Archicad pricing policy

[Anonymous]

Can please someone from GS explain the big difference in prices bettween US and Europe?

The price in Europe is almost double.

This also holds for upgrades.

Can please someone give a responsible answer?

[Vitruvius]

Regarding prices here in HK,


1. I use International / US versions to build glass & steel buildings so there is no "localization" required. Maybe someone's building Yurts with a palette requiring "localized" wattle & daub mud hut building tools - but most of us internationals are doing exactly what you're doing in the US.

2. Hong Kong levies no tax on imported software and no sales tax. In fact, HK is one of the lowest tax environments in the world.

3. Every other major software can be purchased here at virtually the same price as in the US - except for ArchiCAD. I just bought Piranesi locally for the same price quoted by my US distributor. Software is a commodity product not a service for which you may expect to pay a premium depending upon your market.

Believe me - there is no logic or justification behind the pricing.

To follow GS's logic, kitting out a 10 person office will cost international practices a premium of up to $25,000. Wouldn't you rather have that money to invest in your own business?

Because that difference represents the profit on about $100,000. of fee generated. Or, basically very close to what the average employee in our industry generates in fee over the course of a year.

[Anonymous]

I just want to voice my concern about Graphicsoft's pricing policy.

This is the price I was quoted for an upgrade from AC8.1...The end-user price of the AC8,1-AC9 upgrade is 740 Euro/copy + appr. 40 Euro shipping cost.

Ridiculous..........I think many of friends I will wait or not take it at all.....it is upto you if you want new users and if you want users to continue.........????

[Vitruvius]

The US copies are selling for US $495. until October 1st, after which the price goes up to $595. And the US distributors appear to make money doing that.

At EURO $740. you're actually paying US $910. given the current exchange rate - or a whopping 83% premium!!!

You can get a return flights from London to New York/Toronto for less than the price difference. And have money left over for a really nice meal. Plus you save the Euro $40. shipping cost you quoted which will buy a good bottle of wine. And if you're buying more than one upgrade, you're talking a very nice hotel room and a play or two.

[stefan]

Vitruvius wrote:
Every AutoCAD user will be enticed, financially and otherwise, to switch to Revit over the next couple of years.

You are only talking about Architects, do you? There are many non-architect AutoCAD users: draftsman, engineers etc... who use plain AutoCAD, Mechanical Desktop, Map, Civil etc...

Vitruvius wrote:
What bugs me is that Stefan is paying $6500. in Europe, and GS wants me to pay $5000. here in Asia for a product which can be purchased in the US for $3500. or thereabouts.

Well, actually today it's more like EUR 6200 + 21% taxes., which would be about $7000...

Vitruvius wrote:
Market differences do not justify such variances - is the cost of doing business in New York really half the price of Europe? Do European architects earn twice as much as US architects?

I thought not. More the other way around...

Steve_Stafford wrote:
Are you certain that there are not localization costs that legitimately drive up these prices in your country and others?

The local (translated) dutch version isn't sold anymore. It's the INT version.

[Vitruvius]

Hi Stefan,

Let's keep the pressure up on Graphisoft for some more reasonable pricing for the international users.

To clarify on your post: If I understand correctly, you've been quoted Euro $6200 plus 21% GST/sales tax. The tax is not GS's responsibility, and both US and Canadian users are liable for sales tax (& GST in Canada) as well.

However, you quoted that net of tax, you've been quoted Euro $6200. which is US $7600. at the current exchange rate! Ouch!

Can any US users fill us on on what you're being quoted for new AC 9 purchases? It would be much appreciated.

Cheers, Cameron

PS - Yes my thoughts about the switch to Revit would only seem to apply to architects. Though AutoDesk seems to have a lot of architectural users. Perhaps Scott from the Revit thread may be able to comment about it's applicability to other disciplines.

[Anonymous]

Vitruvius wrote:
...perhaps Scott from the Revit thread may be able to comment about it's applicability to other disciplines...

I can speak to that as well...right now it is intended and best suited for Architects. In the very near future it will be well suited for Structural engineers as well. At some point in the future (1-2 years) MEP will also have Revit available to them, tailored for their design discipline.

Revit remains focused on the "built" environment as opposed to mechanical design/ manufacturing. Much like ArchiCAD in this regard. Inventor is Autodesk's answer for AutoCAD users that wish to switch to a 3D design environment. Perhaps PTC's Pro-Engineer has more in common with Revit than Inventor since it was developed by some of the same folks who created Revit.

[Akos Pfemeter]

Dear Archi-Talkers,

Let me explain something about the situation of pricing software products and Graphisoft’s position on this topic.

First, ArchiCAD itself varies in content across many countries. The pricing of ArchiCAD in these countries must take into account the cost of language translation for both software and documentation, adaptation to local standards, the creation of region-specific content, and other specific costs.

Second, the size of the market itself or other competitive factors can have an effect on the price of ArchiCAD. For example, in some markets the localization costs might be average, but the small size of the potential market yields fewer users to amortize that cost against. The same may hold for distribution costs, support costs, or other material items.

Finally, due to local business practices and the independent nature of our distributors and resellers, the actual pricing of ArchiCAD into a specific market may vary from the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) set by Graphisoft.

Certainly, there will remain a variation in MSRP’s for ArchiCAD around the world. Having said that, Graphisoft evaluates pricing strategy on an ongoing basis, and the concerns raised here by contributors to ArchiTalk will be considered. We also remain influenced by the real, material costs we encounter and by competitive circumstances in the markets we serve.

Mark Sawyer
VP of World Wide Field Operations
Graphisoft

[stefan]

Thank you for your clarifications.

[Anonymous]

First of all i am very very glad someone we have an official opinion from graphisofts point of view.

If we can comment on what has been said.

1) Localisation costs are not present for the international version (i suppose)
and a simple xml based interface will eventually vanish any of that cost.
As for content the US version is the cheaper AND has more content.

2) The second parameter is indeed a very important one.
You have to setup support offices and finance them. And indeed a bigger market splits the cost.

But as you already know i UK citisen cannot buy th US version for the US price even saying he can handle things with phone support only.

I am sure that if the price was lower in my country i would see more colleagues buy Archicad.

Its very simple to pursuade them. Just show the what the program can do. But the price is a prohibitting factor .

Anyway

Thx a lot for posting GS point of view

[stefan]

oreopoulos wrote:
1) Localisation costs are not present for the international version (i suppose)
and a simple xml based interface will eventually vanish any of that cost.
As for content the US version is the cheaper AND has more content.

This is a bit of a simplification. The cost is not generating new executables or resources, but simply translating the whole interface, all the content, the help files, the documentation... This is plain simple hard labour and in our case, the Dutch version could only be sold in the Netherlands and in the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium. That's a very small market.