Unit store deals' prices increased without notice?

AinyAiny Member Posts: 272 ★★★
edited June 2022 in Suggestions and Requests
Disclaimer: this is a long post


Since my last thread flopped into oblivion and the ticket I opened with the support team received no reply addressing my issue in almost 10 days, I decided to seek an answer here, again.

I realize that this is a minor issue, but since I'm a casual spender (not a "whale", my budget is limited), I'd love to get some clarification on this because it came out of nowhere. I'm surprised no one else seems to have made any topics about this...
Well anyway, let me get to the topic: I'm a Europe based android player and my primary currency is EUR. Back in March of this year, I received a "Pricing adjustment" in-game email from Kabam (screenshot below)



I was happy about it because all the prices were slightly decreased to match the USD ones.
EXAMPLE: Before the adjustment, an Odin's was 110€, but only $100 (which is $15 difference after conversion). After the adjustment, the price of an Odin's went down to 100€ (presumably to match the $100 price, even though there's still approximately a $5 difference if you were to convert the prices, but it's a noticeable change).

Now, as I mentioned above, I'm not a whale by any means so I never spend a huge amount of money in the game at once. I, however, am addicted to do like the weekly cavalier nexus packs. With the premiere of Ms. Marvel, I expected them to come back – and they did. So, I logged in, got ready to gamble and try my luck – as one in this game does – just to notice that the prices were increased back to pre-March adjustment without any notice. Here is the screenshot of the prices. If I go by the pricing adjustment from March, the mythic pack should be 39.99€ & the nexus packs should be 4.99€/pack, but as you can see on the screenshot, the mythic deal is 45.99€ and the nexus packs are 5.49€/each.
I personally never received any in-game mail about another adjustment, so I’m just confused by the sudden change. I clearly remember buying the Moon Knight nexus packs for 4.99€.

Today, new "Perfect Aim" deals dropped, so I asked my US ally mates to send me a screenshot of the prices, and here is the EUR/USD comparison of the current prices:




What is curious about this is that the unit packs/daily specials remained at the "adjusted prices". Here is a screenshot of the nexus pack and daily special side by side.

Is there any way I could get some clarification on this? Why did the prices suddenly increase without any prior notice? I would suspect it’s the local google play store’s fault, but since Kabam actually sent out an in-game mail about this 3 months ago, it could be their doing as well… I’m just curious is all.

TLDR: Without any notice, deals priced in EUR got more expensive even though they were adjusted in early March to match USD prices; seeking answers as to why that happened.
Post edited by Kabam Porthos on

Comments

  • UnknownUnknown
    This content has been removed.
  • SummonerNRSummonerNR Member, Guardian Posts: 13,377 Guardian
    Kabam does not need to send out a game message every time a local App Store pricing changes.
    And most likely it was not anything Kabam changed anyways.

    DNA (or someone) had once done a very detailed explanation of how pricing Tiers set by the Apps (any App) work, and then how Android/Apple each then set their actual prices that you see based on what those Tiers are.
    Also taking into account changing exchange rates, in addition to other things that may affect your bottom line of how much you pay (taxes, etc, that may or may not be included in the up front visible cost versus charged additionally on top of the up front cost).
  • SearmenisSearmenis Member Posts: 1,704 ★★★★★
    Exactly, and the weird thing is, that prices increased in certain deals not in everything, so this is a company decision this time, not an adjustment
  • AinyAiny Member Posts: 272 ★★★
    SummonerNR said:

    Kabam does not need to send out a game message every time a local App Store pricing changes.
    And most likely it was not anything Kabam changed anyways.

    DNA (or someone) had once done a very detailed explanation of how pricing Tiers set by the Apps (any App) work, and then how Android/Apple each then set their actual prices that you see based on what those Tiers are.
    Also taking into account changing exchange rates, in addition to other things that may affect your bottom line of how much you pay (taxes, etc, that may or may not be included in the up front visible cost versus charged additionally on top of the up front cost).

    That's very interesting, so was it Kabam or my local store? Why did Kabam personally send out an in-game message at the beginning of March addressing the adjustment themselves then? It was the first time I remember anything like that happening - and I play the game since 2014. The prices were always higher in EUR than in USD (and EUR has always been stronger than USD), so I felt like the adjustment was long overdue anyway even if we still pay more than people from the USA. I would understand if EUR had big fluctuations, so they'd have to adjust pricing from time to time, but this... 🤔

    I just find it weird they'd fix the prices just for them to increase again - especially since, as I mentioned, there are some other deals that refresh daily and have the adjusted, lower prices from March. Either change them all or keep them as they were, no matter who's doing it? It's not adding up to me lol
  • UnknownUnknown
    This content has been removed.
  • AinyAiny Member Posts: 272 ★★★
    Colinwhitworth69 said:

    Currency conversion. In Canada an Odin is $140 CAD because of the exchange rate with USD, although it is a ripoff because the exchange rate has not been 1.4 in years.

    $140 (CAD) is almost the same as 100€ is to $100, according to current conversion. How much are the nexus packs though?

    The coversion is weird all around because EUR has been stronger than USD, but we still pay more.
  • MrSakuragiMrSakuragi Member Posts: 5,931 ★★★★★
    It is due to pricing in Google and App Store. Conversion rates affect it, as do local taxes and any other increase or taxes such as VAT.
  • AinyAiny Member Posts: 272 ★★★
    MrSakuragi said:

    It is due to pricing in Google and App Store. Conversion rates affect it, as do local taxes and any other increase or taxes such as VAT.

    Okay, that much I gathered, but what makes no sense to me is the fact that the nexus deals are 50c more expensive than the daily specials (and those refresh daily, while the cav nexus packs drop once or twice a week). How is that possible? Either both are 5.49€ or 4.99€, not one 5.49€ and the other 4.99€. Those deals have always had the same price until 2 weeks ago.
  • DemonzfyreDemonzfyre Member Posts: 22,597 ★★★★★
    Ainy said:

    SummonerNR said:

    Kabam does not need to send out a game message every time a local App Store pricing changes.
    And most likely it was not anything Kabam changed anyways.

    DNA (or someone) had once done a very detailed explanation of how pricing Tiers set by the Apps (any App) work, and then how Android/Apple each then set their actual prices that you see based on what those Tiers are.
    Also taking into account changing exchange rates, in addition to other things that may affect your bottom line of how much you pay (taxes, etc, that may or may not be included in the up front visible cost versus charged additionally on top of the up front cost).

    That's very interesting, so was it Kabam or my local store? Why did Kabam personally send out an in-game message at the beginning of March addressing the adjustment themselves then? It was the first time I remember anything like that happening - and I play the game since 2014. The prices were always higher in EUR than in USD (and EUR has always been stronger than USD), so I felt like the adjustment was long overdue anyway even if we still pay more than people from the USA. I would understand if EUR had big fluctuations, so they'd have to adjust pricing from time to time, but this... 🤔

    I just find it weird they'd fix the prices just for them to increase again - especially since, as I mentioned, there are some other deals that refresh daily and have the adjusted, lower prices from March. Either change them all or keep them as they were, no matter who's doing it? It's not adding up to me lol
    Kabam sets a price tier in both App stores. The app stores determine the price from there. Exchange rates can change at any time.

    Anytime you see a change, it's because of the app store- Google play or Apple app store.
  • ThomildoThomildo Member Posts: 541 ★★★
    There’s an old post adressing this. I’m to lazy to find it, but i think it was DNA who broke it down for us. Kabam sets price tiers, then it’s up to Google and Apple to set the rate for the respective market. Something like that.
  • Kabam PorthosKabam Porthos Moderator Posts: 4,676
    Hey guys, we've already addressed concerns about price variation in different currencies HERE. To help keep the Forum tidy, I'll go ahead and close this discussion.
This discussion has been closed.