Digital Art Zone

I was wondering if anyone here (who is based in the UK) has joined up with the Adobe Creative Cloud.

The reason I ask is because compared to the amount of money I spend on software each year, it might actually be a good idea for me to have the yearly subscription on that and have a powerful suite of software.  My problem is that is looks like the British are getting screwed-over as usual:

- In US Dollars they want $49.44 per month (equal to £31.50)
- In UK Pounds they want £46.88 per month

When you take the conversion rate into account, that mean the British are getting charged £15.30 ($24.00) more than those in the USA, and that is unacceptable.  No doubt Adobe’s excuse would be “VAT”, but as we’re not supposed to be charged VAT in these circumstances, I have no intentions of buying this product unless I can pay in US dollars and be charged the US rate.

So I was wondering, has anyone here, based in England and using a Brtitish bank account, successfully ordered the ACC by paying in US dollars, just like we do at DAZ?  If it’s possible for the British to pay what the rest pay, then I’m pretty sure I’d go for it.  But if not, they can stick it up their over-priced ...

Any info on this would be appreciated.

Nice attitude. Funny, it is usually the other way around with the currency rate. I buy from UK and European companies often and always have to pay more, reality of living one place and having the company in another. From my experience, DAZ is the exception, not the rule.

You could try contacting Adobe, they have a UK office
United Kingdom
Adobe Systems Europe Ltd
Market House
34-38 Market Street
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 8AD
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 1628 590 000
Fax: +44 1628 590 100

Having UK customers pay an extra $24 per month for the same product is a nice attitude as well, which is why I’m asking.  One of the beauties of internet commerce is that it opens up choices, and unless you’re an absolute muppet, you don’t pay $24 more for the same product, from the same company, from the same website.  Some people do, but then again, I’m not one of them.

DAZ might be an exception to the rule, but at least DAZ have it correct and Adobe do not.  Adobe products are already over-priced as it is, so pulling crap like this is nothing short of a piss-take.  If the software weren’t “industry standard” I wouldn’t even look twice at it, but as it is, it’s wise for me to take a chance at it.

Thanks for the details, but I have no intentions of contacting Adobe, because whatever their reasons for thinking the Brit’s like being charged $24 more than the Americans, they chose to charge it and won’t change that just because I contact them.  Like I said, I’m only interested in knowing if those based in England, using a British bank account, can pay the US dollar rate.  You need to remember that “Adobe” are a company who, when asked why the price of one of their products had risen, replied “Because we found the customer was prepared to pay it” - or something along those lines - enough said.

No point me debating why they do it, I know why they do it, but if I said why, I’m guessing the post would get deleted.  $24 a month is $288 under a one year contract, and that’s not the price of having the software, that’s just the extra we are getting charged. 

Screw that for a lark.

Unfortunately Adobe charge those Not living in the US 100s even 1000’s of dollars more on all their software titles and not just for the use of the Creative Cloud.

They do it because they can.
It would take a large majority of their fan base to refuse to pay the premium before they will change their pricing policy, so that’s not going to happen any time soon.

As to the being in the UK and Paying in dollars, Nope, unfortunately you won’t be able to, the Adobe site will not allow the transaction and will direct you back to the UK adobe site

As a note, you do have to pay VAT. If you buy from somewhere that doesn’t charge it it is your responsibility to take care of it yourself. Of course there’s little enforcement at low levels, but it isn’t a sneaky trick on Adobe’s part. Still, VAT doesn’t account for all of the price difference, and there’s a limit to how much of a cushion against exchange rate fluctuations is warranted. One option is not to buy - if enough people do that, and use other tools instead, Adobe’s price will shift (or they’ll go bust).

@adzan
Thanks for the heads-up, looks like I won’t be biting then, and yup, exactly, they do it because they can - @ssholes.

@Richard
I couldn’t agree more, my take on how to deal with crap like that is exactly the same; simply do not buy it - and I won’t be.  If people don’t pay they either have to adjust or go bust (and I’m hoping they’ll do the latter because it couldn’t happen to a nicer company).

You got me confused on the tax thing though, I’ve ran a few businesses and one thing that’s clear is that the person responsible for the business is responsible for charging the VAT.  Even if you underestimate whether you would come into charging VAT, you would have to pay it if you fell into that bracket - even if you’d not charged the customer for it.  They can’t demand tax from the customer of company that failed to charge the correct tax on a product they sold.

If it’s not enforced it’s because it cannot be enforced, and that is because there’s no way a customer can be forced to pay, at a later date, a higher price for a product than they agreed to pay when they bought it.  Such things require a contract.  If such a thing was enforceable then companies could do pretty well whatever they like (I’m excluding Assobe of course, who already do).

Funny thing is, I don’t even like Adobe products that much anyway, and I never could stand Adobe.  No matter what they produce there is almost always a better alternative.  The only thing that attracted me to ACC was the fact that I’d have the convenience of the whole suite without the up-front cost, and from what I gather, access to all those quality fonts.

Ah well, they can stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.
I’m not sure what bothers me most; their attitude or the fact that I wasted thirty minutes of my time on their website.

What is Adobe Creative Cloud?

Miss Bad Wolf - 30 July 2012 10:23 PM

What is Adobe Creative Cloud?

Adobe Creative Cloud is an ongoing membership that lets you download and install any of the Adobe Creative Suite 6 desktop applications, plus other applications including Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4. You also get online services for file sharing, collaboration, and publishing. Best of all, you get the latest apps and features as soon as they’re released — giving you the freedom to create anything you can imagine.

Instead of buying Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, …, you pay a month by month licensing fee ($50 US)

Miss Bad Wolf - 30 July 2012 10:23 PM

What is Adobe Creative Cloud?

Something to avoid unless you like supporting companies with “Abobe” pricing policy.

I bought a suite that included Photoshop.

Rather you than me ;-)