Good morning and THANK YOU for all the treasures to be found in Dorico 4. I’m updating immediately…
EXCEPT - as a Canadian customer, Steinberg is rounding the cost of upgrade from Dorico 3.5 to $150 CAD. The current exchange rate is just under 1.24 : 1, and over the past year, 1 USD has been worth between 1.2 and 1.3 $CAD.
Euros have been closer to $1.45 CAD and above 1.5 not long ago… so I understand a little more coming from a German-based company.
This might be more of more of a question for Steinberg webstore support, but I couldn’t figure it out on their website:
Is there a way to choose my currency and pay USD instead of a very high roundup exchange price in CAD?
Thanks for looking into it. I seem to recall having a similar question last time.
We’re used to getting gouged by book publishers who just seem to arbitrarily add 33-50% to the jacket cost. But I rather like being Canadian on the whole…
Americans pay $99. Canadians pay 51.96 % more at $150.44, even though the exchange rate between the 2 countries is only about 20%. When you add taxes our price is $170.
Based on the USD, the Canadian price would be about $123.75 before taxes. Why is Steinberg charging Canadians about 21.56% more than Americans? I am certainly willing to pay my fair share but I’m curious why we always pay so much more for updates?
Honestly I think I’m going to hold off upgrading and see if I can find some way around it. I know it’s only $25 but it’s the principle of the thing… and it adds up over time and software.
As a Canadian, I took a big gulp before upgrading but, on first glance, it is well worth every penny. I love the new project setup features, the jump bar window, the instrument filters and the mixer improvements. But above all, I like that I was now able to install it on both my office (Mac) and travelling (Windows) computers. I
No doubt after using it for a while I will have more features to rave about.
Is it possible that sales tax plays a part? The price is $99.99 US excluding applicable sales tax, which as I understand it varies from state to state. I guess in Canada you might have something a bit like what we Brits call VAT, which is a tax of 20% on all non-essential purchases. Is it possible that the $25 is accounted for by the Canadian equivalent of VAT?
Yes Daniel please ask again. I would like to better understand this.
It’s not a Dorico-specific issue. The issue is the exchange rate for the product price. Local taxes can be readily accounted for. Currency is not determined by latitude and longitude (geolocation) but rather country. Steinberg’s financial arrangements might be another factor. In the interests of transparency and to avoid negative claims, Steinberg should publish a policy statement.
I think it is important to recognize that Canada is next door to the US and Canadians will automatically compare their costs to those of their American neighbors. It is hard for Canadian customers to feel satisfied with download prices well above those of their American friends and family members who often reside only miles away.
Using Google’s current currency exchange rates, seems like …
the UK GBP price (85pounds inc VAT) is the Euro price including sales tax (99euro) , converted to GBP and includes UK sales tax.
The USD price is the Euro price including sales tax, converted to dollars ($114), then rounded down to $99, with sales tax to be added after?
The CAD price is the Euro price including sales tax, converted to CAD, ($143) then rounded up (to $150) with national and provincial sales tax to be added after. Sad.
Use a virtual private network which server is located inside the United States.
Use a U.S. residental address during checkout.
You will get USD price and PayPal won’t hinder you from paying even if your PayPal is not a U.S. PayPal account. If not using the virtual private network, PayPal may block your payment.
