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| Porn Users Forum » regional pricing part two |
| 1-29 of 29 Posts | Page 1 |
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| 12-03-09 08:55am - 5498 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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mbaya (0)
Suspended  Posts: 891 Registered: Jul 07, '08 Location: new jersey |
regional pricing part two I have been reading with interest the complaints nonUS PUers have about regional pricing. I agree that it is not right, even immoral to charge members based on where they live. I never expected that I would share the same problem, as I live in the US and check out US based websites. Recently I wrote a review for hairypussycuties.com where I mentioned the price through CCBill is not the same as from Epoch. I wrote CCBill and asked them why. They got back to me and told me that my Internet address shows I live in Japan. Further they told me to complain to the individual websites when I see a discrepancy. They are washing their hands of issuing any future credits for the difference. In recent weeks I have checked out a few websites and what is see is that CCBill shows a difference from the prices shown on TBP. How can I know if there was a small price increase or my problem is with my address? By the way, it doesn't matter if I use Firefox or Internet Explorer, the only thing that matters is if I use CCBill. Other billing companies do not have different prices. I am curious if I am the only one who has encountered this. | |
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| 12-03-09 09:11am - 5498 days | #2 | |
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Capn (0)
Active User  Posts: 1,740 Registered: Sep 05, '09 Location: Near the Beer! |
I really don't know why CCBill is offering this regional pricing 'service' to webmasters. No one is going to be willing to buy if they know they are being ripped off! It will lose business for the webmasters & CCBill! :0E Admiral of the PU Hindenburg. 2009 PU Award Hilarious Post of the Year 2010 PU Award ( I would have preferred it to be Helpful Post of the Year for Guys who Hate 'Retail Therapy' ) :0/ Sanity is in the eye of the Beholder! | |
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| 12-03-09 09:37am - 5498 days | #3 | |
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Khan (0)
Suspended  Posts: 1,737 Registered: Jan 05, '07 Location: USA |
as I mentioned in another thread ... see https://www.pornusers.com/forum/forum_thr...&showPost=15#_15 CCBill offers the option to site owners to charge different rates based on where the customer lives. That's why you only see it for CCBill charges. Like it or not, getting charged different prices based on where you're at has become a norm in mainstream marketing. A cup of coffee on Wall Street will not cost the same as the exact same cup of coffee in Po-dunk Iowa. I've heard many stories from Americans who visit Europe that they were charged higher prices than locals for the same item/service. It is unfortunate that sellers everywhere have adopted the practice of charging what they think a market can bear rather than what an item/service is actually worth. But, it's a fact of life. When you see regional pricing at an adult site, just know it's the site OWNER who's made the decision to charge different rates based on location. Former PornUsers Senior Administrator Now at: MyPorn.com "To get your ideas across use small words, big ideas, and short sentences."-John Henry Patterson Edited on Dec 03, 2009, 10:23am (Khan: typo) | |
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| 12-03-09 09:56am - 5498 days | #4 | |
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mbaya (0)
Suspended Posts: 891 Registered: Jul 07, '08 Location: new jersey |
Thanks Khan for pointing that out. Now for my next question. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can change my internet address to show that I live in the US and not Japan? | |
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| 12-03-09 10:23am - 5498 days | #5 | |
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Khan (0)
Suspended Posts: 1,737 Registered: Jan 05, '07 Location: USA |
That's something your ISP should be able to help you with. I'm guessing (based on what you're saying) that your IP makes it look like you're in Japan. Can't guess what could be causing that but again, your ISP should be able to help sort it out. Former PornUsers Senior Administrator Now at: MyPorn.com "To get your ideas across use small words, big ideas, and short sentences."-John Henry Patterson | |
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| 12-03-09 10:51am - 5498 days | #6 | |
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Denner (0)
Active User  Posts: 1,217 Registered: Mar 03, '07 Location: Denmark |
Still think it's cunning/devious. And it's no excuse, that's it has become a practice for a lot of sites. This is not a question of buying a cup of coffee at a cafe in Paris or in Chicago. It's a product being sold from the same place to different buyers at different location, but still with the same home-location. When I buy a book at Amazon, I pay the same price here in Copenhagen, Denmark, Europe as the guy in Boise, Idaho or the guy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia... Never figured out - also - how it is then possible to write SOME webmasters and get a link to, let's say Epoch - and HERE get the same price as offered to US-costumers... And bottomline: I really do not care who's to blame - the billing-co or the site-owners. So to outside-US PUs: If you can't get the price offered at TBP, stay away.... "I don't drink anymore - I freeze it, and eat it like a popcicle" | |
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| 12-03-09 11:11am - 5497 days | #7 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User  Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Changing internet address: There are free programs that will change the internet address that your computer shows. I've heard about them, but have never used one, and don't know how well they work, or if there are any problems associated with changing your IP address. The best way to try solving the problem is probably Khan's idea, to contact your ISP and explain the problem to them. If that doesn't work, then you might try one of the free programs that change your IP address (trying to figure out beforehand if that might somehow cause other problems, because computers can be tricky, and you can mess up the way they work when you add programs or change settings). Or maybe you can just change the IP address on your computer directly, without any special programs, but, again, you need to be cautious about any problems that might cause (which is not extremely helpful advice, because we are not computer experts, and we don't know what the problems will be until they rise up and clunk you in the head or clunk you in the computer). | |
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| 12-03-09 11:43am - 5497 days | #8 | |
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mr smut (0)
Active User  Posts: 107 Registered: Dec 27, '07 Location: Germany |
One thing you can do is search for an open proxy that resides somewhere else. Just use it to sign in for the lower price and ... enjoy :-) | |
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| 12-03-09 12:02pm - 5497 days | #9 | |
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Wittyguy (0)
Active User  Posts: 1,138 Registered: Feb 04, '08 Location: Left Coast, USA |
x Edited on Apr 20, 2023, 01:38pm | |
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| 12-03-09 12:26pm - 5497 days | #10 | |
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nostromo (0)
Active User Posts: 131 Registered: Sep 22, '07 Location: madrid/spain |
I'd surely appreciate that. I took regional pricing into consideration when i reviewed hotlegsandfeet.com, read their webmasters reply https://www.pornusers.com/replies_view.html?id=36936 . The guy basically told me that i was delusional. The funny thing is that i only took away ten points from the score. i wholeheartedly agree with Denner. i've not only bought from Amazon but also from other non pornagraphic websites and they charged me whatever the price in USD was. Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy. H.L. Mencken. | |
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| 12-03-09 12:48pm - 5497 days | #11 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
One problem about discounting scores for regional pricing is that if you live in the US, you aren't normally aware of regional pricing (higher prices outside of the US) unless you read a post by some PU member. Normally, all you see is the US membership price quotes for most sites, if you are located in the US. The PU/TBP prices shown are mainly for the US. And the prices shown at the porn sites themselves, for US customers, are mainly the US prices, not including the regional pricing for outside the US. So if you aren't aware of the difference between US and non-US prices, you are not likely to factor that into a lower score for the site. | |
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| 12-03-09 01:13pm - 5497 days | #12 | |
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Denner (0)
Active User Posts: 1,217 Registered: Mar 03, '07 Location: Denmark |
Sounds simple - but for us dummies in that field: How do you search for an open proxy?????? "I don't drink anymore - I freeze it, and eat it like a popcicle" | |
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| 12-03-09 01:24pm - 5497 days | #13 | |
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Wittyguy (0)
Active User Posts: 1,138 Registered: Feb 04, '08 Location: Left Coast, USA |
x Edited on Apr 20, 2023, 01:38pm | |
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| 12-03-09 01:24pm - 5497 days | #14 | |
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Capn (0)
Active User Posts: 1,740 Registered: Sep 05, '09 Location: Near the Beer! |
Which ever way you look at it, it is a customer loser for both the webmaster and CCBill, who are offering the questionable 'service' anyway. A customer shouldn't need to get devious to get a fair deal! It is as simple as this. If I see it happening...my custom is lost! For good! Admiral of the PU Hindenburg. 2009 PU Award Hilarious Post of the Year 2010 PU Award ( I would have preferred it to be Helpful Post of the Year for Guys who Hate 'Retail Therapy' ) :0/ Sanity is in the eye of the Beholder! | |
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| 12-03-09 02:23pm - 5497 days | #15 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Wikipedia article on open proxies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_proxy The article says that: "Using an open proxy can be legally dangerous: the current law in Germany, for example, makes it illegal to access a computer or network without the owner's knowledge, even if the proxy is not password-protected.[citation needed] There are no reasons to run a clean open proxy for an organisation, so any open proxy is suspicious[citation needed]. The main sign of a legal open proxy is the fact that it is not anonymizing the connection[citation needed]." Anyway, it seems there can be problems using an open proxy, both legally and as far as computer usage is concerned. Read the wikipedia article for further information, but the article itself in somewhat brief, and does not explain how to use an open proxy, or clearly state the problems of using one. We need someone who is computer literate to explain simply, how and when and why an open proxy should or could be used by someone. | |
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| 12-03-09 03:26pm - 5497 days | #16 | |
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mbaya (0)
Suspended Posts: 891 Registered: Jul 07, '08 Location: new jersey |
The funny thing is that when I check out prices I click on the US flag icon and the price comes up in US dollars. Prior to that I consistently get a price in Canadian dollars. The story about my internet address being from Japan comes from what CCBill told me. They said the different price is due to being billed in Japanese yen and then actually paying in dollars. That doesn't even sound like regional pricing. In any case I have been seeing billing using CCBill as a plus and now I see it as a minus. If I have to pay about four dollars extra for a $30 site, that is a minus in my book. | |
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| 12-03-09 10:18pm - 5497 days | #17 | |
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turboshaft (0)
Active User Posts: 1,958 Registered: Apr 01, '08 |
Sounds sort of like how a lot of big companies and people (or least those with money) get out of paying most if not all of their income taxes by using offshore accounts and addresses. Greedy bastards! You should only circumvent the law for good porn (and good sex)! I guess after money the next priority is porn, and like money you can't take it with you. :( "It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hardcore Commie works." - Gen. Jack D. Rippper, Dr. Stranglove | |
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| 12-04-09 12:48am - 5497 days | #18 | |
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Denner (0)
Active User Posts: 1,217 Registered: Mar 03, '07 Location: Denmark |
Thanks! After reading that at Wikipedia, I think, I'll stay away from that one...... "I don't drink anymore - I freeze it, and eat it like a popcicle" | |
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| 12-04-09 08:51am - 5497 days | #19 | |
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atrapat (0)
Active User  Posts: 182 Registered: Apr 19, '08 Location: Non-USA |
I also hate regional pricing but I strongly advice against using open proxies in an attempt to get a better deal: keep in mind that a proxy basically gets in the middle between you and the Internet; so, it watches go through (and has the chance to capture) all your traffic, including your credit card details. | |
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| 12-04-09 02:07pm - 5496 days | #20 | |
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exotics4me (0)
Active User  Posts: 664 Registered: Jan 12, '07 Location: USA |
At the office I worked at from 2005-07 we used a software called Anonymizer. Seems like it was $25 a year per computer. It was used because of the California Psychology Protection Act. It would send your posts through their server at Anonymizer so your IP (location) would be different than what it really was so hackers couldn't target our computers. There was another one too, change your IP, that you could see where you were listed as being from, mine would often land in Japan or China. I don't know if that one is still around or not. I do know that I found out Chinese residents can't access many sites that we can in America. A use for the software in the porn world came up when I had been banned from 21st Sextury sites. I used the Anonymizer to access one of their sites and send an email. Before that I couldn't even get the sites to open. It was their security monitors mistake for banning a whole group of IP addresses. I'm really not for sure how good it works in listing you as in other countries, but it was able to get around a security monitor. My first time I jacked off, I thought I'd invented it. I looked down at my sloppy handful of junk and thought, This is going to make me rich. - Chuck Palahniuk | |
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| 12-05-09 03:35am - 5496 days | #21 | |
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mbaya (0)
Suspended Posts: 891 Registered: Jul 07, '08 Location: new jersey |
I can't imagine you being banned from 21st for a good reason. If I can ask why did they ban you? Just curious. | |
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| 12-05-09 08:40am - 5496 days | #22 | |
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Reg Berkeley (0)
Active Webmaster Posts: 22 Registered: Apr 01, '07 Location: Las Vegas, NV |
Khan, I respectfully disagree with your comment. The reason why coffee is cheaper in Po-Dunk relates to the cost of labor, rent and utilities, ie. the price needed for an equivalent profit. It has nothing to do with what the market will bear. Even in airport locations, the high prices are driven by exorbitant lease provisions. As a US based webmaster, I considered the upside in taking advantage of the weak US dollar by doing regional pricing. So let's not kid ourselves - that's exactly what's going on here. I personally think it's bullshit to penalize non-US customers. It boggles my mind to see people on PU constantly griping about regional pricing, BS trials and sneaky cross-sells. Vote with your wallets, people. Reg Berkeley | |
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| 12-05-09 09:05am - 5496 days | #23 | |
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james4096 (0)
Suspended Posts: 132 Registered: Mar 02, '09 |
It's too late to vote with your wallet after you've already been signed up for 2 $35 memberships you never agreed to join. | |
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| 12-05-09 10:18am - 5496 days | #24 | |
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Khan (0)
Suspended Posts: 1,737 Registered: Jan 05, '07 Location: USA |
I fear you mistake my position on the subject. Personally, I hate regional pricing and feel it's unfair. And yes, I agree, higher prices in brick-n-mortor location has other factors. Yet that does not mean it's not become a standard marketing practice to charge what a seller thinks a market can bear. Former PornUsers Senior Administrator Now at: MyPorn.com "To get your ideas across use small words, big ideas, and short sentences."-John Henry Patterson | |
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| 12-05-09 11:14am - 5495 days | #25 | |
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Denner (0)
Active User Posts: 1,217 Registered: Mar 03, '07 Location: Denmark |
I kneeeeeew it! Kahn hates regional pricing, too - so maybe another spokesman for us? Serious: It would be great if TBP did some kind of pressure (along with PUs) on those websites. OK, I prefer to stay away when overcharged, but, man - there are still some I would like to join - but NOT to those 'euro-prices'... And just for the heck of it: Was hunting for Rascal Dog after a fine review/info from james4096 - and did NOT want to pay $35 (in euros) instead of $24 - and wrote the site almost two weeks ago asking for a link to Epoch, which they also have - and where the price is 'right'. BUT no answer.... "I don't drink anymore - I freeze it, and eat it like a popcicle" | |
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| 12-05-09 03:54pm - 5495 days | #26 | |
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Capn (0)
Active User Posts: 1,740 Registered: Sep 05, '09 Location: Near the Beer! |
Do I really have to say it twice!!!! 'Which ever way you look at it, it is a customer loser for both the webmaster and CCBill, who are offering the questionable 'service' anyway. A customer shouldn't need to get devious to get a fair deal! It is as simple as this. If I see it happening...my custom is lost! For good! ' If others follow, surely that should be enough for the nail in the coffin? Cap'n. :0E Admiral of the PU Hindenburg. 2009 PU Award Hilarious Post of the Year 2010 PU Award ( I would have preferred it to be Helpful Post of the Year for Guys who Hate 'Retail Therapy' ) :0/ Sanity is in the eye of the Beholder! Edited on Dec 05, 2009, 03:59pm | |
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| 12-07-09 02:12pm - 5493 days | #27 | |
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Wittyguy (0)
Active User Posts: 1,138 Registered: Feb 04, '08 Location: Left Coast, USA |
x Edited on Apr 20, 2023, 01:38pm | |
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| 12-07-09 04:13pm - 5493 days | #28 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Speak for yourself, dear boy. The quality of life is an important issue that should not be ignored. Is life without porn worth living? That is a question that deserves great thought. Without porn, this site, and TBP, would not exist. | |
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| 12-07-09 04:22pm - 5493 days | #29 | |
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Reg Berkeley (0)
Active Webmaster Posts: 22 Registered: Apr 01, '07 Location: Las Vegas, NV |
That's precisely my point. PU does a GREAT job of highlighting cross-sells. As does TBP in fact. So my comment was really more directed at people who still get snared by cross-sells and bogus trials, with all this great information and red flags readily available. | |
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