Adobe puts a price on instant gratification

June 3, 2009

The internet is an amazing thing; it’s a fantastic resource for obtaining and sharing knowledge; a platform that heralds the end of the Industrial Age transportation of products that can be distributed more easily and with less environmental impact as a bitstream. Reducing the need for  physical media, packaging, delivery vehicles and logistical infrastructure means that cost of sale to the customer can also be reduced. Simple. Right?

I visited the Adobe website today to purchase a copy of Lightroom.

So, that’s £228.85. When you add shipping (and VAT) it comes out at £234.72. Not cheap when compared to something like Aperture, but Lightroom is  highly recommended by a number of pro photographers, not least of whom is my younger brother, Chris.

Wanting the instant gratification that only the internet can bring and expecting a digital download to cost less, I hit the drop down next to “Delivery Method” and saw the price adjust accordingly:

Wait… What?

It’s cheaper to have a physical product boxed, put in a vehicle and shipped to my door than it is to download a file to my computer? Thinking I must be missing something obvious, I followed the link to the FAQ:

According to the FAQ, I can “Skip the shipping and save money”. Hmmm….

I realise the price difference is a small one, but that difference should be in favour of a digital download.

So what do you think? Is this an admin error, or have Adobe put a price on the “got to have it now” mentality of the internet shopper?

Posted in software