adikgede Posted February 28, 2002 Report Share Posted February 28, 2002 In Salon.com today: DVD pirates and hobbits in Southeast Asia http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/02/27/dvd_piracy/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 28, 2002 Report Share Posted February 28, 2002 Just went to Pantip today and have to say its demise has been greatly over exaggerated. They have simply adjusted the marketing. Just tell a shop selling CD's what you want and you will see what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 28, 2002 Report Share Posted February 28, 2002 Post deleted by DoxyBlue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2002 Report Share Posted March 2, 2002 I just took a look at Microsofts pricing for the Thai versions of their products. Just about the same, so I guess I was wrong about this at least for Microsoft. One thing I've wondered about was something that happened last year. I had a friend who ran an internet cafe in Chiang Mai, using all pirated copies of Windows. Microsoft was working, I assume with police coopoeration, to get these kinds of shops to pay licensing fees of shut down. They would show up at random and ask to see certificates of authentication. Of course my friend seemed to always get word when they were coming and would close shop for the day. Thing is they were only asking for 1200B per computer, as a 'licensing fee' rather than the full price of the OS. Not sure how analists and shareholders would feel about this one if they knew about it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamock Chokaprret Posted March 2, 2002 Report Share Posted March 2, 2002 PvtDick said: quote: So, I guess by your logic Mercedes-Benz should price their sedans at $4,000 each in Thailand, rather than $200,000 each, because the Thai make so much less money than the Germans? Exactly but your example doesn't quite hit the mark. Both software and the Benz has two cost components (among many others). The cost of R&D and the cost of manufacturing the finished product. Obviously, the latter cost is a much higher percentage of the retail price in the Benz. There is a school of thought in pricing theory that says roughly, that you should price your product for maximum penetration of the market. In doing so, you have to determine the 'squeal' point of your customers. But it is also possible to price product at different levels in different geographic areas and still make a profit on each product when overall sales are a consideration. The trick is to identify the 'price banding' of the various marketplaces you wish to penetrate (which is not a particularly easy thing to do) and pricing the product accordingly to generate maximum revenue. A basic strategy would be to price the software product at 50% of the price it is available at in more economically advantaged societies. This kind of pricing would discourage transshipment outside of the target country and support / exploit the per capita incomes of the target. Would I buy a counterfeit for $50 if the real thing were $100? Maybe, but maybe not. It depends on the support required / available for the product. In the case of software, this is potentially quite high. So a higher differential price would be required to make me prefer a copy over the original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2002 Report Share Posted March 4, 2002 There's a good discussion on this on the website of a good Internet bootleg CD supplier at: Link removed by A. D. See the link called "Reasons". Note that they sell only foreign software, only foreign CD's and do not export. They say to buy Thai. CD's are 99 baht each. Never been that low in price elsewhere for software or MP3. Most places are going up in price due to recent crackdown, but they haven't changed. I'm not so stupid as to talk too much, but I will say this: Piracy will not be stamped out anytime soon for two reasons: demand by lower income Thais, and the corrupt relationships all the way up to the top of government and business by the big CD suppliers of this network. Even if you get rid of the second (unrealistic as that is), the first reason will prevail. Just like with ya ba and other things. With each crackdown, most of what happens is the smaller and less connected shops get busted as sacrificial lambs. And stupid people. Then prices go up and guess who benefits from that? Guess how those people spend their money? You think it's by helping their local communities, the students who help them, etc? Usually, think again. Many will haggle over a 200 baht/day vs. 250 baht/day salary for their workers, but they blow their money on their sixth sports car because another mafia kingpin got his 6th and they can't be second ... and of course at the expensive massage parlours ... They're sitting ducks at Pantip Plaza and elsewhere, but they won't get busted. Better yet, though, go to: Link removed by A. D. Even if you don't order anything, be sure to drop an e-mail so that they can put you on their mailing list in case they move their website. All the best, Mailman ___________________________________________ Sorry to have to resort to envasive surgery Mailman, but it seems like you ignored my note at the top of the page Adik. ____________________________________________ [ March 03, 2002: Message edited by: Adik Gede ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2002 Report Share Posted March 4, 2002 Post deleted by DoxyBlue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2002 Report Share Posted March 4, 2002 You may understand things better if you're a Thai and living like one, with limited income, etc., rather than be so simplistic and judgemental. Have you ever broken the law in a victimless way? Do you really think that the foreign software and music makers are losing a significant (or measureable) amount of money from Thailand? Argue any point on that board, at least to show that you really read the argument on the board, and please don't be so simplistic as to say it's "theft". They aren't taking anything away from someone else, in that they aren't moving something. They are copying. Let's not get into semantics, either... No, it's not my business, but I did write the English pages and know some of their businesses. The marketing in Thai on Thai boards is others' occupations at present. All the best, Mailman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2002 Report Share Posted March 4, 2002 Post deleted by DoxyBlue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2002 Report Share Posted March 4, 2002 Did you know that Microsoft and other software and music publishers employ private investigators in Thailand to stamp out just the likes of you, Package Mover? They will place an order, obtain the name and bank account, then take that to the police. And do you know what the police do with foreigners who engage in this type of business? You are due to find out, my friend, and very quickly. Actually, I may have just saved you the hassle and expense of paying off the police in exchange for your freedom -- by reporting the site to Geocities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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