I live in australia and 1 aud is 1.05 USD. In the us appstore, $0.99 translates to 1.19 Aud which means we pay about $0.20 more. Is this fair?? What do you think?? And should apple consider changing appstore base prices according to the world currency??
In the last month i spent $30 on iphone games and would have saved $1.50. If i was in the US.obviously this aint alot to whone about, but if this stay for a year i could save $20 or more. But predictors say that the AUD will increase value to almost $1.13 USD which is pretty much the other way around. Hmmm.... Iunno maybe I'm just paranoid.
The relative value of a national currency compared to another currency rarely has an immediate effect on local prices. In the long run, yes, but not right away. Also, your income doesn't fluctuate based on currency changes. Two years ago, you paid x AUS cents for an app. Now, you still pay x AUS cents for the app. Relative to the US currency, or rather: to what Americans pay, what you pay has changed, but relative to your income, rent, food, etc, you pay exactly the same. Or differently put, your income has also increased if you were to exchange it into US dollars.
"We Australians are generous people, it's an honor to pay premium for American apps." It's not about what we are paying, it's about what we are SUPPOSED to pay. Why on Earth (well, can't be anywhere else) would we care about what the Americans are paying? In reality, it would be cheaper to register an American iTune account and buy an American iTune gift card to pay for the apps since the exchange rate is in our favour. (assumption only) Oh and BTW Mivo I'm assuming you either don't live in Australia or don't give a **** (the 's' word, not 'f') about politics. The BUDGET + CARBON TAX + RISING ELECTRICITY BILLS x god-knows-what-will-come-next = increasing living costs. Our income didn't change, but living costs do (and will, for the worse).
It's the same for Americans, and pretty much everyone in the world. If your income isn't adjusted to increasing living costs, it's a local problem that you need to address locally. It's not different here in Germany, by the way. Not long ago, our VAT went from 14% to 19%, and many shops, etc. used that opportunity to increase prices by 10%+. And then there was the conversion from German Marks to the Euro a decade ago. Basically, two German Marks were converted to one Euro, and you would assume that prices were halved. Briefly, prices for some things were indeed 50% cheaper, but just a few years later the prices for many items and services are the "same", just that the currency symbol changes, which essentially means everything is twice as expensive. My income hasn't doubled in these ten years. But anyway, which part of what I said in the previous post is invalidated by the increasing living costs in Australia? The question was if the app store should adjust the app prices based on the (daily?) exchange rate changes.
Oh I'm sorry but it's not GST's fault. I've done my research, using XE currency exchange rate online calculator and comparing prices of various currencies to US dollars. Results 1 US:country's currency compared to US app store app price to that said country's price of same app: UK 1:0.62 app store 0.99:0.59 Euro 1:0.71 app store 0.99:0.79 New Zealand 1:1.3 app store 0.99:1.29 Canada - 1:0.97 app store: 0.99:0.99 Australia: 1:0.94 app store 0.99:1.19 Decide for yourself. IMO apple is too slow to react this time, but it's not entirely their fault. Lots of ppl in Aus are buying stuff from America, so it's not unexpected that people will suddenly realize "Hey! We're paying more than we should in the App Store!"
So should apple change it?? Idk. But they r not because they make money this way. It is alot like interest rates paying bases. Keep It fixed or let the price change accoriding to the market. For now apple has kept it fixed
Maybe; maybe not. Is it supposed to be, though? Is that written down in a rulebook somewhere? Next time, you should make sure that it's Australians who start Apple ... build up the company for years ... invent the iPod ... develop iTunes ... open the App Store. That way, everything will be "fair" for you. That this will turn into another price-whining thread ... if it hasn't already. No.
