Is Adobe ripping off UK customers?

We really do live in Rip Off Britain. Buy a full copy of one of Adobe’s Creative Suite bundles in the UK and you could be paying more than a third more than your colleagues in the US. Or upgrade from your existing copy of Creative Suite and pay as much as 50% more than your American cousins for the privileged.

How can Adobe justify it?

I’ve been looking closely at the Adobe Creative Suite pricing, checking out how big premium we pay here in the UK, compared to in the US. You can see the calculations below. (I’m really hoping some of my calculations are wrong…)

I’ve taken up these massive pricing discrepancies with Adobe and Quark in the past. Nice that Adobe took the opportunity to set a fair pricing structure with their biggest launch in 25 years…

The maths bit

Full versions:

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium
UK price excluding VAT: £1,195
US price excluding sales tax: $1,599
US price in pounds: £809.65
How much extra is that? £385.35
Percentage extra: 32.25%

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium
UK price excluding VAT: £1,409
US price excluding sales tax: $1,799
US price in pounds: £910.95
How much extra is that? £498.05
Percentage extra: 35.35%

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium
UK price excluding VAT: £1,409
US price excluding sales tax: $1,699
US price in pounds: £859.34
How much extra is that? £549.66
Percentage extra: 39.01%

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection
UK price excluding VAT: £1,969
US price excluding sales tax: $2,499
US price in pounds: £1,263.98
How much extra is that? £705.02
Percentage extra: 35.80%

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Standard
UK price excluding VAT: £895
US price excluding sales tax: $1,199
US price in pounds: £606.54
How much extra is that? £288.46
Percentage extra: 32.23%

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Standard
UK price excluding VAT: £705
US price excluding sales tax: $999
US price in pounds: £505.37
How much extra is that? £199.63
Percentage extra: 28.32%

Upgrades:

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium
UK upgrade price excluding VAT: £325
US upgrade price excluding sales tax: $340
US upgrade price in pounds: £172.16
How much extra is that? £152.84
Percentage extra: 47.03%

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium
UK upgrade price excluding VAT: £465
US upgrade price excluding sales tax: $440
US upgrade price in pounds: £222.80
How much extra is that? £242.20
Percentage extra: 52.08%

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium
UK upgrade price excluding VAT: £599
US upgrade price excluding sales tax: $799
US upgrade price in pounds: £404.13
How much extra is that? £194.87
Percentage extra: 32.53%

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection
UK upgrade price excluding VAT: £1,229
US upgrade price excluding sales tax: $1,399
US upgrade price in pounds: £707.61
How much extra is that? £521.39
Percentage extra: 42.42%

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Standard
UK upgrade price excluding VAT: £289
US upgrade price excluding sales tax: $240
US upgrade price in pounds: £121.41
How much extra is that? £167.59
Percentage extra: 57.99%

UK upgrade price excluding VAT: £315
US upgrade price excluding sales tax: $399
US upgrade price in pounds: £201.83
How much extra is that? £113.17
Percentage extra: 35.92%

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Comments received

aaaashy said on Tuesday, 10 April 2007

think you got your prices seriously wrong here

i got mine from apples usa and uk online store the day they were released

(and i have printouts to prove that my figures were correct at THAT time)


for example

upgrade to design premium is £700 (inc vat at 17.5% = £104), so w/o tax = approx £600

(so, i am not sure where you got £465 from?)

and the usa price is $600 (which i believe is w/o tax, there being diff tax in diff states)

at the mo the exchange rate is loosely £1 : $2

so usa at £300

against uk at £600

seems a little different from your figures

where did you get them?

peter

btw there is an online petition to show adobe our feelings, it's at www.gopetition.com/signatures.php?petid=11698

and everyone who uses adobe products in the uk should sign up!