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From: woods@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Greg Woods)
Date: Sun, 9-Oct-88 02:00:42 EDT
Message-ID: <1988Oct9.020042.7359@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu>
Organization: G. A. W. Consulting
Newsgroups: comp.databases,comp.misc
Subject: Re: Empress pricing policy
Summary: Why not Canadian dollars?
References: <1988Sep28.150224.26393@lsuc.uucp> <366@telly.UUCP> <4053@hcr.UUCP>
Reply-To: woods@gpu.utcs.Toronto.EDU (Greg Woods)
Followup-To: alt.flame

In article <4053@hcr.UUCP> jim@hcrvax.UUCP (Jim Sullivan) writes:
>In article <366@telly.UUCP> evan@telly.UUCP writes:
>>
>> [ Evan is irrate about not being able to buy a home-grown product
>> with local currency. ]
>
>But like most Canadian Software companies, a majority of their sales are outside
>of Canada.  The problems maintaining multiple price lists are just to much
>of a headache. [...]
>
>I can't agree with the policy of "buy something else".  That just sends
>Canadian dollars outside the country.  The price of something is always
>relative, and it will cost you the same if you pay in Canadian dollars,
>American dollars, Yen, or little rocks with holes in them! :-)

I don't completely agree that keeping multiple price lists is too much
of a headache.  It can be done, and quite easily in these days of
computerized accounting.  BTW, I certainly don't see any problem with
having lots of customers outside of the country.

I must say that any company that can't handle the currency exchange
(fairly) for the customer, especially a local one under these
circumstances, isn't being very curteous.  Companies that find
themselves in the position of dealing in multiple currencies need only
call the bank each morning to have an approximate exchange rate on hand
all of the time.

Another solution is to set one price, and accept either currency at this
same price.  I once worked for a company that did this successfully for
some time.  Other companies have less luck.  Unfortunately customers on
either one side or the other, or both, tend to think they are getting
ripped off.

In the end, I don't see why a Canadian company won't simply advertise
only in Canadian dollars.  Most American customers will be well aware of
their currency advantages.  I've _never_ heard of _any_ US company
advertising only in Canadian dollars, and can't even imagine it ever
happening, free trade or not :-).
-- 
						Greg Woods.

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