Boycott Vista in the UK!

According to this BBC page http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/
users in the Uk are going to be ripped off yet again by being charged DOUBLE
the prices charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until this rip-off
culture stops.

PS - if anyone has an email address for the Sales Director of MS UK I would
like to know so that I can ask him to comment on this.

"Gordon" wrote in message
...
According to this BBC page http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/
users in the Uk are going to be ripped off yet again by being charged
DOUBLE the prices charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until this
rip-off culture stops.

PS - if anyone has an email address for the Sales Director of MS UK I
would like to know so that I can ask him to comment on this.


Sorry, wrong link! (don't know how that one got in there!)
Link is:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6309651.stm

Gordon wrote:
According to this BBC page
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/ users in the UK are
going to be ripped off yet again by being charged DOUBLE the prices
charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until this rip-off
culture stops.
PS - if anyone has an email address for the Sales Director of MS UK
I would like to know so that I can ask him to comment on this.

Gordon wrote:
Sorry, wrong link! (don't know how that one got in there!)

Link is:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6309651.stm


Yes - that does seem to be quite the price jump from US to UK pricing.

You could try getting a message through/setting up something via the
standard means:
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/contactu...e/default.mspx

Looking at the pricing, it's almost like there was no conversion done...

Examples:
(Example 1)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Wi...850283-9421405
(UK Home Basic Upgrade - £99.99)

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wind...TF8&s=software
(US Home Basic Upgrade - $98.99)

(Example 2)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...850283-9421405
(UK Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate - £369.99)

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wind...TF8&s=software
(US Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate - $378.99)

Admittedly - I am not up on my currency exchange rates - but it seems off to
me.
Perhaps someone who knows the currency exchange rates better can enlighten?

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

"Shenan Stanley" wrote in message
...
Gordon wrote:
According to this BBC page
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/ users in the UK are
going to be ripped off yet again by being charged DOUBLE the prices
charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until this rip-off
culture stops.
PS - if anyone has an email address for the Sales Director of MS UK
I would like to know so that I can ask him to comment on this.

Gordon wrote:
Sorry, wrong link! (don't know how that one got in there!)

Link is:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6309651.stm


Yes - that does seem to be quite the price jump from US to UK pricing.

You could try getting a message through/setting up something via the
standard means:
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/contactu...e/default.mspx

Looking at the pricing, it's almost like there was no conversion done...

Examples:
(Example 1)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Wi...850283-9421405
(UK Home Basic Upgrade - £99.99)

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wind...TF8&s=software
(US Home Basic Upgrade - $98.99)

(Example 2)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...850283-9421405
(UK Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate - £369.99)

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wind...TF8&s=software
(US Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate - $378.99)

Admittedly - I am not up on my currency exchange rates - but it seems off
to me.
Perhaps someone who knows the currency exchange rates better can
enlighten?

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Unfortunately this is what tends to happen for anything manufactured in USA
and sold in UK - the UK price in £ is the same as $.....OK when the exchange
rate is very low, but as it's nearly US$2 to the £ at the moment, is a HUGE
difference! It's called ripoff UK.....

A google search responded with:

1 British pounds = 1.9625 U.S. dollars

Conversion date wasn't given.


--
Don
Vancouver, USA


"Gordon" wrote in message
...
"Shenan Stanley" wrote in message
...
Gordon wrote:
According to this BBC page
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/ users in the UK are
going to be ripped off yet again by being charged DOUBLE the prices
charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until this rip-off
culture stops.
PS - if anyone has an email address for the Sales Director of MS UK
I would like to know so that I can ask him to comment on this.

Gordon wrote:
Sorry, wrong link! (don't know how that one got in there!)

Link is:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6309651.stm


Yes - that does seem to be quite the price jump from US to UK pricing.

You could try getting a message through/setting up something via the
standard means:
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/contactu...e/default.mspx

Looking at the pricing, it's almost like there was no conversion done...

Examples:
(Example 1)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Wi...850283-9421405
(UK Home Basic Upgrade - £99.99)

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wind...TF8&s=software
(US Home Basic Upgrade - $98.99)

(Example 2)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...850283-9421405
(UK Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate - £369.99)

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wind...TF8&s=software
(US Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate - $378.99)

Admittedly - I am not up on my currency exchange rates - but it seems off
to me.
Perhaps someone who knows the currency exchange rates better can
enlighten?

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Unfortunately this is what tends to happen for anything manufactured in
USA and sold in UK - the UK price in £ is the same as $.....OK when the
exchange rate is very low, but as it's nearly US$2 to the £ at the moment,
is a HUGE difference! It's called ripoff UK.....

Shenan Stanley wrote:

Gordon wrote:

According to this BBC page
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/ users in the UK are
going to be ripped off yet again by being charged DOUBLE the prices
charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until this rip-off
culture stops.
PS - if anyone has an email address for the Sales Director of MS UK
I would like to know so that I can ask him to comment on this.


Gordon wrote:

Sorry, wrong link! (don't know how that one got in there!)

Link is:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6309651.stm



Yes - that does seem to be quite the price jump from US to UK pricing.

You could try getting a message through/setting up something via the
standard means:
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/contactu...e/default.mspx

Looking at the pricing, it's almost like there was no conversion done...

Examples:
(Example 1)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Wi...850283-9421405
(UK Home Basic Upgrade - £99.99)

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wind...TF8&s=software
(US Home Basic Upgrade - $98.99)

(Example 2)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...850283-9421405
(UK Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate - £369.99)

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wind...TF8&s=software
(US Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate - $378.99)

Admittedly - I am not up on my currency exchange rates - but it seems off to
me.
Perhaps someone who knows the currency exchange rates better can enlighten?

Date: 1 in U.K. pounds equals: Exchange rate:
29 Jan 2007 1.96 US dollars (noon) 1.9590 (0.5105)

Date: 369.99 in U.K. pounds equals: Exchange rate:
29 Jan 2007 724.82 US dollars (noon) 1.9590 (0.5105)

http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/exchform.html

Good thing you guys in the UK are rich...

John

Gordon wrote:
"Gordon" wrote in message
...
According to this BBC page http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/
users in the Uk are going to be ripped off yet again by being charged
DOUBLE the prices charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until this
rip-off culture stops.

Perhaps MS is keeping the excess in reserve to pay future EU fines.
Coping with bureaucratic idiocies is part of doing business in Europe.

C A Upsdell wrote:

Gordon wrote:
"Gordon" wrote in message
...
According to this BBC page http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/
users in the Uk are going to be ripped off yet again by being charged
DOUBLE the prices charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until
this rip-off culture stops.

Perhaps MS is keeping the excess in reserve to pay future EU fines.
Coping with bureaucratic idiocies is part of doing business in Europe.

Yeh, what a pain in the ass when a government tries to protect the consumer.
The same goes for protecting the environment. The damn governments should
keep their noses out of that and leave it to the benevolent corporations to
look after things.

Cheers.


--

"Computer users around the globe recognize that the most serious threats to
security exist because of inherent weaknesses in the Microsoft operating
system." McAfee

NoStop wrote:
C A Upsdell wrote:

Gordon wrote:
"Gordon" wrote in message
...
According to this BBC page http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/
users in the Uk are going to be ripped off yet again by being charged
DOUBLE the prices charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until
this rip-off culture stops.
Perhaps MS is keeping the excess in reserve to pay future EU fines.
Coping with bureaucratic idiocies is part of doing business in Europe.

Yeh, what a pain in the ass when a government tries to protect the consumer.
The same goes for protecting the environment. The damn governments should
keep their noses out of that and leave it to the benevolent corporations to
look after things.

Absolutely. It is so important in the EU to protect consumers from
buying products they want, and to force vendors to offer products (like
Windows N) that no one wants. What bliss for the consumer!

NoStop wrote:
C A Upsdell wrote:

Gordon wrote:
"Gordon" wrote in message
...
According to this BBC page http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/
users in the Uk are going to be ripped off yet again by being charged
DOUBLE the prices charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until
this rip-off culture stops.
Perhaps MS is keeping the excess in reserve to pay future EU fines.
Coping with bureaucratic idiocies is part of doing business in Europe.

Yeh, what a pain in the ass when a government tries to protect the consumer.
The same goes for protecting the environment. The damn governments should
keep their noses out of that and leave it to the benevolent corporations to
look after things.

Absolutely. It is so important in the EU to protect consumers from
buying products they want, and to force vendors to offer products (like
Windows N) that no one wants. What bliss for the consumer!

On Jan 31, 2:13 am, C A Upsdell "
wrote:
NoStop wrote:
C A Upsdell wrote:

Gordon wrote:
"Gordon" wrote in message
...
According to this BBC pagehttp://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/
users in theUkare going to be ripped off yet again by being charged
DOUBLE the prices charged in USA. Let'sboycottVistain theUKuntil
this rip-off culture stops.
Perhaps MS is keeping the excess in reserve to pay future EU fines.
Coping with bureaucratic idiocies is part of doing business in Europe.

Yeh, what a pain in the ass when a government tries to protect the consumer.
The same goes for protecting the environment. The damn governments should
keep their noses out of that and leave it to the benevolent corporations to
look after things.

Absolutely. It is so important in the EU to protect consumers from
buying products they want, and to force vendors to offer products (like
Windows N) that no one wants. What bliss for the consumer!- Hide quoted text -

- 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

Gordon wrote:
According to this BBC page http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/
users in the Uk are going to be ripped off yet again by being charged DOUBLE
the prices charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until this rip-off
culture stops.

PS - if anyone has an email address for the Sales Director of MS UK I would
like to know so that I can ask him to comment on this.




The prices listed, I'll agree, are outrageous. How much of that is V.A.T?


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

Bruce Chambers wrote:
Gordon wrote:
According to this BBC page
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/ users in the Uk are
going to be ripped off yet again by being charged DOUBLE the prices
charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until this rip-off
culture stops.

PS - if anyone has an email address for the Sales Director of MS UK I
would like to know so that I can ask him to comment on this.



The prices listed, I'll agree, are outrageous. How much of that is
V.A.T?



17.5%

Alias

Alias wrote:
Bruce Chambers wrote:
Gordon wrote:
According to this BBC page
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/ users in the Uk are
going to be ripped off yet again by being charged DOUBLE the prices
charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until this rip-off
culture stops.

PS - if anyone has an email address for the Sales Director of MS UK I
would like to know so that I can ask him to comment on this.



The prices listed, I'll agree, are outrageous. How much of that
is V.A.T?



17.5%

Alias


Ouch! But that still doesn't account for the entire difference, does
it? I wonder if Microsoft is charging more in member countries of the
EU, since EU courts are imposing such costly, and sometime absurd,
conditions on Microsoft, at the behest of European companies that can't
compete?


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

Bruce Chambers wrote:
Alias wrote:
Bruce Chambers wrote:
Gordon wrote:
According to this BBC page
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/executives/ users in the Uk are
going to be ripped off yet again by being charged DOUBLE the prices
charged in USA. Let's boycott Vista in the UK until this rip-off
culture stops.

PS - if anyone has an email address for the Sales Director of MS UK
I would like to know so that I can ask him to comment on this.



The prices listed, I'll agree, are outrageous. How much of that
is V.A.T?



17.5%

Alias


Ouch! But that still doesn't account for the entire difference,
does it? I wonder if Microsoft is charging more in member countries of
the EU, since EU courts are imposing such costly, and sometime absurd,
conditions on Microsoft, at the behest of European companies that can't
compete?



In Spain, Retail Business goes for over 600 USD. Generic OEMs, however,
are about the same as the USA. Weird. We only have 16% VAT.

Alias