[comp.sys.amiga] Shareware in Europe

jeh@sisd.kodak.com (Ed Hanway) (11/19/90)

[In the quoted message, I have deleted specific program names because
 the purpose of this post is not to hype my shareware program which was
 mentioned.]

massa@uni-paderborn.de (Michael Janich) writes:
>yes of course, there are many possibilities to convert gif to iff! We
>have about four utilities:
>
[list various gif->iff programs deleted]
>
>I think you can ftp them all from abcdefg20... or whatever the name of
>that good ol' nasa server is.
>In my opinion [deleted] is best, because of [deleted]
>But we run a share-ware version: all picts are cutted to 512 pixels each
>dimension.
>
>   Michael Janich, Uni Paderborn, United Germany

Is there any way for a shareware author to make it easier for overseas
users to register?  I've heard various figures from about $10 and up to
get a check drawn on a US bank, so it hardly makes sense to go through the
trouble and expense for a shareware program that costs < $20.

(I left this in c.s.amiga since the problem seems particularly applicable
to Amiga shareware authors, with the bulk of Amiga hardware sales in Europe.)

--
Ed Hanway --- uunet!sisd!jeh
Must be 18 or older to play.  Prerecorded for this time zone.
Do not read while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment.

caldwell_m@darwin.ntu.edu.au (11/20/90)

In article <1990Nov19.153240.20052@sisd.kodak.com>, jeh@sisd.kodak.com (Ed Hanway) writes:

> Is there any way for a shareware author to make it easier for overseas
> users to register?  I've heard various figures from about $10 and up to
> get a check drawn on a US bank, so it hardly makes sense to go through the
> trouble and expense for a shareware program that costs < $20.

Here, here.  It can be quite expensive.  It is very discouraging to see a 
program offered at the reasonable proce of $20 or so shoot up at the profit 
of the banks.

> --
> Ed Hanway --- uunet!sisd!jeh
> Must be 18 or older to play.  Prerecorded for this time zone.
> Do not read while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment.

  Malcolm Caldwell   CALDWELL_M@DARWIN.NTU.EDU.AU
  Darwin Australia   FIDO: 3:690/648.3

dvljhg@cs.umu.se (J|rgen Holmberg) (11/20/90)

In article <1990Nov20.102200.394@darwin.ntu.edu.au> caldwell_m@darwin.ntu.edu.au writes:
>In article <1990Nov19.153240.20052@sisd.kodak.com>, jeh@sisd.kodak.com (Ed Hanway) writes:
>
>> Is there any way for a shareware author to make it easier for overseas
>> users to register?  I've heard various figures from about $10 and up to
>> get a check drawn on a US bank, so it hardly makes sense to go through the
>> trouble and expense for a shareware program that costs < $20.
>
>Here, here.  It can be quite expensive.  It is very discouraging to see a 
>program offered at the reasonable proce of $20 or so shoot up at the profit 
>of the banks.
>

Hmmm... How about some kind of joint effort between usergroups in different
countries. I believe that supporting all shareware products would be asking
too much of the usergroups but this would give support to good, widely-used
applications at least.

Jorgen

-- 

email dvljhg@cs.umu.se - other ways to communicate are a waste of time.
Everything I say is always true, just apply it to the right reality.

U3364521@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au (Lou Cavallo) (11/21/90)

G'day,

JH> dvljhg@cs.umu.se (J|rgen Holmberg) writes:

MC> caldwell_m@darwin.ntu.edu.au writes:

EH> jeh@sisd.kodak.com (Ed Hanway) writes:

EH> Is there any way for a shareware author to make it easier for overseas
EH> users to register?  I've heard various figures from about $10 and up to
EH> get a check drawn on a US bank, so it hardly makes sense to go through the
EH> trouble and expense for a shareware program that costs < $20.

MC> Here, here.  It can be quite expensive.  It is very discouraging to see a 
MC> program offered at the reasonable proce of $20 or so shoot up at the profit 
MC> of the banks.

JH> Hmmm... How about some kind of joint effort between usergroups in different
JH> countries. I believe that supporting all shareware products would be asking
JH> too much of the usergroups but this would give support to good, widely-used
JH> applications at least.

JH> Jorgen

The user group I am a member of has (or at least had, I'm not up to date) a
member that would collect shareware contributions for overseas authors.

This person converted this larger sum into appropriate payments in currency
that the shareware author could accept. This distributed the (bank) charges
per shareware registrations as the bank charges are usually fixed (I guess)
for currency conversion and don't relate to amount converted.

I don't recall that actual details so I may have "lied a little" to explain
the basic idea {i.e. if I got something wrong please forgive me.}

yours truly,
Lou Cavallo.

UH2@psuvm.psu.edu (Lee Sailer) (11/22/90)

Can a person in Europe open a bank account in a US bank?  Then, just save
up all those North American checks that come in, send a bundle of them
to the bac kin the US (hey, why not Costa Rica?) and watch the $$$ mount
up.

   lee

ludde@nada.kth.se (Erik Lundevall) (11/23/90)

In article <1990Nov20.102200.394@darwin.ntu.edu.au> caldwell_m@darwin.ntu.edu.au writes:
>In article <1990Nov19.153240.20052@sisd.kodak.com>, jeh@sisd.kodak.com (Ed Hanway) writes:
>
>> Is there any way for a shareware author to make it easier for overseas
>> users to register?  I've heard various figures from about $10 and up to
>> get a check drawn on a US bank, so it hardly makes sense to go through the
>> trouble and expense for a shareware program that costs < $20.
>
>Here, here.  It can be quite expensive.  It is very discouraging to see a 
>program offered at the reasonable proce of $20 or so shoot up at the profit 
>of the banks.

Here in Sweden, at least two User Groups have collected shareware money from
their members and then they have sent the money to the author.
If I remember correctly, Steve Tibbett got around $6000 this way for VirusX
and Dave Haynie "a few bucks" also for DiskSalv.
One of the user groups are collecting money for SID now, so I guess Timm
Martin will get some money soon.

>
>> --
>> Ed Hanway --- uunet!sisd!jeh
>> Must be 18 or older to play.  Prerecorded for this time zone.
>> Do not read while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment.
>
>  Malcolm Caldwell   CALDWELL_M@DARWIN.NTU.EDU.AU
>  Darwin Australia   FIDO: 3:690/648.3


-- 
-Erik Lundevall                   ludde@adder.bula.se | ludde@nada.kth.se 

rhialto@cs.kun.nl (Olaf Seibert) (11/23/90)

In article <1990Nov19.153240.20052@sisd.kodak.com> jeh@sisd.kodak.com (Ed Hanway) writes:
>Is there any way for a shareware author to make it easier for overseas
>users to register?  I've heard various figures from about $10 and up to
>get a check drawn on a US bank, so it hardly makes sense to go through the
>trouble and expense for a shareware program that costs < $20.

If somebody from outside the Netherlands sends me a check that is not
normally valid in the Netherlands, and a few people did, it costs me
nlg 12.50 (currently about US$ 8) to cash it. That was a significant
part of that US$ 20 check that I got. Therefore I changed the release
notes with MSH to the effect that I would rather NOT get any checks,
but that plain old cash is greatly preferred. In fact, I may go as far
as simply refusing to accept checks and return them to the sender,
rather than help the bank make ridiculous profits by taking significant
parts out of the amount that people kindly were willing to send me.

I would advise other shareware authors to do the same (encourage
cheap ways of transferring money, I mean).

>Ed Hanway --- uunet!sisd!jeh
--
Olaf 'Rhialto' Seibert                               rhialto@cs.kun.nl
How can you be so stupid if you're identical to me? -Robert Silverberg

gunda@cbmehq.UUCP (Gunda O'Neal ESCO) (11/26/90)

In article <90326.090124UH2@psuvm.psu.edu> UH2@psuvm.psu.edu (Lee Sailer) writes:
>Can a person in Europe open a bank account in a US bank?  Then, just save
>up all those North American checks that come in, send a bundle of them
>to the bac kin the US (hey, why not Costa Rica?) and watch the $$$ mount
>up.
My experience:
Having an address in e.g. Germany, one can not open a bank account in a
U.S. bank inside U.S.A.
But one could try (!) with a e.g. German sub of an U.S. based bank.
Most helpful: American Express Bank (if you are a holder of their plastic).


>
>   lee


-- 
Gunda O'Neal, Assistant
Commodore European Support & Coordination Office (ESCO)
UUCP: {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!cbmehq!gunda
"I am easy to please, as long as things go my way ..."