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| Porn Users Forum » Regional Pricing |
| 1-12 of 12 Posts | Page 1 |
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| 12-18-08 09:00am - 5848 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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Tree Rodent (0)
Active User  Posts: 708 Registered: Oct 29, '08 Location: UK |
Regional Pricing Has anyone else felt they have been deliberatley misled by regional pricing? I use the word "deliberately," deliberately. I have found in the past CCBill to be very bad on this. I have signed up for dollars only to be charged a rip off exchange rate. Khan say this is not an exchange rate but regional pricing. I accept this concept if it is truly the case. When this really is the case, I would like the price to be shown up front, and clear. They should make clear that the price in dollars is not what you will be charged in Europe. They should make clear the price you will actually be paying in your own currency. I have on a number of occasions been charged a rip off exchange rate by billing agents. It seems CCBill is really the worst. In these cases I have only been charged in dollars. At no point in the transaction did I see pounds or euros mentioned. If it is going to be done it should be made clear that this is the case. To pay in dollars and find out you have been truly ripped off is pretty disgusting though. When you pay, before you press any buttons, it should be made clear the amount you are paying in your own currency. How many of you have been ripped off or felt you have been ripped off? I know the answer is quite a few, so I will use this thread as a little campaign. What about the idea that anything you sign up for HAS to have the EXACT amount you are paying in your own currency, and HAS to be the exact one you are eventually billed for? Anything else should be illegal. I think a number of you have signed up, or believed you have signed up for an amount in dollars, only to find the amount you eventually pay is way over the top. I don't believe much in coincidence, so I believe this is a case of billing agents being deliberatley deceptive. One more thing. When you buy dollars or any currency, you receive the exact amount in that currency in cash, charges included. It isn't a case of "oh there's a few more charges involve," or "oh of course your currency went down so you're getting less than originally quoted." It can be worked out on the spot what you get. It should be the same with purchasing anything in a foreign currency online. Edited on Dec 18, 2008, 09:29am | |
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| 12-18-08 09:39am - 5848 days | #2 | |
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Jeffrey99 (0)
Active User  Posts: 106 Registered: Nov 04, '08 Location: Good Ole Midwest USA |
I'll admit I'm in the US but I'd be guessing it has more to do with the exchange rate, then regeonial pricing. I mean it only makes sense to me, that if I'm buying something that is charged 29.95 euros that I'd be charged whatever the exchange rate is to equal 29.95 in euros. For example Club Seventeen is 29.95 Euros but they charge $43.77. According to Yahoo finance, that's only about a dollar more then what the conversion rate is. A non adult site that does that is Rapidshare. They charge in Euro and never gave me a actual $ price but there are plenty of resources to find a pretty close conversion amount. However I do think that all sites, adult or non, should list the price in you currency before they are allowed to charge you. Like Club Seventeen, lists both Euros and Dollars. I realize conversion rate changes but it shouldn't be that hard to get a price within +-5 dollars. | |
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| 12-18-08 09:43am - 5848 days | #3 | |
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Tree Rodent (0)
Active User Posts: 708 Registered: Oct 29, '08 Location: UK |
Well with CCBill it isn't even close to the exchange rate. You will find a difference of about 30 per cent in their favour. The last time I went with CCBill I was charged £10.54 for $14.95 dollars at a time when the dollar was worth about 55 pence. At 55 pence to the dollar $15 equals around $8.30. On the other hand if it was regional pricing why wasn't it stated? At no time was I quoted the amount I would pay in pounds or euros. I admit I had steam coming out of my ears on this one when I saw Khan's reply in the Video Box comment thread. It wasn't so much Khan, as my being incensed by the way these companies appear to try to deceive and mislead what the charges and prices are. I have been running around like a blue arsed fly, all afternoon, trying to get things done, and it's going to be the same this evening. I sort of got side tracked though by these threads, and felt I really HAD to say something. The result is that what I have said has not been as clear and precise as I would have liked. Edited on Dec 18, 2008, 10:41am | |
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| 12-18-08 11:25am - 5848 days | #4 | |
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moonbyrd (0)
Active User Posts: 17 Registered: Aug 07, '08 |
Regional pricing certainly is misleading at least in the cases where a price of e.g. $29.95 is quoted on the site itself, but when an European-based customer tries to join, the CCbill site detects his or her country of origin and suddenly the price is €29.95. Although investigating one example (ALS Scan) I seem to get one signup page with prices in USD with one browser and a different one with prices in EUR with another. (In the latter version no prices are quoted to the customer before entering the CCbill site.) It sucks, but there is no help for this situation. | |
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| 12-18-08 01:20pm - 5848 days | #5 | |
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Wittyguy (0)
Active User  Posts: 1,138 Registered: Feb 04, '08 Location: Left Coast, USA |
This subject was touched upon in some earlier threads (https://www.pornusers.com/forum/forum_thr...ad.html?threadid=115) but on the face of it Squirrel's case sounds like more of a rip-off tactic than a regional pricing plan. I am assuming your problem is actually with ccbill and not with your credit company hitting you with a nasty exchange rate. This is an issue that has a fix so easy it's laughable (just do the automatic conversion on the sign-up page, duh). I do believe, as was noted some time ago by Denner, that regional pricing in the EU community is illegal but US based or off-shore companies still use the practice. I have a clarifying question though, at what point in the process do you find out you've been slammed with a bad exchange rate? That might shed some light on who is really at fault in this mess. (For those just checking in, here is Khan's analysis, Post #18, on the regional pricing subject: https://www.pornusers.com/replies_view.html?id=27865#27906). Edited on Dec 18, 2008, 01:27pm | |
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| 12-18-08 02:22pm - 5848 days | #6 | |
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Denner (0)
Active User  Posts: 1,217 Registered: Mar 03, '07 Location: Denmark |
I cannot find any other answer to this, than its based on greed - a mutual speculation between siteowners and billing companies. US-based users would never accept a payment in Euros for US-sites - owners and billing co.'s know that. But the same sites or european based sites, for that matter probably do not consider it a problem charging euro-users in Euros - and why not the same figur - they (euro-users might not notice)- and there is a fine profit here. A site that charge 29.95 in both currencies will of course make more money if that amount is paid i Euros - at this moment Euro 29.95 is approx $44.... so, yes, baby: $14 more down in our pockets from a european-user..... And they - of course track where on earth your logging in from.. But it may hit them back, because the vast amount of european users will get more aware of the scam in the future and stay away - so what does that bring them (owners and billing co's) in the end... BUT still there are quite a few sites that even up the price in the end - so that $ 29.95 turns into something like 23.95 Euros at the billing - so it may be that the final decisions about regional pricing is made by siteowners themselves and not the billing companies - I have no way to know.. "I don't drink anymore - I freeze it, and eat it like a popcicle" Edited on Dec 18, 2008, 02:45pm | |
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| 12-18-08 02:59pm - 5848 days | #7 | |
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Tree Rodent (0)
Active User Posts: 708 Registered: Oct 29, '08 Location: UK |
Yes it's the deceit I hate. In dealing with CCBill I have generally not found what I am actually paying in my own currency until after I get the bill. This is why I will not sign up with any site using this billing agent again unless the amount is shown in my own currency. This is what it amounts to: they are not telling you the amount they are charging you because they are not telling you what the exchange rate is. Even when using euros they are sometimes not telling us in Britain what the exchange rate they are using is. So basically they can charge you what they like because they are choosing the exchange rate, any exchange rate they like - anything they get away with. It isn't just CCBill, although I think they are the worst. It also depends on the site. At RealSpankings you can see the amount in pounds. I want to see the sum total of what I am going to pay in my own curreny on every site. Once again, I wasn't objecting here to the concept of charging different amounts for different areas if it is up front and made transparently clear what you are paying in your own currency. But it is another thing I object to. I don't particularly like it because of the reasons stated by Denner. I think it is basically a way of ripping off the users in Europe. But it is when you think you are paying in dollars or euros and not finding out what you are paying, until after you get the bill that is bugging me. As Denner pointed out, American sites are receiving payments in dollars. So we should be paying the equivalent in dollars. I do not want to pay more because I am from Europe. It's greed. While sites still do this and resort to tricks like trying to sneak in extra sites for more money on your sign up form, the whole bunch of them look like conmen. The porn trade has a long enduring reputation of being seedy, greedy, corrupt, and dishonest. These tactics still make it look like it hasn't changed at all. | |
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| 12-19-08 05:53am - 5847 days | #8 | |
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Tree Rodent (0)
Active User Posts: 708 Registered: Oct 29, '08 Location: UK |
I have decided to boycott all sites thst show regional variation and all the sites that do not show a sign up amount in punds. This leaves quite a few to consider. I believe in voting with my wallet. | |
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| 12-19-08 01:05pm - 5847 days | #9 | |
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Cybertoad (0)
Disabled User  Posts: 2,158 Registered: Jan 01, '08 Location: Wash |
Squirrel, We all hope this situation doesnt drive you nuts, I can see how a situation like this could make anyone act squirrely. But at least you are making a stand and not letting them run you up a tree. I am sorry if my response seemed a tad Acorn-y, but I will try and refrain my activity but can not cage my additude as you see. ODE's to our friend I think you might have needed some humor so here it is PU style. Ode To The Squirrel I wear a gray fur prophylactic When girls ride my tail it?s climactic They jump up and down and wiggle around until the squirrel needs a chiropractic. May you nuts be merry and bright. Cybertoad. Since 2007 | |
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| 12-19-08 01:08pm - 5847 days | #10 | |
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Tree Rodent (0)
Active User Posts: 708 Registered: Oct 29, '08 Location: UK |
Hah hah very good! It looks like you are very possibly mad like me. Although my nurse told me I was getting better before I shot her. | |
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| 12-19-08 01:44pm - 5847 days | #11 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User  Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Is your new nurse better looking? And that's why you shot the old one? Good-looking girls are the only ones worth watching, in my opinion. | |
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| 12-28-08 06:51pm - 5837 days | #12 | |
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ramscrota (0)
Suspended  Posts: 54 Registered: Jul 04, '07 Location: Geelong Vic Australia |
I would like to add that the fluctuations in international currency complicate things. I live in Australia, and I am most annoyed that you have to pay in US dollars for membership. OK when our dolar is up (Like it was a few months ago). But now our dollar is down, I have to pay these local sites more. Bloody annoying! | |
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