I currently live in Hong Kong after spending many years in the United Kingdom. One of the great things about Hong Kong is the absence of Value Added Tax (VAT) on purchases, which typically makes goods around 20% cheaper compared to the UK. However, when it comes to buying Cubase Pro, I’ve noticed a significant price hike, making it more expensive here than in the UK. Could this be an error, or is it related to Trump’s tariffs on China and Hong Kong? I tried reaching out to the online shop’s sales team directly, but the website’s links kept redirecting me to forums or FAQ pages. This doesn’t seem normal—what could be the reason?
How much does it cost in HK?
Why would a German company selling to HK be affected by US import/export tariffs?
The 30% off sale is still in effect, so Cubase is less than normal. What is your factual basis for saying there “seems to be” a price hike? Regardless, as @Grim has said, consumer software isn’t “imported” unless you’re buying physical media, so I doubt a US-based tariff would apply even you were buying from the US, which you’re not.
The price to upgrade from version 9 Pro to 14 Pro is HK$1,538.60 vs UK Price: £144.90 → approx. HK$1,420. I have no clue why a German company selling to HK could be affected by US import/export tariffs unless (guessing) perhaps their online shop’s servers are based in the US.
1538 $HK is 149 GBP according to exchange rates in Europe. So within a few pounds of the GB price. I don’t know why you don’t benefit form the no VAT though.
Your system must be able to make a connection to FastSpring for the 30% discount to be automatically applied. There are (presumably) geofence methods in place to qualify a purchase. The UK price probably reflected the 30% off (depending on when you did it) and the HK price may not. You can see in the details if the 30% is being applied, so I’d look there first.
Like I said in my original post I was expecting to be paying 20% less than the UK price. Whether there is a sale or not Hong Kong doesn’t add TAX on goods. I think it would be good to know the reasoning for the extra cost as it is not obvious .
Edit: this extra price seems to be even with the 30% sale at the moment.
Tax doesn’t even come into the purchase until you’re checking out. Are you saying you get to the checkout and the price is more because of a tax line item? If not, then you’re making a mathematical comparison to something that doesn’t exist. Your “expectation of lower prices” doesn’t matter if the tax is applied in the figures you’re looking at, right?
And you didn’t answer my question about the 30%. Do you see the 30% reflected in the prince when you get the $1538 HK price?
EDIT: Looks like I’m wrong - AI says the UK VAT is apparently embedded in the normal consumer pricing. Ouch! So now your question makes more sense to me.
Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for you other than some manner of localized pricing or other country-based requirements. Sorry.
I edited my last post, yes 30% sale price. On the checkout page it says for UK that Tax is included in the price. On the Hong Kong page that part is missing as there is no Tax to inform the buyer of.
Yeah, we really shouldn’t edit after posting during the tread creation itself, so I posted a new reply with the same thing just for ease of reading.
Maybe someone from Steinberg will chip in and give an answer.
Maybe just hop on a VPN and buy it from the UK 
Lol, the problem is that’s 20 percent Tax I don’t want to pay.
They’re getting you one way or another, man. Just pay the extra $25 and get to making music!!! 
Times uncertain, we could be about to hit a world recession, I think it’s better to wait and see if this is a mistake on their website instead of throwing good money away.
I still haven’t received any clarification regarding this issue. What’s particularly frustrating is the lack of viable support options. The website only offers three routes:
- Posting on the community forum (which I’m doing here).
- Software/hardware support – this redirects users to contact a local store in Hong Kong, which doesn’t address my specific concern.
- FastSpring Consumer Support – this service solely handles post-purchase queries for digital downloads and appears more focused on promoting their Shop Demo than resolving external issues.
Given these limitations, I’m left with no choice but to escalate my request directly to Steinberg here:
Subject: Clarification Needed on Regional Pricing Discrepancy for Cubase 14 Pro Upgrade
Dear Steinberg Support/FastSpring Consumer Support
I am writing to seek clarification regarding an upgrade purchase from Cubase 9 Pro to Cubase 14 Pro. Currently residing in Hong Kong (a tax-free region), I noticed that the displayed price on your website appears significantly higher than the UK price, which already includes a 20% VAT. For example, the UK store lists the upgrade at £144.90 (inclusive of tax), while the Hong Kong store shows it as HKD$1542.80 (tax-free), which converts to a notably higher amount.
This discrepancy seems counterintuitive, as one would expect tax-free regions to reflect lower base prices. Could this be an error in regional pricing settings, currency conversion, or website configuration? Additionally, I’d like to confirm:
- Whether my upgrade path (Cubase 9 Pro to v14 Pro) is correctly recognized.
- If there are regional pricing policies or fees I might have overlooked.
I appreciate your assistance in resolving this confusion. Thank you for your time!
Best regards,
Darren
Post your PayPal email and I’ll send you the $10 US difference.
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I don’t know whether to laugh or cry but thank for the offer but I think you have got your calculations wrong. The difference is much bigger and converter to USD it would be $38.09, that is why I would like to know why Steinberg have increased the price in Hong Kong.
Not unless you’re confusing Pounds with Euro. You wrote “£144.90.” And I was being 100% serious
Edit: This is just my opinion, but since you’re in a User-based forum, you’re probably not going to get some official reply from someone at SB. I don’t mean this to be critical, but if your “red line for purchase” based on " holding off because of a potential global recession" is $38, then man, I say GO FOR IT. We may die of starvation in the government cheese lines, but we’ll be rockin’ and rollin’ AMIRIGHT???
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I’m not sure, but my understanding is that a product has a price, and the value added tax is included in the price if it applies. Otherwise, anyone would take the price, divide by 1,xx where is the highest VAT applied, say 24 or 25 percent, and want to pay that price instead.
I think Steinberg just sells at 150, and they don’t have to give back VAT on profits. It’s not that 150/1,24 = 120,97, so that’s what one should pay in a country that doesn’t apply VAT. (Because each different VAT percentage gives a different unit price, so what should the base price be?)
Of course I could be sorely mistaken, but that’s my understanding of the matter.