To buy or steal.

[Seajay]

Originally Posted by eeyore

my programs are currently legal but i wouldnt shirk from putting an illicit copy of CS3 on my "lightroom" computer - this machine never goes online so there is no risk of getting caught and frankly adobe are taking the mick with their pricing structure - yes they need to develop it but why do they charge more than twice as much for it here than they do in the states.

that said almost has a point about not knowing where it has come from so i would only use a copy of a mates software not a file shared one off a peer to peer site.

Same views as you Eeyore. I've just bought Elements 6 as I did 3,4 and 5 and the upgrade is almost the same price as the new so I bought new each time. A rip off! It's a good program and worth the money first time but an upgrade should be a few pounds. Everything to do with photography, music and film is disgustingly overpriced in this country and it is little wonder people resort to piracy.

[pressld2]

It's a pity we can't buy Photoshop directly from the States.

My youngest recently wanted a copy of Sibelius (music notation software) for his music GCSE. The student edition is available from various UK retailers and directly from the developers for £99. However, Amazon.com's price was $87.99 so it seems that the way to convert US prices into sterling is not just to replace the $ with a £ but to add on 13.5% as well!

After they added $35.98 for shipping (international courier was the only shipping option allowed) and a further $21 for import duties the total came to $144.97. It arrived in less than a week and the amount in sterling that hit my credit card was £73.57.

Amazon.com currently offer Photoshop CS3 for $629.99. Assuming the same shipping charges and the same percentage import duty (23.87% - a bit steep I feel) the total would be $816.35. At today's exchange rate that equals £413.24 - call it £415.

Amazon.co.uk's price? £510.48 (and they're claiming you "save" £59.51).

Only problem is, if you try to buy it from Amazon.com you can't. You will get this message:

"Warranty issues and manufacturer restrictions prevent us from shipping certain products to all geographical locations."

I'm in software development myself and know how much work goes into creating a software package like this but I wouldn't dream of charging different prices in different countries. They're just ripping us off so I say if you can steal it without getting caught go ahead - they deserve it. Personally I think I'll copy jennyb and stick with Paintshop Pro.

Dave P.

[mh68]

I`m sure i`m not alone in finding it utterly ridiculous that an editing program such as CS3 can be twice the price of the camera youre going to use it to edit pics from. Luckily programs such as PSP, PS elements etc are sensibly priced and are sufficient for most of our needs.

Mark H

[Words]

Just stumbled on this, and although I agree that certain software is expensive (too expensive for me to justify getting so I stick with a free copy of PhotoImpact I got with my web hosting package), there's always the Elements series which from what I've read does just about anything you could want unless you're into commercial work. And that's the point. CS3 is aimed at a professional market which writes it off against tax, and earns a heck of a lot more from using it than it costs. And in terms of photography, it's still likely to be one of the cheaper items on the professional's shopping list.

I presume no-one here would contemplate stealing lenses or computers (both arguably overpriced), so I'm not sure why software is any different (other than ease of copying).

[pressld2]

It's not the price per se that annoys me (although I could never justify, even to myself, the cost of CS3) it's the fact that they charge substantially more for it in the UK -often double or very close to it - than they do in the US.

Even with Elements 6 it's $77.99 on Amazon.com which equates to £39.50 in sterling. At Amazon.co.uk it's £56.97. This is way too big a difference to put down to different purchase tax levels and it's certainly not more expensive to manufacture, market and distribute software in the UK than in the US. I really can't see any justification for this differential pricing other than, as I said in my earlier post, they're ripping off UK purchasers. If producers won't play fair why should consumers?

Having said that, you're quite right that the only reason people do it with software is because the Internet makes it easy. Cameras, lenses, computers, even cars all suffer from similar levels of differential pricing but are not available as downloads!

Dave P.

[mh68]

For anyone still using the free programs who wants something better, I have a legit copy of PS elements that came with my new camera which I dont need. If anyone wants it pm me and i`ll pop it in the post free of charge Its an old version but will still offer more functions than most of the freebie editing programs...

Mark H

[steveo]

i have no problem using pirate software. i have a copy of a copy of CS2.

theres no way i would have paid the asking price, even if i could afford it. (which i cant).

the companies need to relise that it's not just professionals who use their products anymore, more and more consumers are in the market place now and they should drop their price to get more volume sales.