The US price for upgrading from Cubase 9.5 Pro to Cubase 10 Pro is $99. Using today’s currency conversion rate, that would be about $130 Canadian. When I tried to purchase the upgrade this evening, as soon as I put it into my shopping cart, the price switched to $150 Canadian.
So now I’m trying to figure out why I have to pay $20 CAD more for the same product. I realize it’s just $20 – but its $20 I don’t want to have to pay if I can avoid it…
Is that currency conversion issue? Or is pricing simply different in different countries?
Watching. I noticed the same thing last night when I tried to upgrade (chose the wrong version). The price for upgrading from (Artist) 9.5-10 went from $79.99 to $120. The upgrade from Artist 9-10 shows $140, but I know it’s gonna be about $210. There’s something besides exchange rate here. Maybe VAT?
Why would they necessarily be the same price in different countries with different tax laws, consumer laws, regulations, etc., etc., etc.?
Even magazines at the bookstore have different US and CAN prices printed right on the cover.
I have noticed that the currency and exchange rate changes based off your billing address, not what country you are in at the time. So if you want US pricing, you need a US billing address. A pre-paid credit card from the US will do the trick but you can even use an overseas card if you use a US billing address. Keep in mind that the market rate is different to the exchange rate you see on online currency conversion. Paypal have a habit of taking 3-4 percent more than the present exchange rate and your bank will hit you with currency conversion fees also.
Well, I said that in my original post – it could be different pricing for a different country. But I’d like to know why, exactly, because for a lot of online purchases (especially music stuff), I only pay the currency conversion difference.
Also, the pricing is odd for some Steinberg products. If you buy Dorico Pro 2 through the Dorico.com site, the price is $844 CAD, and the site specifically says this includes 19% VAT as part of the price. Which is wrong – if they are going to apply the HST tax where I live, it would be 13%. If you buy Dorico 2 Pro through the main Steinberg online shop, it says “without VAT”, but when it appears in your cart, it is the same price $844 CAD. Maybe local taxes are being applied. I dunno. It doesn’t say anywhere. My invoice for Cubase 9.5 Pro crossgrade that I got last year says 0 tax applied. So I’m curious what is generating such a high price for Dorico 2, and is a (incorrect) 19% VAT actually being applied? One site says it is, the other says it is NOT being applied, but the price is the same. At the very least, that’s a bit odd.
Nuendo 8 full version would cost me $2,499 CAD from a store in Canada (current price at Long & McQuade), but $2,837 CAD from Steinberg’s online store. That’s not a small difference, and I’m simply curious why.
This seems like a ripoff indeed and hard to understand. They should at least explain why. Whenever I buy on amazon.com instead of amazon.ca, I pay sales taxes and import duties but they are clearly indicated. Same goes for eBay. If the extra money goes to my country then fine. If it goes directly into Steinberg’s pocket, than it’s wrong and unethical. The fact that it’s an even 150$ point towards the unethical ripoff.
This has been going on with Steinberg for a while. I tried to find out why, last time they did this.The “excuse” from the Canadian distributor was, “we don’t set the prices”. Like they can’t talk to the guys who do. They are just plain gouging Canadians. I don’t know who else they are gouging but they are gouging in this case.
I’m concerned about the same issue going from Cubase 8.5 pro to 10 pro. US is listed at $200, CAD is $300. The current currency conversion is $265 CAD (rounded to the nearest dollar). $35 is quite a big difference considering we’re purchasing digital downloads, not a physical product that requires border crossing. At this time of the year I can buy a plugin for that kind of money.
For all other software/plugin downloads I’ve purchased they state the US price, sometimes with the approximate CAD conversion, and the banks handle the difference.
Conversion aside, this does have me looking at other DAW options. At $300, it’s not far off the the cost of an entirely new DAW. I do feel as though this is punishment for not constantly shelling out the micro-update fees that Steinberg charges for each .5 release along the way.
I think that Steinberg should be boycotted for trying to overcharge Canadians for their products. Maybe even contact the mother company Yamaha Corporation to let them know how they are conducting their business.
I also inquired about this issue and they never even bother to respond.
I am not upgrading until they change their ways of doing business.
I don’t mind when it’s clearly stated that the extra money goes to my Country as sales taxes and duties. Right now, it’s not clear weather Steinberg is simply putting this extra money in it’s pocket. That’s why people are complaining. eBay, Amazon, Sweetwater etc… they all sell at conversion price + clearly indicated taxes and duties.
What is Steinberg doing? The perfectly rounded 150CAD seems more like a scam than sales taxes and import duties.
I think it has already been said that it is NOT due to taxes, tariffs, duties, or whatever. Steinberg has seen fit to set different prices in different countries, which is their choice. They are the vendor. They decide what price they want to charge in each country. If the consumer doesn’t like the price then they simply don’t buy. Free market.
Maybe you should read your own comments. And no I didn’t buy and will not. I was able to get a 24h trial and none of my 9.5 templates worked and I was very unimpressed and couldn’t figure out why I should spend a 150$ on this. We are already getting screwed by exchange rates, I will not let Steinberg charge me even more for absolutely no reason, simply because they can. I’m done.
All that Steinberg brought with the last few versions that cost me hundreds of dollars is already in Reaper and has been for a while. HiDPI, Edit Mode, 64 bit mixing engine, Mixer Undos and Snapshots, ARA integration, Render in place, Regions exports, you name it. And Reaper can render videos. Cubase will sadly always be second to Nuendo and will never give you the full features unless they bleed you dry for buying both. And then can you imagine paying yearly upgrades for both? Ridiculous… Let the rich kids play with Cubase, I’m done.
