As convenient as electronic is, it still requires a lot of human activity. And we seem to really get stomped on the moment anything out of the ordinary is involved.
I have found that I can ship almost anything near anywhere, but receiving almost anything from almost anywhere is another matter altogether.
It is a rare moment when you go beyond the borders of Canada/US, that conducting ordinary business is not an extraordinary hassle.
In the case of Canada/US, it is just the difference in currency values.
But it has been my note, that Canda/US does things sufficiently differently from Europe or other parts international (which seems mostly Australia/NZ), that nothing a Canadian/American considers "commonplace" really seems relevant outside them.
Add to that, that there are a lot of "processing expenses" involved. And often a small purchase becomes a major burden.
I had someone send me a perfectly fine Swedish Bank cheque once for a game purchase (he was buying a game off me). I had offered it for 17 bucks (which was about the value it had at that time). I step into my local bank and I am told the cheque has a 25 dollar processing fee. Of course there is some easy simple math involved there. No one is going to pay someone 25 bucks to give them 17. I essentially told my bank's bank manager as a long time client, I expected them to waive that idiotic fee through whatever justification they cared to invent. Fortunately my bank is not full of idiots and it was done for me.
But I have been sent Postal Money Orders from the US with the words Not Negotiable Outside the Continental US or its Territories (oh and for those in Alaska, you are not in the Continenal US apparently
).
Those Money Orders are worthless in Canada for instance.
There are no such doodles on Canadian Postal Money Orders.
For those not fully aware of what a money order is. You get it from the post office, not a bank. You get a receipt saying you sent the money. You send the Money Order, and if something happens along the way, it can be voided and you can get a refund. It's a very secure means of sending money.
PayPal is likely ok if you don't mind using internet means. Not all of us have a credit card though, and you will need one to employ the service. It seems like a credit card is needed as verification for almost anything electronic. It doesn't matter if the card itself is not being employed, you still need the ID verification.
It is not that I hate credit cards myself, i just can't afford to have one.
I currently have a couple of games I am planning to order from Company X. I looked into and it costs only 3 bucks more in shipping to come to Canada as opposed to inside the US. No biggie. I plan to just deposit some money into a buddies bank account that has a credit card, and let him do the actual ordering. As long as I get the game, I don't care how.
Good way to bypass cross border bonus surprises is to have a local buy it and mail in in private mail. A cd is a next to nothing expense where private mail is concerned. And you don't need your friend to mail you the whole blooming box complete with inserts we know you will just throw away eventually. And the last two manuals I got with games EYSA and HTTR were not large enough to weigh enough to matter enough I suppose.
If Matrix Games is gearing up to go DD, I would hope the decision to use local sources was employed as well. It's just digital data after all.
A Euro should be able to download it from a Euro location, and pay for it in Euro funds, with a Euro method, and not even need to find out how a Canadian does it ideally.
Retail copies would require something of a substantial retail storage option I suppose, but surely a digital source really only requires a modest electronic portal.
I am looking forward to several games, some of which I am expecting to arrive here as DDs. I am fortunate, as the worst that will happen, is the US exchange rate might not favour me at the time. But I am happy that I can send my fine efficient Canadian Postal Money Orders (which cost me a flat fee of just 3 bucks).
Rather looking forward to the process actually, as I won't have to even consider someone telling me I have a package waiting at customs
But I have witnessed more than a small bit of confusion from persons external to Canada/US where dealing with funds going back and forth is concerned.
The world is getting smaller, but it hasn't been getting easier.