things to butt clench about.
Posted July 09, 2013
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HypersomniacLive: I suppose you're referring to strictly Greek banks and not banks operating in Greece in general?
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JMich: The two I've used before on GOG, amazon and Kickstarter haven't had any extra fees, or at least none that was readily identifiable. Both are Greek banks though, and not international ones. Unsure about Citibank, since it has been quite some time since I last had to use it.
Or I may have been lucky in the card contracts I've signed.
Knowing Citibank, it's more likely that you got charged with those fees but can't remember anymore.
Posted July 09, 2013
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FraterPerdurabo: Just save yourself the effort and calculate the prices in pints, as I do.
$5.99 GOG = ~1 pint
$9.99 GOG = ~1 pint + half pint
That's some pricey beer.
Posted July 09, 2013
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FraterPerdurabo: Just save yourself the effort and calculate the prices in pints, as I do.
$5.99 GOG = ~1 pint
$9.99 GOG = ~1 pint + half pint
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mistermumbles: That's some pricey beer.
You would be surprized how much of it is Tax
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This is my favourite topic
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General discussion (archive)Currency conversion(74 posts)(74 posts)
(74 posts)