Say hello to €
As anyone who keeps an eye on world currencies will tell you, the US dollar has hit a 15 26 year low against the British Pound - £1 now buys you over $2. That's past the cut off point at which I decided I'd have to switch to selling in Euros. So until such time as the dollar regains a respectable level of value, international customers will only be able to buy ThinkMac products and services in Euros (or Sterling if you prefer). Read on for some FAQs...
Why does it matter what you sell your stuff in?
Every time the dollar drops in value I make less money from each sale. As the dollar has been steadily declining in value over the last few years this has meant the income per sale I've been earning has been dropping bit by bit. Add to this increasing inflation in the UK (inflation is the rate at which goods and services get more expensive as time goes by) and I can't afford to stick to the status quo.
Why can't you just raise your prices instead of dropping the dollar?
This is an option I've considered, but really it isn't workable. The advertised price of a product needs to be stable or it looks like something funny is going on. Not only that but it would be almost impossible to keep every place where the prices are published up-to-date.
Will this effect how much I pay for your stuff?
Depending on your native currency it may do - although fairly insignificantly. You may pay one or two dollars more on any of my applications depending on the exchange rates on a given day.
How do I pay you in Euros?
PayPal handles the currency conversion for you and will tell you how much the transaction is in your native currency.
Is there a fee for paying in Euros if I have a US PayPal account?
PayPal slightly pads the exchange rates in their favour so you will be paying slightly more than if you were to do the transaction using the official exchange rate figures for a given day. However it's pretty much impossible to change from one currency to another and not end up paying someone commission along the way - this is something I've had to deal with since day one selling in dollars anyway.
Will you ever go back to selling in dollars?
If the currency significantly recovers its value and shows that it's stabilising then yes. This could well takes years to happen though.
posted by Rory Prior @ 7:49 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Interesting post Rory, I was wondering about doing this myself.
Of course it's not just that the dollar is very weak but also that the £ is doing well (as is the Euro). Go Europe! :)
I think people in the US might have some problems with the Euros. But there is no other way to go. I would like every non US company to begin sell in the currency they prefer, this way the "currency barrier" would soon be gone. Personly I can't understand way it should be a problem for US customers to pay in Euros, as you say it is painless. And if a customer thinks paying in Euros is that hard, how big is the possibility he/she will need support? :-). well I'm from Sweden so my opinion is most centainly influenced by my perspective.
Yeah it would be great if all European Mac devs sold their wares in Euros. I imagine more will switch or be forced to raises their prices if the dollar keeps on slipping though.
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