This is how an Autodesk spokesman explains the up-to-47% price increases in England:
“We discovered that for some reason the UK pound pricing had historically been very low and customers were getting a great deal. And the actual percentage that we have moved it to is exactly the same price that customers pay around the world.”
I see... I think. Let's unpack the statement, phrase by phrase:
"...for some reason the UK pound pricing had been historically been very low..." The UK was one of Autodesk's very first international outposts. It took 20 years for an Autodeks employee to clue in that the pricing was wrong? Will the culprit who originally set the pricing too low be fired?
"...customers were getting a great deal." How great a deal? Let's work out the numbers. Over the decades, I've noticed that British prices tend to be the highest among Canada, USA, and England. Check the spokesman's "great deal" claim for yourself: Go to the Autodesk UK Web store, and compare its on-line prices with those on Autodesk's USA store, and see which is cheaper. Hint: the UK price is US$3,470 more than the US price.
"...actual percentage that we have moved it to is exactly the same price customers pay around the world." How does that work in a world where most currencies float? Except for China (and a few other countries) that peg their currency to the US dollar, it's not possible to have customers pay the same price around the world. Does this mean there will be price cuts in the parts of the world, like South East Asia, where Autodesk rasied prices over the years?
Martyn Day further unpacks this magnificent spin doctoring in his "Autodesk Price increases" article on CADserver.
Update
Immediately after posting this item, I received an email from kktg.oemlist.com offering AutoCAD 2005 for $40. Higher prices lead to increased priracy. Or defections.
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