Greetings! Was about to subscribe and buy the new expansion, when I saw that I could change what currency I would like to pay with. I am from Sweden, so I use Swedish Krona, but when I picked that option, I realized that it became more expensive? Looking at the "todays currency-exchange" (or what you call it in english), I found out the followed: 14,99$ = 99,94kr - if I pay in dollars. On EQ2's billing site it says 115kr, which is 15kr more. So, here's my questions: - Why would I like to take my own currency, when I can get it cheaper choosing another option? Why do I have the permission to change the currency? Are there "hidden" costs in the conversion, when choosing another currency? Will I end up with spending the exact same amount of money, whatever I choose? Sorry for sounding like a greedy old man, but I am just curios why it is like this or how it works!
Yeah, I can't get it? For me it seems like choosing dollars, would be cheaper, EVEN with taxes? Anyone here that can explain?
Their conversion rate is not the same as what the banks trade at. It varies depending on the currency and how "popular" it is. Currency that's globally traded the most gets the best rates compared to the bank rate. In the UK it's 8.99GBP per month, which is actually $14.42 US. Whereas it's $15 Australian dollars that's currently $15.65 US. SC cards in Oz are actually $16 AUD for a $15 US card. They have an external company handle the conversions, and I expect it's their cut, or part of it.
Be careful using the published conversion rate to figure the cost, because there is usually going to be some fee associated with converting the currency, so your bank or credit card company may end up charging you more in your local currency than the price from Sony.
I was all ready to go get a Gold subscription having played the free version for a while and enjoying it. Selected USD as that's the currency I used to pay in when I was subscribed to another SOE MMO back in 2005/6. But on the actual payment page, it forced Japanese Yen on me. I'm sorry, but I'm not paying $17 for a sub that should only be $15, especially when I used to be able to pay in USD and let my credit card company handle the currency conversion. The funny thing is, Station cash has a better exchange rate than the subscriptions, so what's the reasoning for bumping up the price? It's certainly not tax as we don't currently pay tax for off-shore online purchases or services. All in all, the result is, one lost subscription from me. I'll be finding a different MMO to play instead.
If i recall correctly customer service can fix that for you so it displays in USD. they must have changed something about how it registers which currency to use on the page (probably by ip address)
According to a friend, currency and country must match. So I'll be subscribing to an MMO from another company instead. I'm also tempted to follow their advice and report SOE for misleading advertising as nowhere does it state that certain regions will be forced to pay a higher fee. At the very least they should be throwing in 700 SC to make up for the extra price.
Sony's partner company is exactly that: A partner COMPANY. They are in the currency conversion business to make a fee when they convert. I'd go with the bank conversion. They do charge a fee, but most banks try and keep it close to the daily conversion rate as possible when that swap is made.
