Shipping to Australia.....

[sapper_astro]

Hello Matrix People,

I have been tossing up whether to buy Crown of Glory, and just recently thought it would be a good idea.

After seeing the price through the Australian ordering website (66 Aussie dollars) I thought 'thats not too bad, as long as it includes shipping..'

But no, Shipping to Australia is an extra 52 dollars...Is this a joke?

I have ordered the newest games from Battlefront studios (Barbarossa to Berlin, etc) and 55 Aussie dollars including shipping was the total price (Maybe 10 dollars on top of that depending on strength of dollar, etc). Both Matrix and Battlefront are in the US.

All up, it would cost at least 107 Australian dollars for this game, that, in any language, is a ripoff. edit:120 Australian dollars actually, total ripoff and not good enough.

ps: I do not want a digital download. If Battlefront can make prices as good as they are, then Matrix, a bigger games studio, should be able to at least price match them.

pps: I take it that a FULL manual is also part of a 'physical package' as battlefront does with their shipped games?

Just checked price of Battlefronts 'Afrika Korps'. 66 Australian dollars for game, delivery, full manual, to my door. Why on earth are you guys so expensive?

EG 2: Paradox games (Sweden, even further from the US). Hearts of Iron 2: 75 aussie dollars for game and shipping. full manual etc etc.

[sol_invictus]

Yikes! That's a lot of smack. I must admit though that I would pay the price, just wouldn't be happy about it. Unfortunately, the physical shipment does not come with a printed manual.

[sapper_astro]

Tell me about it! I can't believe the prices here!

Its a shame, these games look quite good too. I hope someone from officialdom answers my queries, especially after i checked out another game company, Paradox, for their shipping prices to Australia....it keeps getting worse.

[jchastain]

With the game not coming with a printed manual, I can't imagine anyone paying that much for shipping. Even if I had a dial-up connection, I'd either let a digital download run all night or preferably go to a friend's house and download the game there.

[sapper_astro]

I might be able to do it at a friends place, but still....Its terribly overpriced, and its not like other companies can't do it for a lot less.

[Erik Rutins]

Sapper,

We don't control the shipping prices to Australia, unfortunately - Digital River does. We work with them to keep the prices reasonable - we just had a reduction of about 15% in our shipping prices a month or so ago as a result of that. Unfortunately, our warehouses through DR are in the US and the UK, so shipping to North America and Europe is inexpensive, but elsewhere can get a bit high depending on what options are available. I believe there is an inexpensive international post option, did you try that?

If you can e-mail me at erikr@matrixgames.com with what shipping price and method you were able to get at Battlefront, I will take it to Digital River and see if I can get them to add it to our Australian store shipping options as well.

The digital download capability we have is our ultimate method of allowing worldwide access to our games at reasonable prices. If you can't make use of that option though, I understand your frustration with the shipping costs. As I said, e-mail me with anything you've found that's more competitive in that area than we are and I'll try to get it matched. It would also be helpful if you could include your city and state (or equivalent) in your e-mail so that I can check options for it. Thanks.

Regards,

- Erik

[jchastain]

Several Matrix titles are priced above what you might expect to find at retail. And unlike at a store, they don't come down rapidly and end up discounted 75% off within a matter of weeks or months. So in general, a Matrix title will cost you a bit more than most retail games. But their business model is driven by a core group of die hards (us!). They produce games in a fairly narrow niche and then sell in a channel that does not attact a wide audience. In order to make a profit and run a business, they need to get a reasonable amount out of each unit sold because their unit count will be limited. That is how they make money and how they keep bringing us solid titles. I want them to be profitable so they can continue to bring us great game so I am willing to pay the price. And when I look at entertainment value, the cost per hour of enjoyment I get out of these games, they really are still a great bargain.

[bluemonday]

ORIGINAL: sapper_astro


Just checked price of Battlefronts 'Afrika Korps'. 66 Australian dollars for game, delivery, full manual, to my door. Why on earth are you guys so expensive?

Just to correct one thing: for CMAK, you do not get a full printed manual:

"32 page printed Quick Guide with removable Quick Reference Card, and 210+ page PDF manual" -- from the Battlefront website.

I have the CMAK "Quick Guide" and it is indeed just that.

Part of the difference in price you're seeing is that the games you're quoting from Battlefront are cheaper than CoG: Both CMAK and CMBB are $USD 35, or $AUD 47. CoG is $USD 45, so that means $AUD 67. The Battlefront game is $USD 15 cheaper to begin with.

I have ordered the newest games from Battlefront studios (Barbarossa to Berlin, etc) and 55 Aussie dollars including shipping was the total price

Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin is not the newest title, but actually a three-year-old title which they have now discounted, so that is why that game is cheaper and comes with a printed manual (CMBB does have the full 250+ page manual). But that's only because of the age of the title I believe. And going to Battlefront's store, I show the price plus shipping to be $35 + $14 = $49 (that's US dollars) which I believe is $AUD 66? But yes, that's the same price as just CoG is without shipping.

However, I see that Battlefront's shipping price to Australia is $14, while Matrix asks $37 (US). That is over 2.5x more expensive. And the US Post option does not seem to be available for Australia. So there is a large discrepancy in shipping costs.

[jchastain]

Nice analysis bluemonday.

[bradclark1]

ORIGINAL: jchastain

Several Matrix titles are priced above what you might expect to find at retail. And unlike at a store, they don't come down rapidly and end up discounted 75% off within a matter of weeks or months. So in general, a Matrix title will cost you a bit more than most retail games. But their business model is driven by a core group of die hards (us!). They produce games in a fairly narrow niche and then sell in a channel that does not attact a wide audience. In order to make a profit and run a business, they need to get a reasonable amount out of each unit sold because their unit count will be limited. That is how they make money and how they keep bringing us solid titles. I want them to be profitable so they can continue to bring us great game so I am willing to pay the price. And when I look at entertainment value, the cost per hour of enjoyment I get out of these games, they really are still a great bargain.

So what you are saying is that you would pay the equivlent of $55 Aus. for them to send you the CD? Ask Matrix to put you on special shipping list from now on and see if you still have a cost per hour of enjoyment. But I dout if you will do that though.

Brad

[PDiFolco]

As for Battlefront, they *used* to ship game with full 200+ pages manual for CM and CMBB, but it looks they stopped that for CMAK, too bad ...
As for CoG I don't see a single good reason not to go for the digital download : you get no manual whatsoever, so unless you think a CD or DVD case is worth that much money and delay why don't you download it ? It's pretty fast and reliable .. [:'(]

[Bodhi]

If you really must have the CD in an empty DVD box, then you can try Naval Warfare Simulations who sell Matrix titles with lower shipping costs than DR.

http://www.nws-online.net/

Take a look, you may be pleasantly surprised. [8D]

[Hertston]

Seconded, NWS are top notch. Great prices, and quick. When there was a delay in shipping due to their supplier being out of stock (all of three days), I got a personal e-mailed apology explaining why.

[jchastain]

ORIGINAL: bradclark1

So what you are saying is that you would pay the equivlent of $55 Aus. for them to send you the CD? Ask Matrix to put you on special shipping list from now on and see if you still have a cost per hour of enjoyment. But I dout if you will do that though.

Brad

Nope. I already said earlier in the thread that I wouldn't pay that for shipping and that I would either let it run all night or find a friend with a fast connection who would let me download it. That shipping price is nuts and in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't actually buy you anything.

What I was attempting to say is that ignoring shipping costs, Matrix games are already slightly more expensive than most and they don't drop in price or find their way to a bargain bin as they would in a traditional retail environment. That said, I still believe they are worth that small additional premium and that by supporting them we help to ensure we as a community have a much wider range of options going forward.

[bradclark1]

Ahh, a misconglomeration.
They should adjust the price for Australia so that the whole price is realistic or get some company to distribute their ware's over there.
Yes there is the download option but the cd quality is different between a burned game company cd and say Walmart or Staples cd. The game company cd can last twelve years and take some abuse and still work. The Staples kind last's seven years and can't take as much abuse. If I think the game is good enough I will order the cd, if not I download because I have broadband.
I'm too lazy to look but I seem to remember that Matrix only allows you to redownload for a certain amount of time and then tough nut's (officialy). There are probably some exceptions to the rule. I also understand there has to be limits.

Brad

[jchastain]

ORIGINAL: bradclark1
The game company cd can last twelve years and take some abuse and still work. The Staples kind last's seven years and can't take as much abuse. If I think the game is good enough I will order the cd, if not I download because I have broadband.

Out of sheer curiosity, how many computer games are you playing right now that are more than 7 years old but less than 12? [:D]

I'll save the $10 price difference and if the CD goes bad and I still want to play the game 9 years later, I'll download it off an abandonware site. [8D]

[sol_invictus]

As an aside, I received my physical shipment today. Ordered it early afternoon on the 30th with a holiday weekend in between. Not bad at all.[:)]

[bradclark1]

Aces of the Deep (well, actually this is a 3" disk set)
A-10 Cuba
Stalingrad
Crusader
Silent Hunter(?)
Red Baron(?)

And yes they work on xp with a little work. Myself I prefer to have the disk and book. If you want to use abandonware power to you. The main part of the cd statement was the ability to take abuse.

[sapper_astro]

Hello all,

After an email, Eric is helping me by contacting their distributor for a better pricing system regarding Australian shipping.

Thanks Eric, I appreciate your speedy response in this matter. I am still surprised nobody else has already commented on this aspect.

Digital downloading: I myself have dialup and use prepaid cards. These things timeout after a while and it would cost me almost the equivalent in dollars of internet time to download the game as it would to pay the exhorbitant shipping costs UPS charges. Also, i don't hard a cd burner and could just see my pc going on meltdown and having to pay for more internet hours in order to get the game again.

I accept that i did get it wrong regarding Afrika Korps and a printed manual. In my defence, as stupid as it sounds, the reason this did not show up on the radar when i wrote it was because i remember not caring about a full print manual due to the Barbarossa to Berlin manual covering all i needed in this respect. my bad.[;)]

Hopefully, Battlefront will move back to a full printed manual for any newer gaming engines and Matrix may consider this as well. Even a quick guide with important gaming info, or a fully printed walkthrough of a gaming 'turn' would be helpful.

Anyway, thanks for the insights and i look forward to finally purchasing some of the fascinating games on offer here soon.

[ravinhood]

The game company cd can last twelve years and take some abuse and still work. The Staples kind last's seven years and can't take as much abuse.

Lol that's the biggest myth I ever read about CD's. LOL I'm still rolling on that one. Since I have cd's dated back to the early 90's nearly 15 years old that still work just fine, just as good as a new one. LOL, only last 7 years (tries to catch breath from laughing so hard). Tell me though, where in the heck did you come up with this misinformation?