Exchange rate $AUD to $US unfavourable

Tony_Hilliam said:

Q. Why should Australians pay an Australian company in $US?

Answer: You're not.

You're paying AUD$ to an AUD company through a USD payment gateway.

If the pricing was in AUD, it would be much higher than the USD amount.

Prior to changing over to this model (almost 3 years ago), international users would see the higher AUD amount and many would mentally calculate that as a USD amount (not understanding, like Aussies do, the current exchange rate which appears on our TV news every night).

I also wouldn't worry about projected rates - if they were predictable, no-one would need to work for a living, just hit the Forex trade market based upon those projections

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So basically what your saying is For an Australian game made in Australia and we living in Australia have to put up with payments shown in a foreign currency
because people from overseas don't understand exchange rates.
Maybe they should realize there not the only country in the world and the only currency that exists
I wonder if the US or any other country would advertise there products in AUD to keep us happy. I don't think so.

Why not use localisation files that simply display the current currency value for the country/locale? The user pulls down a tab or clicks a button to show the currency for their country? Many companies do it this way and there doesn't seem to be the confusion we have here. Using this method, the currency can be calculated on the current exchange rate using a data feed, or it could be set monthly and ride out the exchange rate as it fluctuates. In the latter scenario there will some loss, but others there may be a bigger gain.

big_b said:

So basically what your saying is For an Australian game made in Australia and we living in Australia have to put up with payments shown in a foreign currency because people from overseas don't understand exchange rates.

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But it is distributed from the US from US servers. Very few Australians understand exchange rates.

big_b said:

Maybe they should realize there not the only country in the world and the only currency that exists

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People have been making that point since Adam was a child but, despite the economic woes the US is/has been experiencing, they are still one of the major economic movers and shakers and their currency is still probably the most traded and recognised.

pware said:

.. as I have discovered here in the UK. 10 Pounds sounds cheap until I do the mental conversion to about $16 AU

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Would sound more expensive for you buddy. But isn't that because AUD are not worth as much. I'm no bread head and all this currency stuff goes way over my head.

I just know that if it was £16 sterling a month i would think twice about purchasing. And definitly never purchase for £21.84 as you quoted the price in $ AU earlier.

The UK government pays me my State Pension to survive, not to live a life of luxury. :hehe: :hehe:

Mike.

Monopoly money gets a more favourable exchange rate than the New Zealand dollar, but despite that I look on the money I spend on Trainz as cheap entertainment. As an invalid I'm on a fixed income and it's not a great deal of money, but I manage to budget for my Trainz addiction without any problems. It's true enough that I don't have to maintain a car and I don't go anywhere since I'm largely housebound and my medical costs are either cheap or free, - which means I don't have some of the expenses some of you might have, - but if I didn't have Trainz I'd spend the day staring at the wall.

Money well spent as far as I'm concerned and as for exchange rates it's all mystical stuff run by the lords of chaos that I don't understand and I couldn't care less about.

lovetrainzloathen3v said:

Would sound more expensive for you buddy. But isn't that because AUD are not worth as much. I'm no bread head and all this currency stuff goes way over my head.

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It is too easy to fall into the trap of just looking at the numbers, as I have found during my few weeks here in the UK - so if something has a price of 10 Pound Sterling you still tend to think $10 but then you remember no, that has to be converted and you struggle to remember the exchange rate to do the conversion. But you also tend to forget that prices here in the UK are different from what they are in AUS so direct comparisons are not simple.

For example buying fuel here in the UK - I see the current price on the pump here in the UK - say 1.29 per litre for diesel. The current average price for diesel in AUS near where I live is 1.50 per litre so I immediately think the UK is cheaper but then if I factor in the currency conversion, the UK price becomes $AU2.39 per litre and that completely changes the comparison.

Obviously the cost of supplying TRS19 by digital download would be much the same everywhere when expressed in a common currency but the constant fluctuations in the exchange rates between the different currencies is the issue here. John's suggestion of using a currency localisation display on the Trainz Store web site would help resolve some of this issue but it would still mean that the price shown (in a currency other than $US) would still fluctuate from day to day.

This is just one of the reasons I've not been reading or posting for the last six weeks , so much complaining and repetition of the same old memes.

You either buy the game or you don't , if its too pricey don't buy it or just save up your loot and buy the old versions when they are ultra cheap . Once you buy, then why not spend the time you spend complaining about the price in either driving or creating ?

lovetrainzloathen3v said:

But isn't that because AUD are not worth as much. I'm no bread head and all this currency stuff goes way over my head.

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It's really simple. If the Australian dollar goes down against the US dollar it's because inflation in Australia is higher than in the US. That means that all goods purchased with AUD cost more, whatever currency they are priced in. That includes wages, because they are just another type of product, but the AUD amount collected for product priced in USD goes up to pay for those higher costs, so there is no real change in anything.

If N3V was incurring its costs in USD they would be better off from sales to Australian customers when the AUD falls. But they aren't (mostly).

If you don't like accepting the exchange rate that your bank provides when you pay for a product priced in USD with some other currency, then keep your paypal balance in USD and pay out of that balance. Or find a bank that allows you to establish a foreign currency account and attach a credit card to it. Most banks provide this facility.

I suspect that there is a suspicion that when the cost in AUD goes up that N3V must be making more money from the sale. But would those same people complain if the cost in AUD goes down and, according to their logic, N3V would be making a loss on the sale?

Complaining about the exchange rates is like complaining about the weather. In both cases you first look out your front window and then decide whether or not to step outside or stay home.

This just got a bit too serious boys, way over the top of my 1960's-70's hippy brain. :hehe: :hehe:

All i do is DuckDuckGo convert currency. If i like the price in £ sterling i buy, if i don't then no sale.

Mike.

notice how all the complaining for a change is about something other than the game itself

Interesting comments all round. Lets see what occurred.
Cancelled gold membership for reasons previously mentioned. However, liking TRS19 as I do for route construction but not all the bells and whistles decided to purchase Regional UK version priced at $US39.99. The real cost to me in $AUD was 60:02! Stupid me never used gold membership discount to purchase before membership expiry, that was dumb. Still my advice is to check out exchange rates if you are an Australian. I stand by my original comment that exchange rates are NOT favourable for Aussies.

Now I have full purchase. I'll get over what I have paid, but as a retired pensioner it hurt.
Val.

I've been following this with some interest. It appears I can purchase from here for $102.00 Aussie, or I can purchase through Steam for $89.95 Aussie.
Or $21.64 per Month Aussie, a total of $259.68 Aussie.
There is a large difference here, what should I do?
Should I just wait for a price drop, or just Stick with Tane?

alby6 said:

I've been following this with some interest. It appears I can purchase from here for $102.00 Aussie, or I can purchase through Steam for $89.95 Aussie.Or $21.64 per Month Aussie, a total of $259.68 Aussie.
There is a large difference here, what should I do? Should I just wait for a price drop, or just Stick with Tane?

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I think there are a number of downunder Trainzers debating the same thing, because of the exchange rates. Personally I wouldn't run with "Steam", because of the past problems with TS2012 & Tane updates/service packs/hot fixes delays, etc.

I don't think the exchange rate is going to improve in the short to medium term. I don't see N3V discounting TS2019 in the sort to medium term either. Personally, I don't see the value in paying $259.68 Aus to get a few extra bells & whistles & to become a Trainz Plus Beta Tester either. (Others see the value in Gold & Silver, and good luck to them. They are certainly doing there part in keeping N3V's doors open).

That only leaves biting the bullet and forking out $102 Aus for TS2019 or waiting till TS2019 is a little bit more stable/polished, with a few more hot fixes & servive packs (& staying with Tane SP4 in the mean time).

(It's been a while since I've had to polish up my old crystal ball)...

At the end of the day, what does your own gut tell you. Is the piggy bank full of coin, or is it like mine, already broken into.:hehe:

Cheers, Mac...

alby6 said:

There is a large difference here, what should I do?

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TRS19 is by far the better program. The big price difference is the Gold subscription which gives you a great deal more than the outright purchase prices from both N3V and Steam.

I comes down to what you can afford and whether or not you use a lot of payware DLC assets (routes and the like). If you are a heavy DLC purchaser then the Gold and Silver subs are better value than outright purchase. But if you cancel your Gold sub then you lose the DLC and the use of the program until you start paying the subscriptions again.

The Gold sub also gives you first access to new games features. For example: the current new feature under test give you the ability to switch from Driver straight into Surveyor without having to first save your current Driver game. These features will eventually become "main stream" but in versions a year or three "down the track" so to speak.

The choice is very much an individual one. Different users will have different opinions and circumstances.

alby6 said:

I've been following this with some interest. It appears I can purchase from here for $102.00 Aussie, or I can purchase through Steam for $89.95 Aussie.
Or $21.64 per Month Aussie, a total of $259.68 Aussie.
There is a large difference here, what should I do?
Should I just wait for a price drop, or just Stick with Tane?

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Hello alby6, it is a dilemma indeed. I think pware's suggestion credible. For me it was simply a case of wanting TRS19 but not all that goes with it, including another FCT which was useless after purchasing an annual one. I have since found that the UK regional edition suits me fine, so far. However the choice you make will be personal to your needs. I enjoy creating routes and are in the final stages of delivering my first one in TRS19. I have had no adverse issues.

If you are a route creator choosing a regional edition may suit you fine. I did have a gold subscription and cancelled it. Then just deleted from my system everything pertaining to it. After which purchased/downloaded the UK regional and have been happy with it. I do not use any included routes, so have avoided downloadihng them. This the main reason for choosing a regional edition.

Best of luck with your choice, whatever you do be mindfull of exchange rates. The way things look the $AUS is losing its power v $US.
Cheers,
Val.

Got that pleasant surprise of the special price drop last weekend, now just getting my head around this new version, Thanx

Interestingly I also play a game [Conflict of Nations] which is a strategy global conflict game.
The developers make their cash by players purchasing gold which enhances a players chances. From as little as $AUD 2.99 upwards one can buy gold.

I mention this simply b/c all purchases made in Australia are in local currency. The game is global and each buy in their respective currencies. So if this developer can do that, why not N3V?

Just a thought.
Cheers,
Val.

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It would not surprise me if the spammers alicemenson222 and Carolayec are the same person.