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Post by masterdoctor on Mar 21, 2019 17:04:10 GMT
And as usual (and I do say this with all respect) another significant change in policy snuck in under the Radar. Regards mark687 Yeah, the fact it was not announced right away, instead posted in a back end of the website left for another leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Also, with this happening, deals for UK customers such as free shipping/discount on 50$ or more should either be worldwide or gotten rid of at the same time as the price increase, as honestly, we especially pay more for physical media, so prices should be equalized there too.
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Post by Ela on Mar 21, 2019 17:08:29 GMT
Well spotted. How did you ever find it? I can't see the link from the BF home page It's actually linked at the top of the home page, but the poor contrast of the font color with the background makes it hard to see.
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Post by mark687 on Mar 21, 2019 17:11:16 GMT
And as usual (and I do say this with all respect) another significant change in policy snuck in under the Radar. Regards mark687 Yeah, the fact it was not announced right away, instead posted in a back end of the website left for another leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Also, with this happening, deals for UK customers such as free shipping/discount on 50$ or more should either be worldwide or gotten rid of at the same time as the price increase, as honestly, we especially pay more for physical media, so prices should be equalized there too. Ah but the policy specifically affects DLs
But your right a Worldwide 10% on £$50 Orders would now be fairer.
Regards
mark687
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Post by Ela on Mar 21, 2019 17:12:08 GMT
And as usual (and I do say this with all respect) another significant change in policy snuck in under the Radar. Regards mark687 Yeah, the fact it was not announced right away, instead posted in a back end of the website left for another leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Also, with this happening, deals for UK customers such as free shipping/discount on 50$ or more should either be worldwide or gotten rid of at the same time as the price increase, as honestly, we especially pay more for physical media, so prices should be equalized there too. A lot more for physical media. Shipping prices are ridiculous and make me think hard about ordering physical media. And non-UK customers don't get free shipping on pre-orders.
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Post by Ela on Mar 21, 2019 17:12:55 GMT
Yeah, the fact it was not announced right away, instead posted in a back end of the website left for another leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Also, with this happening, deals for UK customers such as free shipping/discount on 50$ or more should either be worldwide or gotten rid of at the same time as the price increase, as honestly, we especially pay more for physical media, so prices should be equalized there too. Ah but the policy specifically affects DLs
But your right a Worldwide 10% on £$50 Orders would now be fairer.
Regards
mark687
Yes, that, too.
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Post by masterdoctor on Mar 21, 2019 17:18:22 GMT
Yeah, the fact it was not announced right away, instead posted in a back end of the website left for another leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Also, with this happening, deals for UK customers such as free shipping/discount on 50$ or more should either be worldwide or gotten rid of at the same time as the price increase, as honestly, we especially pay more for physical media, so prices should be equalized there too. Ah but the policy specifically affects DLs
But your right a Worldwide 10% on £$50 Orders would now be fairer.
Regards
mark687
Quite right, and I agree, but if Big Finish is looking to make downloads more fair, the same logic should be applied to physical media, matching pricing between countries. What I’m saying is that UK customers should get equal shipping charges and we either get free shipping on pre-orders/bundles(if that applies?) or rid of it for UK.
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Post by Digi on Mar 21, 2019 17:21:45 GMT
Out of curiosity, and for totally anecdotal purposes, what do you UK-based folks pay for common items? Let's say, as an example: A can of Coke from a vending machine? An album on iTunes? An Egg McMuffin? coke is about 75p - £1....in general albums are about £10 mc donalds stuff is about £3 - £6 for main menu items Out of curiosity, and for totally anecdotal purposes, what do you UK-based folks pay for common items? Let's say, as an example: A can of Coke from a vending machine? An album on iTunes? An Egg McMuffin? Egg Mcmuffin £2.79 on its own £4.19 as a meal deal
I-Tunes Album £8-£10
Can of Coke about £1 I think
Regards
mark687
Okay, that's more or less what I was expecting....here in Canada: - an iTunes album is usually about $9.99 - a can of pop from the machine is usually $1 - a McMuffin is $4.39 (before tax) In practice/on the ground, it looks like we're earning and paying at a 1:1 ratio. Where UK folks making £50k are paying £1 for a Coke, we're making $50k and paying $1 for a can of Coke. So I very much take issue with any conception that us overseas haven't been pulling our weight. We absolutely have been. This is not a problem that should have been "fixed" by imposing direct currency conversion. The problem here, that Big Finish is incorrectly addressing, is with UK-based people who have been exploiting the system and not paying their fair share. What Big Finish is doing here is opting to punish international customers to mitigate a problem that's being caused by non-international customers. The solution was to implement an IP/location verification system to catch the people who are gaming the system, not to penalize the people who are being billed correctly. The more I think about this, the more incensed I am with how wildly unfair it is.
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aztec
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,849
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Post by aztec on Mar 21, 2019 17:21:54 GMT
Well, there goes a lot of my purchases, but hey sales are still a thing. I'm British and live in the UK, but I hardly ever buy stories at full price (probably 90%+ of my collection was bought on sale, or amazon) as it is, perhaps it's a reflection on my own financial situation/the amount of money I set aside for leisure pursuits/hobbies but frankly, I feel some BF products are already overpriced and I've curtailed much of my purchases in recent months , I realize it's a self funded company and that as their back catalog and number of productions increase costs will rise across the board as well, but I can't help but wonder if the current pricing model is realistic, I've mentioned BF to various people both in real life and online and unfortunately more often than not those who might very well be interested in exploring the audio-drama side of the whoniverse were put off by the pricing, with Who attracting a younger audience these days is it still realistic to expect people to pay £40 for a set of 4 stories, when you can buy an entire season of the show for less? BF produces so much content the fan in me wants to listen to it all, but I know there's not way I'd find the time to listen to it all, let alone be able to afford it...
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Post by jacobz40 on Mar 21, 2019 17:23:14 GMT
As an American customer, this bites, but I totally get it. I've never understood how the 1:1 thing worked in Big Finish's favor, and I figured that they were eating some potential profits by it. I remember before the new international shipping cost was implemented; I couldn't believe I could get CDs shipped from the UK to the States for like less than 2 USD. This makes sense.
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Post by masterdoctor on Mar 21, 2019 17:24:35 GMT
coke is about 75p - £1....in general albums are about £10 mc donalds stuff is about £3 - £6 for main menu items Egg Mcmuffin £2.79 on its own £4.19 as a meal deal
I-Tunes Album £8-£10
Can of Coke about £1 I think
Regards
mark687
Okay, that's more or less what I was expecting....here in Canada: - an iTunes album is usually about $9.99 - a can of pop from the machine is usually $1 - a McMuffin is $4.39 (before tax) In practice/on the ground, it looks like we're earning and paying at a 1:1 ratio. Where UK folks making £50k are paying £1 for a Coke, we're making $50k and paying $1 for a can of Coke. So I very much take issue with any conception that us overseas haven't been pulling our weight. We absolutely have been. This is not a problem that should have been "fixed" by imposing direct currency conversion. The problem here, that Big Finish is incorrectly addressing, is with UK-based people who have been gaming the system. Instead of, for example, implementing something like a IP location check to make sure you're paying your local rate, Big Finish has opted instead to punish international customers. The more I think about this, the more incensed I am with how wildly unfair it is. Better said than I Digi, so thank you. I just sent an email to Big Finish, and I would say that if you did as well, it be much clearer and well put than mine.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2019 17:26:34 GMT
I don't mind what BF charge per se, they are a business after all, so like everything else I have to buy from 'overseas' if it becomes too expensive for my budget then I can't buy stuff. I don't get any more wages, so more expensive downloads just means less purchases from BF. That's life.
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Post by mark687 on Mar 21, 2019 17:31:22 GMT
Ah but the policy specifically affects DLs
But your right a Worldwide 10% on £$50 Orders would now be fairer.
Regards
mark687
Quite right, and I agree, but if Big Finish is looking to make downloads more fair, the same logic should be applied to physical media, matching pricing between countries. What I’m saying is that UK customers should get equal shipping charges and we either get free shipping on pre-orders/bundles(if that applies?) or rid of it for UK. So for CDs to make it fair now you'd loose the Potage Cap of £4 and add on £6.50 to Per order charge to UK Orders regardless of size.
Regards
mark687
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Post by masterdoctor on Mar 21, 2019 17:32:58 GMT
Quite right, and I agree, but if Big Finish is looking to make downloads more fair, the same logic should be applied to physical media, matching pricing between countries. What I’m saying is that UK customers should get equal shipping charges and we either get free shipping on pre-orders/bundles(if that applies?) or rid of it for UK. So for CDs to make it fair now you'd loose the Potage Cap of £4 and add on £6.50 to Per order charge to UK Orders regardless of size.
Regards
mark687
Yes, or apply an equal shipping cap for overseas and rid of per order all together.
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Post by masterdoctor on Mar 21, 2019 17:36:13 GMT
And for clarity, my goal is not for UK customers to pay more, but for equal pricing to be applied in all instances.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2019 17:53:22 GMT
And for clarity, my goal is not for UK customers to pay more, but for equal pricing to be applied in all instances. Yet you're talking about shipping, not pricing of the items themselves. It's of course massively cheaper to send something domestically than to the US. Massively - from my experience around 700% difference in sending CD sized packages. If I order from overseas I know the bulk will not be on the item but on the shipping. Equal pricing for postage is not feasible, not even remotely. No-one - and I mean no-one - is going to pay over £7 for a BF release just to be posted internally within the UK. Massively unrealistic and I can't think of anywhere else who would operate on that basis. If I order from Amazon UK I get free delivery. If I order from Amazon France it's about £4, from Amazon US, a lot more than that. This is just the way of things sending them internationally. I'd advocate fair pricing rather than equal - because the factors going into the delivery are not equal. What I think would be reasonable is for shipping to reflect just what country the goods are going to. It's cheaper to send to France than Australia....yet they're charged the same. That's unfair. The amount charged should be solely that amount needed to ship and deliver. That's not happening and never has - and it's caused nothing but trouble. But yet this debate has very quickly become about physical items not downloads which have no shipping or per order charge and are the only thing changing according to the update.
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Post by shallacatop on Mar 21, 2019 17:59:22 GMT
Finally, I have to ask, did the 1:1 policy really effect UK customers? I see some felt it was unfair, but the fact that many jobs pay more or equally(numerically) in th uk than other countries caused me to question this. I also am disappointed that people gamed the system and kindness Big Finish showed to international countries. I don’t think it’s come into effect because UK customers have any issue with it. That seems like a little addition they’ve added to redirect the blame. You don’t see big rants about it all that often, for example. It’s always been a bizarre thing that Big Finish have done - completely unlike any other business - and is alongside the postage charges fiasco from a few years back as an appalling bit of business the company have done. Now it’s being dealt with in a secretive way that leaves a lot to be desired. It’s unfortunate for fans overseas, but I think it’s important to consider that you’re not at a disadvantage as such. It marks the end of essentially being able to take advantage of Big Finish’s bad business. We do suffer from similar issues here in the UK, with exchange rates and pricing. The popular things that immediately spring to mind are Apple and LEGO products. It’s the overseas postage and per order charge that Big Finish really want to be looking at from now on.
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ljwilson
Chancellery Guard
It's tangerine....not orange
Likes: 5,062
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Post by ljwilson on Mar 21, 2019 18:02:31 GMT
I think the download thing is fair enough, but isnt it about time BF sorted out the sky-high cost of shipping physical media to overseas destinations. Some of the prices you guys quote to Australia (etc) are eye watering.
Many thanks,
ljwilson (a.k.a. Cletus Jnr III from Alabama...when it suits)
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Post by Digi on Mar 21, 2019 18:33:48 GMT
Better said than I Digi, so thank you. I just sent an email to Big Finish, and I would say that if you did as well, it be much clearer and well put than mine. Got mine written out now as well.... I'm gonna let it sit in my Drafts for a couple hours before sending though, come back at it with fresh eyes a little later to sand off any of the rough edges and make sure I'm not coming off as rude.
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Post by masterdoctor on Mar 21, 2019 18:48:33 GMT
And for clarity, my goal is not for UK customers to pay more, but for equal pricing to be applied in all instances. Yet you're talking about shipping, not pricing of the items themselves. It's of course massively cheaper to send something domestically than to the US. Massively - from my experience around 700% difference in sending CD sized packages. If I order from overseas I know the bulk will not be on the item but on the shipping. Equal pricing for postage is not feasible, not even remotely. No-one - and I mean no-one - is going to pay over £7 for a BF release just to be posted internally within the UK. Massively unrealistic and I can't think of anywhere else who would operate on that basis. If I order from Amazon UK I get free delivery. If I order from Amazon France it's about £4, from Amazon US, a lot more than that. This is just the way of things sending them internationally. I'd advocate fair pricing rather than equal - because the factors going into the delivery are not equal. What I think would be reasonable is for shipping to reflect just what country the goods are going to. It's cheaper to send to France than Australia....yet they're charged the same. That's unfair. The amount charged should be solely that amount needed to ship and deliver. That's not happening and never has - and it's caused nothing but trouble. But yet this debate has very quickly become about physical items not downloads which have no shipping or per order charge and are the only thing changing according to the update. Fair enough, I am having a bit of a knee jerk reaction.
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Post by vivdunstan on Mar 21, 2019 18:56:19 GMT
Finally, I have to ask, did the 1:1 policy really effect UK customers? I see some felt it was unfair, but the fact that many jobs pay more or equally(numerically) in th uk than other countries caused me to question this. I also am disappointed that people gamed the system and kindness Big Finish showed to international countries. It put me off buying for sure. The UK download prices were often almost as much as the CD prices. So I didn’t buy things that I might have done if they’d been at overseas prices. I do personally still prefer CDs, but there are a lot of impulse download purchases I passed on over the years. And yes, for the record, I’ve long thought that the price difference was unfair on UK customers.
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