Photoshop and Creative Suite users outside the US are shocked at the difference in pricing between continents.
AOP members have cited the following differences…
Sterling Prices- US / UK
CS3 Upgrade: £224 / £465
CS3 Full: £916 / £1,409
Dollar Prices- US / UK
CS3 Upgrade: $440 / $912
CS3 Full: $1,799 / $2,766
Members of the AOP, EPUK, Hasselblad and German Freelance forums have all joined the bandwagon demanding reasons why pricing can be up to double that in the US.
With such punitive pricing it looks likely that those who can will be abandoning their local suppliers and buying in the US or on the grey market.
ed: Let us know how Adobe pricing is affecting you by clicking the ‘Comments” link and leaving a comment below
update: 11/4/07:
The story has been picked up by several publications…
CreativeMatch
BJP
EPUK
MacWorld
A Man With a Pencil – Price comparisons
Fair Prices Blog
listen in iTunes
Not acceptable for a company like Adobe, or any company that values it’s reputation. We expect a better level of morality.
As a result we will not be buying any upgrades or new Adobe software until there is fairness.
They have you over a barrel, mate. You know it and so do they. Adobe has more effective money extraction methods than even Microsoft. They have no effective competition in their prime markets (Acrobat and Photoshop) and have managed to convince the world that only their products are up to the task. You all buy their products and, whilst it’s a nice idea to withhold your purchase until fair play occurs, that seems unlikely when many of your contemporaries will upgrade anyway. And have done so about every 18 months or so this millennium, from Photoshop 6 or 7 through to CS3 – up to 5 versions over that period. If ever there was a case for referral to the EU on anti-competitiveness, surely Adobe must be a candidate?
I will hold off buying CS3. My quality and business won’t nose dive as a result of not having CS3.
If for any reason I felt compelled to purchase CS3 in several months time I will definitley not be purchasing through Adobe UK at Adobe’s rip off prices.
Ther are plenty of leigitimate ways to purchase CS3 through the US without having to vsit the US
With all the potential that an internet age offers, where barriers are no longer geographical, a supposedly forward thinking company like Adobe has made it a policy to be backwards thinking in creating artificial barriers where they needn’t exist which amounts to a discriminatory foreign policy. If you’re not North America based, you pay more.
The board is symbolically frozen in aspic too. The downloadable director portraits were created over 4 years ago using Photoshop 7 http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/downloadimages/executives.html http://tinyurl.com/292qmn
If enough professionals delay udgrading, it will hurt their profits and they may just change this absurd pricing discrepancy. Don’t rely on goodwill, there clearly isn’t any.
Perhaps Nick Walker (or anyone else for that matter) can start the ball rolling by letting us know what the other legit methods of buying US versions are. I for one, will certainly take that route.
Please sign the following petition http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/fair-pricing-for-european-software.html
Well done Adobe, just that little push to those that might be tempted to go for a hacked copy.
I look forward to ways of getting my (legit) upgrade at US prices.
Suggestions please… ;-)
I will tell you my experience.
I bought a legit OEM Photoshop 6 at ebay for something like EUR30.
According to European laws this is still a legit version even though I did not purchased it in a software/hardware bundle.
I registered it at Adobe US. I gave them my brother’s US address.
Still in the Adobe US site I then proceeded to upgrade to the CS2 version for US$174 (if I am not wrong)
I have been an owner of a legit version ever since
All in all I paid something like STG110 (this figure may be slightly wrong as I am writing this from memory).
Come on the Brits, considering that Finland has a minuscule population than the UK, more Fins have signed this petition – http://www.gopetition.com/signatures.php?petid=11698
All we are asking Adobe is yo play fair by allowing citizens outside of the US access to their US web site to download products at prices that US and Canada citizens currently enjoy.
I will be looking for other software to use, as this is the second blow from Adobe. As I used to use Raw Shooter that they brought for their Lightroom product, the company no longer trades and no support for the software that I have paid for I was also meant to get a free copy of Lightroom as compensation, but no contact regarding that matter and no free lightroom
I shall not be purchasing the upgrade at UK prices.
Their computer servers in the US do not care which country the recipient resides in – they just download the upgrade on demand. It is Adobe just being arrogant and bloody-minded that blocks UK residents from purchasing from the US online.
If I eventually decide that I can’t live without the upgrade – unlikely – then I shall just purchase a copy through a friend in the US.
For a tiny business like mine, this is very sad news. There must be others out there who bought CS2 as a bit of a luxury. It was a Rolls Royce purchase which I could not really justify commercially. The CS3 upgrade is now laughable. Shame I can’t purchase just the new Bridge part of it. That would suit me fine.
This is clearly wrong on Adobes part. Because of not needing the CS2 Suite anymore, it is going to cost me even more as I need the full version of CS3!
Adobe’s attitude in both their pricing policy and the derisable replies to various emails sent to them by members of the PI forum is, quite frankly, abominable.
There are a number of features is PS3 that I would love to use, but not until I know I’m dealing with a fair minded and supportive supplier.
I will find it VERY hard to upgrade unless this pricing issue is resolved by Adobe. Aperture suddenly becomes more appealing!
I will not be buying from Adobe UK ever again until I have the right to purchase the same software from the same Adobe website in dollars that my American colleagues can.
It is outrageous that Adobe should use such blatant trade restriction to force non US customers into paying more for the product than they should.
There are only 13 protests here, does nobody else care? Have you written to Adobe to protest? Nothing will change if we don’t ALL take action now!
C’mon guys, surely you are angry enough about this unfair deal that you can pen an email of protest direct to the following guys -
Bruce Chizen
Kevin Conner
John Nack
These are the guys at Adobe who have the power to change things, especially the first two.
John Nack is the product Manager and known for his sympathetic views to our complaints about the unfair pricing regime Adobe employ, so copy him too on you emails. He will argue for our case inside Adobe’s corporate empire.
I am bitterley dissaponted that after spending the last years telling us how wonderful Adobe are, and how they listen to what we want, the prove the don’t by doing this.
How unbelieveable are the buy from new prices? Only students will ever be able to buy Photoshop from new in the future.
If a US Adobe spokesman cites Sweden as a special additional expenses case, to part-highlight the pricing disparities in the EU, he ought to be made aware of the fact that many of the Swedish snappers that I know use English (US) copies due their impeccable use of our shared language.
I live in Sweden and it’s the same bad deal here – the price of a CS3 upgrade is twice the US equivalent excluding Swedish VAT. I have had email discussions with Adobe about the issue over the past week. The bottom line was this:
“We are aware of this issue and we will make a case of every feedback that we get and escalate them to a higher level, and then we will get back to you.”
Later when I inquired about purchasing from the US :
“When you purchase on the American website you need to provide a valid address in America otherwise the order will not go through sides from that it is possible but for support you would have to call to America futurewise since that is a main diffrence that has a role in the price diffrence.” (not my English)
Interestingly there are comments on Adobe’s John Nack Blogg
And even the deputy editor of MacWorld Karen Haslam
writes “Is Adobe ripping off UK customers?”
Sadly, as can be witnessed on the various other forums which have debated this point, there is very much an attitude of “I’m alright Jack” from our N.American collegues. They cite higher incomes in the EU, esp. UK (they ignore, obviously, the relevant cost of livings).
Evidently, they believe the ability to buy CS3 should be means tested…
It’s a sad state of affairs, but let’s face it. Adobe exists for the single purpose of making more money for its shareholders. Adobe is not your friend. They only care about your wallets. They’re stupidly widening the gap between those who can afford to go legit and those who will aquire a cracked version.
Is it wrong? Yes. Do they care? Not at all.
I need 5 copies of the upgrade for our business, which converted three years ago to Indesign. So a quick calculation. 5 x £595 or 5 x $599. I’m £1250 worse off! Just as well I’m VAT registered otherwise it could be worse.
I phoned adobe support to be told that it was OK to buy a ‘US’ copy – the only thing i’d lose would be support (rather an ironic choice of words!) but then she was French and didn’t understnad the term shafted!!!!
I did wonder about starting a business up over there – but fortunately have decided that my brothers friend who resides over there can hopefully help me.
I’ll keep you posted.
Adobe is ripping us off in the United Kingdom but then we pay for a lot of things much more than our collegues over the pond.
I bought my CS3 direct from a retailer in the USA, not Adobe, and even with FEDEX charges and VAT I saved a lot.
All companies and individuals, like me, should buy direct from the US. Once Adobe realises that their sales in Europe drop off they will, we hope, change their pricing policy.
A question about buying from the US for those who have done it…
I’ve found a retailer in the US who will ship me Web Premium upgrade. Can you upgrade your your UK CS1 / Studio MX software successfully with a CS3 upgrade or does the system reject UK serial numbers, UK IP addresses?
Paul
The US and UK serial numbers are not compatible. They thought of that!
John
That is not the case. Our office has upgraded all 6 of its CS2 packages to CS3 without any problems at all
Once again Adobe are significantly overcharging non US and Canandian customers….WHY? In the UK if we download the product it is no more costly for them had we been US customers. There is not even a difference in the version with UK spelling! Last time around the excuses included it was a UK version, the value of the UKP against the Dollar was in our favour (not now), the cost of supporting the new release was more in the UK (frankly most purchasers don’t want to attend the Adobe sales pitches)
So Adobe, once again I will not be paying through the nose for your upgrades and I know of many who feel sufficiently strongly who will not be.