ColorPerfect pricing

[Ramiro Elena]

So I am about to pay for the ColorPefect software and I notice is more than what's stated on their website. Apparently they add 19% VAT which makes it rather expensive.
I asked and they say they don't manage that part but it seems correct...
I am based in Spain, product is from the US. I've always thought you don't pay taxes when it is out of state. In fact, I have never been charged VAT on any of my many online purchases.

Any of you remember this when purchasing this plugin?

[adelorenzo]

I live in Canada. I bought the plugin a few weeks ago and did not pay any extra taxes, although I was charged for the purchase in Euros. It looks like their order fulfillment service might be based out of Germany.

[Ramiro Elena]

It just doesn't make any sense and it is pissing me off.
Official price is EUR 58.73/USD 67.00

I am being charged $79.73 if (I use an american address)

[SergeiR]

Elena, they are EU represented company, if you talking about plugin , judging by German version of site. Hence the VAT

[Christopher Barrett]

I'm just annoyed over the tiny dialog window on the PC version. The workaround appears to be 16 different sized versions of the plugin, but I believe they are all 32 bit. Drag, because it does a beautiful job inverting negs!

[Ramiro Elena]

Elena, they are EU represented company, if you talking about plugin , judging by German version of site. Hence the VAT

Still, shouldn't it be the same price for all?
I've never bought software that had different price depending on the country. It is pretty bad marketing anyway.

[Jim Andrada]

I see different prices for US and Europe on a lot of software products - and not just the VAT difference. I've seen some companies that charge X dollars in the US and X Euros in the EU. Same number, just different currency symbol!

[Kirk Gittings]

No business has any control over VAT. I used to do a lot of work for Japanese architectural magazines. Every check I got was missing some 20-25% (I don't remember which-it was some years ago). No amount of indignation or threats got me anywhere.

[MikeH]

The U.S. does not have a VAT. Most states have a "sales Tax" that is assessed on many shipments to a U.S. address that is in a sate that has a sales tax - it's quite complicated. I've forgotten the list of states that don't have sales tax [maybe 5, and California obviously isn't one of them] :-) but if your U.S. address isn't in one of these "5"states," you will pay the sales tax. It varies by state. What state is your U.S. address in?

[Jim Andrada]

@Kirk

Japan doesn't have a VAT. They have a "Consumption" Tax (aka Sales Tax) Up until this year it has been 5% for decades. It's going to 10% soon. It isn't applied to exports. I've been getting paid from Japan for 20 years and nothing is ever missing except a $15 US bank processing fee for the wire transfer.

Checks are VERY unusual in Japan. I remember once a friend had a business making high performance plug in boards for PC's. A lot of US research outfits wanted them, but the only way his bank would accept an inbound check was if it had the official company name on it. And official company names have to be written in characters. Guess how many US research institutions have Kanji check printers. Not many!!!

So I set up as his US agent and the customers paid me and I sent wire transfers to Japan.

I can't imagine where your 25% went.

[Ramiro Elena]

That 20/25% tax (when you make an invoice) goes to government/IRS. You can have it reduced if you prove you're not a resident in the country that your making the invoice to. That's for a professional activity. Products taxes are different and they depend on which sector they're applied to. Books and clothes have different taxes (at least here in Spain).
When it comes to internet purchases I wonder, what prevents me from having someone in a no-tax country send me the activation number?

[Kirk Gittings]

@Kirk

Japan doesn't have a VAT. They have a "Consumption" Tax (aka Sales Tax) Up until this year it has been 5% for decades. It's going to 10% soon. It isn't applied to exports. I've been getting paid from Japan for 20 years and nothing is ever missing except a $15 US bank processing fee for the wire transfer.

Checks are VERY unusual in Japan. I remember once a friend had a business making high performance plug in boards for PC's. A lot of US research outfits wanted them, but the only way his bank would accept an inbound check was if it had the official company name on it. And official company names have to be written in characters. Guess how many US research institutions have Kanji check printers. Not many!!!

So I set up as his US agent and the customers paid me and I sent wire transfers to Japan.

I can't imagine where your 25% went.

It was some time ago and maybe my memory is wrong, but I don't think so. Hmmmmmm

[SergeiR]

Still, shouldn't it be the same price for all?
I've never bought software that had different price depending on the country. It is pretty bad marketing anyway.

actually a lot of companies, Adobe and Microsoft and Apple including do have different prices for same products depending on country/zone. So do lens and camera manufacturers

[MikeH]

I heard of an MBA that helps businesses' websites vary what they charge, based on the Zip Code here in the States. The situation I saw was for some specialized parts (not photo related...)