We're talking download, a global market, the $99 is the same wherever it's paid from... I suspect that the effort to change the shop software is too much for it to be worth their while

Stockport
Interesting.......we seem to have a divergence of opinion between those who feel exploited (UK/European Customers) and the US customers who are not being thus exploited and wonder why we should be making a fuss? Funny as I thought it a matter of common decency and respect to treat ALL customers in a just and equitable manner and as a matter not only of honour but of laws of offer and acceptance to fulfil the terms i.e. $99 or it's equivalent exchange rate. We are talking about a simple download no shipping or external factors.
 
BJN suggests the complaint may not lie with Cakewalk but it surely does! Cakewalk made an offer and then changed the terms to actively discriminate against non US customers.
 
I suggest that non US customers do not let the matter lie. I have still yet to receive a reply from Customer Services following my second email but will continue to pursue the matter. I can't help but feel that if the circumstances were reversed many of those who contributed above would be equally disgruntled! It's not a matter of it being 'the price of a few beers' it's about how you treat, engage, respect and further a loyal customer base.

There is no law which says products have to be the exact same price in every country. I also feel like you need to reassess your definition of the word "exploit." And maybe look into what markets are and how they factor in determining prices.

lawp
We're talking download, a global market, the $99 is the same wherever it's paid from... I suspect that the effort to change the shop software is too much for it to be worth their while

It is not just a "global market." The market of the county the product is sold in is a factor too.

Respectfully disagree

And then there is the publishing of books that are clearly marked $10.00 US and $15 Can. The exchange rate has been closer to zero for years.. For the last  few year we were actually ahead of the US buy 4 or 5 cents  it's just recently they have snuck ahead, but only by 8-10 cents,, never $.50 ever!   All books and magazines  ( sheet music too) have always had this ridiculous differance... we just suck it up.
Advantage we have here in Canada is if we purchase from the US with a Visa card it nails the exchange rate to the penny. It's better to order directly from the states if they will ship to Canada too. If not,  I'm on the border and just go pick it up from the General Store in Danville Wash.
The Download from Cakewalk was in US dollars $99, My Visa charged me $102.77 Can. that day.

Try to use some logic:
 
You are singling out Cakewalk, but EVERY DAW company does the same thing.
 
DAW software made in Germany (Ableton, Cubase, Samplitude) all sells in the USA for a _99.00 price.   They are priced at 99.00, 199.00. 299.00, 399.00, 499.00 etc.
 
I am absolutely positive that the amount paid by US customers is different than what German customers pay.  If they worked it out to be the same by exchange rate, then we would be paying oddball amounts (523.87, 12.34, etc)
 
Is there a reason you are singling out Cakewalk and not other companies?

@200bpm without a unit of currency being quoted next to the figures, your post is meaningless to me. Cheers...

CakeAlexS
@200bpm without a unit of currency being quoted next to the figures, your post is meaningless to me. Cheers...

Really? Seems obvious that the first set of figures is dollars and the second set represents "some other currency."

lawp
Respectfully disagree

With what? That national markets influence the price of international products?

Cactus Music
And then there is the publishing of books that are clearly marked $10.00 US and $15 Can. The exchange rate has been closer to zero for years.. For the last  few year we were actually ahead of the US buy 4 or 5 cents  it's just recently they have snuck ahead, but only by 8-10 cents,, never $.50 ever!   All books and magazines  ( sheet music too) have always had this ridiculous differance... we just suck it up.
Advantage we have here in Canada is if we purchase from the US with a Visa card it nails the exchange rate to the penny. It's better to order directly from the states if they will ship to Canada too. If not,  I'm on the border and just go pick it up from the General Store in Danville Wash.
The Download from Cakewalk was in US dollars $99, My Visa charged me $102.77 Can. that day.

My experience of living in both the UK and the US is that almost everything is cheaper in the US. Most notably, technology and clothes. I have never visited Canada but I suspect it's the same. There are many things which affect prices in a county - things like taxes, regulations, red tape, distribution costs and the price of competing products. I suspect the overall size of the market has a lot to do with it, as well as the price that people are prepared to pay for a product in various countries (people have different priorities, expectations, attitudes etc).

When my friends and family from the UK visit me in New York, they go nuts buying stuff because it's so much cheaper than it is back home.

In the case of books that have a US price and a Canadian price on them - those prices are never going to be a direct conversion of each other. They're priced according to the book market in each country.