Adobe's Questionable Pricing Policy – European Customers Pay Twice As Much As U.S. Customers

Adobe has great products which I have been enjoying for more than a decade. Adobe's pricing policy, however, is absolutely outrageous and discriminatory. It deserves to be highlighted and questioned.

Take, for example, "Acrobat X Standard", a great and reliable product to which there is not real counterpart available from Adobe's competitors (which lets Adobe enjoy a de-facto monopoly).

I was looking for the following product to download: "Acrobat X Standard", English, full version, Windows plattform.

Being an individual, I was choosing the "Home and Small Office" pricing options in three Adobe online stores (U.S., Germany, Switzerland).

Here is what I found – prices are as follows:
– U.S. store: USD 299,00;
– German store USD 589 (EUR 429,27);
– Swiss store: USD 562 (CHF 491,40).

This means that Adobe's overseas customers have to pay almost twice as much for the identical product as compared to the U.S.! I was then contacting Adobe via the online chat function (which is great, by the way; and the staff was friendly and helpful). Adobe has confirmed their pricing policy; their arguments were moot, however.

Let me be clear here:

As a customer, I have no problem to accept price differences of approximately 20 %, as foreign exchange rates are not the only criterion to determine prices in different markets.

But a mere 100 % price difference for an identical product that is delivered through the most cost-efficient method (i.e. download) is absolutely unacceptable and will no longer be understood in an increasingly globalized economy.

I have brought this case to the attention of the Swiss "Preisüberwacher" (Price Supervisor, a Federal Government Body) and have asked that he take action.

Following ist the transcript of my chat with Adobe on this topic (click to enlarge):