Big Price Differences

[Cpl Steiner]

Hi,

I have already pre-ordered from BFC but I thought I'd point out that you can get the game in the UK for a lot less than BFC are charging. Play.com have priced it at £17.99 with free delivery (just over $36 for the basic game). That is a phenomenal saving for UK buyers.

Sorry BFC if this undercuts your price but I thought it only fair to mention it for those who haven't pre-ordered yet.

Play.com CM:SF Pre-order Page

<a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/" target="_blank">

</a>

[Matchstick]

I'm in the UK but I've still pre-ordered the deluxe edition from Battlefront.

Sometimes paying a more in order to help support the people creating the kinds of games I want to play makes sense to be.

Plus the more copies they see being sold to the UK, the more chances that the British expansion module will become reality

[Cpl Steiner]

Matchstick,

As I've said, I've ordered from BFC too. However I do wonder how the economics of these things work. I mean, how can Play.com make any money at all if they sell a brand new title at a 40% discount before it is even out. Presumably it is because they get a big discount from BFC for buying in bulk. Does this really hurt BFC or does it actually benefit them due to the larger volumes shifted?

[ July 03, 2007, 05:11 AM: Message edited by: Cpl Steiner ]

[Zatoichi]

Yeah, this morning I cancelled my play.com pre-order and pre-ordered through here instead. I mean, what if there's another postal strike here in the UK? The horror of being subject to the whims of the postal service was just too much to bear, let alone the added bonus of extra profit for BFC!

[Matchstick]

Cpl Steiner,

I've also pondered how Play et al can afford these prices.

All I can think is that they squeeze the distributors for as much discount as possible and then use them as a loss leader hoping that while you're there you'll pick up a copy of Hot Fuzz on DVD etc (or in my case Serenity for £2.99 inc p&p )

(I'm guessing that they aren't buying from BFC directly but through Paradox. In which case I hope that Paradox pay BFC a fixed amount per copy sold rather than a percentage of the selling price.)

I don't see how being able to get a copy for £17.99 (with disc copy protection <spit>) can avoid canibalizing some direct from BFC sales but CF:SF will benefit from get a much greater profile.

It's one thing to read a review of CF:SF then hunt down the BFC website and order a copy (and I hope that the reviews are good enough that alot of people will do that) but I'm guessing most gamers arent like that, so having copies they can see on the shelf or in their usual online stores will ultimately help shift ALOT more copies (thought with BFC making less per copy)

Of course there's also the issue of BFC being able to sell copies direct LONG after stores and websites have removed them from their shelves and catalogues. So whether direct BFC sales or retail sales will ultimately make more money is an interesting question.

I don't know how BFC expect the numbers to break down but they've been in the business a long time and they know what they are doing, so I assume the numbers work for them.

[luderbamsen]

Well, being able to purchase via the website is definately a plus. I spent 6 months chasing down CMBO in the stores (this was just prior to CMAK release) and ended up paying almost full price for it. I didn't mind the cost (it was CM, after all), but I could have done without the 6 months of detective work.

[Kes]

Cpl Steiner,

thanks for that! I would happily buy it from BFC but I don't have a Visa/Mastercard. I wouldn't have thought of checking Play, so you've done me a great service, thanks again

[J_Toe]

Hi, I'm not sure whether to buy direct or go to Play.co.uk. I guess the thing that would swing it is the printed manual.

Anyone have any information as to what this is going to be like? - big and meaty, or a bit of a runt

[Dook]

The pre-order page says 200 pages for the manual.

[J_Toe]

Well that's decided then, excellent toilet reading material...

[Battlefront.com]

Remember guys... there are TWO versions of the basic game; Paradox (retail) and Battlefront (direct). They are not the same, nor are they priced the same. As for the pricing, we have one price and that's it world wide. Paradox customizes its price based on the country being sold in, which means you might be able to pick up the game cheaper in the Netherlands, for example, than in the UK or vice versa.

The big difference between the two versions is the Paradox one has an 80 page printed manual, ours has a 200 page printed manual. Obviously that affects the price

Steve

[Cpl Steiner]

Originally posted by Battlefront.com:

The big difference between the two versions is the Paradox one has an 80 page printed manual, ours has a 200 page printed manual.

Steve,

Thanks for that clarification. I had wondered how the price could be so different but now I know why I'm glad I ordered direct from BFC. I hefty manual is going to be a must for this game.

[KAding]

Patch-wise the Paradox retail, Paradox Gamersgate and Battlefront version won't differ much, right? I won't have to wait weeks longer for a patch if I buy the Paradox-GG version, right?

I always prefer to buy directly from the developers, but I've grown fond of the rather tolerant Gamersgate download system used by Paradox. Unlike eLicense you can download as often and install as often as you like, which I really do want. I format my computer quite frequently and have different ones anyway (student home, parents house, laptop, stuff like that).

[ July 03, 2007, 01:48 PM: Message edited by: KAding ]

[Capt. Toleran]

Just my speculation here -- You also gotta figure that we are the premium users Battlefront is marketing to, and are pretty much guaranteed (due to loyalty and enthusiasm for the product, subject matter, etc.) to buy the game, having supported it during development this whole time and being military history afficionados (I assume most of us here are, or at least mil equipment fans).

Now take Joe Schmoe who never read a military history book in his life, doesn't really know that much about guns, and just suddenly got a craving to play a game that looked like the video he saw on youtube last night. He's not going to pay the premium price, you're lucky to get him at the discount. At this point, Battlefront will probably have already gotten their sales out of the premium customers (us), so Joe Schmoe represents revenue maximization, getting every little bit of residual (yet ever less profitable) income from the somewhat small PC gaming base.

I have no problem with this, I am very thrilled that these kinds of deals spread our hobby through viral marketing, and enable us to get multiple CMx2 (a gaming paradise in the next year!) modules in 2007/08/09.

Yay Battlefront!

Btw, if anyone has a flux capacitor-enabled Delorian, I'll pay you 3 times the price now for the game

[mitchell58]

Won't take any chances on the support aspect,,,BFC has proven in the past it is ready and willing to solve our problems fast,,,I prefer paying a little more knowing that if anything happens they r gonna be here to bail, me out,,,

[Sgt Joch]

Most of us have been sold since day one. I, for one, would have been willing to pay a lot mo... oops, never mind.

[athkatla]

Originally posted by Cpl Steiner:

However I do wonder how the economics of these things work. I mean, how can Play.com make any money at all if they sell a brand new title at a 40% discount before it is even out.

It's because Play.com is based in Jersey which is a tax haven and is exempt from paying VAT. For a more detailed account you can read more from the link below.

Tax havens

[Moon]

Originally posted by KAding:

Patch-wise the Paradox retail, Paradox Gamersgate and Battlefront version won't differ much, right? I won't have to wait weeks longer for a patch if I buy the Paradox-GG version, right?

I always prefer to buy directly from the developers, but I've grown fond of the rather tolerant Gamersgate download system used by Paradox. Unlike eLicense you can download as often and install as often as you like, which I really do want. I format my computer quite frequently and have different ones anyway (student home, parents house, laptop, stuff like that).

KAding, elicense allows the same thing basically. You can install as often as you like and you can download pretty much as often as you like. We have a 5 time download limit mainly to prevent abuse/leeching, but if you need more downloads, then one email to our support guys solves this quickly.

As for patches - Battlefront will always be the first to release patches for practical reasons already. Other files need to be localized/protected etc. so usually there is always some delay.

Lastly, to elaborate on the game manual - the retail version has an abridged 80 page manual with only the most important info. Since it went to print last month, some of that in fact is outdated. Our version has the full 200 page manual printed in a super-sized XXL thick DVD box. This alone should explain a somewhat higher price.

As for how play.com can offer such a low pre-order price, don't know. The game will be priced at EUR 35-40 on average across Europe for the release from what I recall. Perhaps they don't offer the full finished goods or something? I would be suspicious of this offer, but in any case we'll check into it.

Martin

[J_Toe]

Don't particularly want to defend Play, but they aren't dodgy operators - anything I've ordered always arrives promptly and is the same as the retail versions, but cheaper!

[Matchstick]

As J_Toe says Play are a very reputable that I've used many times and quite frequently have new and pre-order games on special offer for £17.99

I got the Special Edition Tin of STALKER from then for £17.99 and for example right now they have the PC versions of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and Lost Planet: Extreme Condition for £17.99 each

[Londoner]

Originally posted by Moon:

As for how play.com can offer such a low pre-order price, don't know. The game will be priced at EUR 35-40 on average across Europe for the release from what I recall. Perhaps they don't offer the full finished goods or something? I would be suspicious of this offer, but in any case we'll check into it.

Martin

Martin,

As already mentioned, if Play are based in Jersey they are tax exempt. I've bought from them for years and they're always very reliable.

[Matchstick]

17.5% VAT on £17.99 would be £3.15 which puts the cost @ £21.14 = $42.62 = €31.30 included p&p.

So even if you add in British VAT they are still charging about €3.70 (or approx $5) less than Martin's average price even before you factor in that the £17.99 includes p&p.

[ July 04, 2007, 05:51 AM: Message edited by: Matchstick ]

[TheVulture]

But about the same as Amazon US, which is $39.99.

[Matchstick]

This is "rip-off Britain" . We're used to companies who think that there's a 1:1 exchange rate between the pound and the dollar

[Kes]

I've ordered games, cds, dvds even headphones from Play and never had a problem.

Lastly, to elaborate on the game manual - the retail version has an abridged 80 page manual with only the most important info. Since it went to print last month, some of that in fact is outdated. Our version has the full 200 page manual printed in a super-sized XXL thick DVD box. This alone should explain a somewhat higher price.

For those of us who will be buying this version with the outdated, under-sized manual - what are we missing? Is it just general background or weapons details. Hopefully it's nothing that will cause any problems with playing the game?