UK retailers have it all their own way.. isolated from all around them by
language. there is no competition.. a Brit can't go to a Euro country and
pick up English software versions..

the twenty miles of sea between the UK and Europe has been good to those who
seek to control in the UK, and continues to strut its stuff.. Brits were
lead to believe that foreigners were no better than savages, where the
reverse was actually the truth.. but the people in North America fight
back.. I watched a video of a US family staying in the UK. they had rented
an apartment so they could get their own food and taken stockpiles of crisps
and biscuits to nibble on, politely refusing Brit food with the excuse that
they were not hungry.. too funny.. they had been told that the Brits eat
squirrel and other cute rodents.. surely, we ate squirrel only on high days
and holidays, unlike the country folk of Missouri where squirrel, either
shot or in road kill form, is daily fare..




"Henry" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...


Gerry

Whatever you do, don't blame the British retailers.. bless their little
souls, they are only trying to make an honest living.. and they have been
doing that since time immemorial, screwing the British public for every
last
penny for all they are worth, knowing damn well that the average Brit
can't
cross a national border easily to get a better deal..

All prices in North America do NOT include federal or state/provincial
taxes, unlike the UK where, unless one is a middleman, ALL prices include
ALL taxes.. if you see a product in your local PC World or wherever, the
price shown is what you will expect to pay.. here in Canada, to buy a $499
dollar Vista Ultimate, you would have to finally pay nearer $600 depending
upon province..

Re economies of scale, the North American market is HUGE.. even Macs sell
in
large numbers, way surpassing the 5 user customer base in the UK (two in
Croydon and three suspected Mac users out in the UK wilds (all wanted for
questioning re gross stupidity).. towns with only 10000 inhabitants, large
by Canadian standards (96% of Canadian place names have a population of
300
or less people), have as many as five retailers all selling computers..
UK
residents have zero idea of the economies of scale here in North America..
this is a 'throw away' society, and goods are priced by the retailers
accordingly..

Re. pricing to retailers, there has always been a discount for bulk
purchases.. all manufacturers do it, whether producing software,
cigarettes
or candy.. unfair on the small operation? yes of course it is, but when
you
go into a store, do you not ask for a discount if buying more than a few
products at one time? I have known Brits that do, and who expect a
discount..

I really can't believe what the problem is with MS and pricing.. why do
people expect to get the top Vista for nothing? would these same people go
into a BMW auto dealership and complain that they need some of the
features
of a 7 series car but object and cry 'unfair' to the $80,000 price tag?
no,
of course not.. if they want a BMW, they buy one within their means and
accept the limitations or go look for some other product that more meets
their needs..


"Gerry Cornell" wrote in message
.. .
Gene

What is spin by Microsoft or true in reality?

The letter implies that the market is less competitive in the rest of
the
world than in the US. However, the UK is an extremely competitive
economy
and to assert that other economies are all less competitive is to
simplify
the situation to such a degree as to make the assertion meaningless and
misleading. Conclusion less competitive market is spin by Microsoft to
deflect criticism from Microsoft and to conceal the real reason.

The price at which resellers are able to sell is primarily governed by
the
price at which they can buy. If the person ( in this case Microsoft
restrict the supply ) to a limited number of resellers or offer
particular
resellers preferential terms then this will have a more material impact
on
retail prices in a local market than resellers margins. Control of price
in a primitive market will be more easily achieved than in a
sophisticated
one such as the UK. Conclusion resellers margins is spin by Microsoft to
deflect criticism from Microsoft and to conceal the real reason.

Economies of scale achieved through selling to a larger customer base in
the US than in a smaller country. A major cost factor will be research
and
development. If Microsoft were to withdraw from the world market and
only
sell in the US market would the cost per unit sold go up or down? The
customer base argument only applies to local costs, which are only a
fraction of the total cost outside of the US. Microsoft are not selling
a
bulky product e.g a motor car, where distribution and storage costs may
be
significant. It is a small high tech product! Economies of scale are
achieved by having a large customers base; the geographical spread of
that
customer base, given that Microsoft have a universal market for their
product, is unlikely to account for a significant price differential.
One
would expect to see a significant increase in unit cost were Microsoft
to
restrict sales to the US market. Conclusion economies of scale is spin
by
Microsoft to deflect criticism from Microsoft and to conceal the real
reason.

EU Regulations do not allow a manufacturer to fix retail prices so to
that
extent the Microsoft statement is true where they are selling through a
third party. As, however, stated previously the price paid by local
resellers is determined by Microsoft, not by EU Regulations, so for
Microsoft to say "we cannot set prices ourselves" is disingenuous (
lacking candour ). In other words it is spin!

Taxation does affect resale prices. For comparable years, taxation in
the
US has been reported as 29.6% of gross domestic product compared to
37.4%
in the UK. Tax on goods and services is higher in the UK than in the
US.
However, given that only 15% of the UK inclusive of VAT price is tax
compared to the US local sales tax, whatever that might be, it hardly
accounts for the retail price differential between the two countries.

Advancing local Microsoft promotional discounts is a two edged sword.
Fine
for those who get them and infuriating for those who do not get
discount.
If Microsoft are advancing this as a material reason for price
differentials then they are inviting further investigations by the
authorities for
abusing their position as a monopoly supplier.

Exchange rates. Another red herring! Recently the rate of exchange
between
the US Dollar and £ Sterling has moved against the US Dollar so one
would
expect the price paid for US goods and services bought by the UK to
fall.
This does not seem to be happening. Quite the reverse is the impression
gained so the reason for the price differential would seem to be
something
else!

In dissecting the arguments in the letter I am now reaching the
conclusion
that the letter is entirely spin.

--

~~~~

Gerry

~~~~~~~~
Enquire, plan and execute.
Stourport, England
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Forgery or not, I cannot answer; however, the Microsoft reply
gives legitimate marketing/operating reasons which are true in
most regions and countries.




Enigmatic wrote:

- Show quoted text -

I contacted Microsoft about this and the reply was as follows:

"Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your email concerning price differences for
Windows Vistaâ,,¢ between the US and the UK.
In response to your query, I can
confirm that the U.S will usually be cheaper owing to the
following
reasons:

U.S resellers, particularly online ones may be able to sell the
product at a
lower price owing to them taking a reduction in their margins.
They
can normally
do this more than resellers in smaller countries due to the
economies
of scale
of selling to a larger customer base. I should point out at this
stage, that as
a result of EU regulations we cannot set prices ourselves.
Taxation, which can
be substantially lower in the U.S than the U.K.
Operation costs such as
distribution and manufacturing can be significantly lower in the
U.S
owing to
the same economies of scale as mentioned above.
Different Microsoft regional
offices can offer promotions and discounts to resellers and
consumers
that are
specific to their own region. Microsoft UK and Microsoft Europe
will
quite often
offer such promotions that are not applicable to our U.S
customers.
Finally,
the differences in price can also vary with the currency exchange
rate
between
the U.S and the U.K.
I hope this information has answered your query, but if
you have any more questions please give us a call on 0870 60 10
100.
Our lines
are open from 8.00am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday. Telephone
traffic is
at its
lowest early in the morning. Of course if you prefer please send
me an
email.

Many thanks for contacting us.
Kind Regards,
MAMATHA DALEER
Customer Service
Professional
Microsoft Customer Services"



There you go, folks.

Robin



Hmmmm - U.S. = More capitalist
U.K. = More Socialist

Maybe Microsoft should only sell Vista to the EU governments for
distribution to
the masses. One of the keys to this problem is competition.