Question about rt pricing around the world

[Mikokariadis]

My question is:

US lowest price 239 dollars, my county lowest reseller price 249 euros+tax.

This autodeskian pricing policy is allowed to exist just so Chaos secures a
reseller in every other country?
Why ask international resellers to provide Chaos with the buyers country
of origin and then deny them a license on the basis of such info.

This is driving the products price up arbitrarly and for no other reason
except the middle mans comission. That is total B.S. and I call it.

Have a good weekend.

[Chaos Sales Team]

Dear Sir or Madam,

We appreciate your inquiry. We agree that your question is appropriate and especially in the financial situation we all participate nowadays.

The reasons for this price difference are in general two.
1) The price for RT was formed in April/May 2009. At this time the exchange rate USD-EUR was not as it is today. Unfortunately the exchange rate is beyond our power of control. It might happen in a few months that the European customers pay more in absolute value than the US customers. Then most probably we would hear the same question from the US customers.
2) Our policy is to set recommended end user prices. The recommended end user price is 299 USD for US customers. The recommended end user price is 249 EUR for European customers. In other words, it seems like that the US resellers tend to give bigger discounts to their customers, and on the other hand the European resellers stick to the recommended end user price. We are not allowed by law to form regulations for the resellers at what price to sell our products; we are able only to suggest.

We are in hopes our reply to help you and to answer your question.
Please feel free to contact us with any additional questions you may have or for any assistance that we may offer by calling +359 2422 4221 or emailing sales.software@chaosgroup.com.

Sales Team Chaos Group

[Mikokariadis]

Dear Chaos Sales team,


Thank you for partially answering my initial post.

There are moral and legal implications that derive from the Chaos sales policy that you are implicitly over looking in you answer. I will get to that after addressing your textual statement.

To point out that a less prosperous financial conjuncture frames a question to be more or less appropriate is irrelevant. It is factual that financial calculus exists in the best of times and in the worst of times. Failing to act on that notion usually is catastrophic and helps to clean out the idiots from the gene pool, unless you are powerful, rich or “lucky”. Sometimes these three conditions are inclusive. Those are called deuche bags.

I will disclose that my position allows me to approve buying and contracting of certain products and services. The products you sell are truly worth every cent and the price per se is not an issue. I always keep present that the contractual third party that deposits trust in my judgement has rights and obligations under national and European law and these two propositions can co-exist to the point where one of them becomes false. Product quality and Law compliance shouldn’t be exclusive and that is something we can all rejoice about.

Regarding Point 1 from your answer;I don't see it as unfortunate that the European Central Bank is the organization that can apply corrections to the exchange rates and not Chaos. There are complicated and mindful decisions that are part of the monetary policy and nowdays almost solely allow some countries to be in existence.

I would have no grief with using the Vlado instead of Euro for commercial exchanges, it would be that much cooler. I also do not see how the exchange rates correlate with bad practices. Not being able to buy directly from Chaos produces this diffuse third party interference in pricing. This is the direct initiator of pricing disparities and has nothing to do with discount pricing practices or fluctuating coin value. In simple terms, the price of money and American prices are not an issue compared to Chaos accessing and judging client information and on that basis allowing or denying the sale. I see you did not address this point and I full heartedly would like to know if you gave up exchange rate regulatory power so that you could, at your own discretion, take actions to approve of a sale after arbitrarily judging a customer to be “fit” on whichever basis. Being prohibited to buy from a party with which I have contracted before and have a great work relation with seems to be out of your reach yet you are conditioning my freedom to acquire an asset from them through a web site. Maybe it was worth giving up exchange policy for that. Time will tell dear sales department.

Regarding Point 2; You did write that you are not allowed by law to form regulations for the reseller pricing method. Yes, so true. If I had a cat that sat on my lap I would cuddle it at this point. You are also not allowed to choose to whom the product is sold. Such practice can only be enacted by the reseller and under very special conditions defined by law which do not include producer arbitration. I will bring to your attention that this practice creates an illegal exception that is enforced by data checks performed as conditionals to such act of purchase. Which brings me to observe the following. The European Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC implemented in Romania by law does protect any entity against this sort of practice. To discriminate the completion of an act based on entity data. Mess with the fan when there are projectiles just waiting to be blown all you want, but common sence will tell you that when I place an order on a site and am denied the act of purchase based solely on arbitrary approval by a third party, producer or not, you have a very nasty situation there. One that has moral implications because being trusted upon to act in the best interests of a company is not compatible with being oblivious of the fact that Chaos gives itself power over my representative act when they should have non. By Law.

So please spare me the recession related comments, the uncalled details on exchange rate regulatory power and third party discount policy, dear Chaos Sales Team. While using the words “European”, “customers”, “policy”, and the expression “by law”, you sure seem to be forgetful that enforcing a sales policy that is based on illegal procedures is in fact the reason why my initial post was made. I could have spent the last 30 minutes or so not reviewing a legal opinion because of that, but it just goes to show... Hey there is a monitor showing a overnight backup. Protecting data, nice.

Anyways, taking in the obliviously passive aggressive response I got was just peachy and I will proceed to place my order to the American web reseller, after that I will probably be denied the purchase on accounts of information passed from them to you, the self-appointed approving party, which will make me contact our American branch and place an order through them, if the later is denied I advise you to buy a shovel.

To sum it up, I really couldn’t care how much your product costs, what your policy is or who wins the super bowl ball this year, though I will follow through and watch how each evolves. I just want you to understand that this situation is not acceptable and you are hurting European customers who don’t have other options then to buy local when they could, as you stated “in the financial situation we all participate nowadays” be spared a few Euro in true free market competition style, in this case represented by a web site. Though I still think a few Vlado sounds cooler. It is also not acceptable to have a situation where a price is "sugested" or fixed all over the European Union and an EU citizen cannot buy online from a reseller just because you enforce an illegal policy. Unless you have special powers...wich would explain why V-Ray is so good.

Hope all that is crystal clear apart from the cat cuddling.

[philip kelly]

I will ask it straight, why don't you sell it as a download, and stop all the middle men?

You want customers, thats the way to do it, not deal with some sales rep who desent even use the product, and generally we know more than they do.

[Chaos Sales Team]

Dear All,

Thank you for your comments and given opinions. We will take them under consideration.

Our utmost desire is that our customers receive fast and good service. Our experience so far displays that we have success working with resellers.
The resellers are able to support the customers in their own language and customs; the time-difference is no more an issue; on-site support is also available if necessary; payment methods and currency are not an issue any more; etc. We can point out many more examples why we consider resellers are helpful for the customers.
We believe our resellers respect our customers and provide them with high level of support. Be certain that we will take the necessary actions upon a signal or complaint against a careless reseller.

Please feel free to contact us with any additional questions you may have or for any assistance that we may offer by calling +359 2422 4221 or emailing sales.software@chaosgroup.com.

Chaos Group Sales Team