October 2022

When Big Finish began offering digital download purchases in 2008, we implemented a pricing policy for our overseas customers at a 1:1 conversion rate.

For example, if a UK customer paid £12.99 for a download, a US customer would pay $12.99 for that download. (Collector's edition CDs remained priced with currency conversion rates applied.)

At the time, download sales were a very small part of our business, and the high value of GBP in currency exchange rates made it difficult for many overseas customers to afford our products.

However, in the intervening years, the trend for downloading has dramatically increased. At the same time, the UK’s currency has fallen significantly in value and continues to face an uncertain future.

We have also become aware of an increasing minority of UK Big Finish customer accounts using false overseas details to purchase downloads.

The issue of pricing products for different markets throughout the world is a difficult and sensitive one, because of the variations in currency values, cost of living and inflation rates in local, national markets. Consumers in different parts of the world have different expectations about how much certain products should cost. Put simply, what seems cheap, just right or too expensive in one country might not seem so in another, because of a number of complex factors, not least tradition.

However, production and distribution costs continue to rise, and the disparity between the sales of collector's edition releases (CDs) and digital (downloads) is ever more obvious.

It has become clear that a change in policy is necessary, in part because of the significant change in currency exchange rates over time and also due to the substantial trend away from the physical media which historically represented the majority of purchases from our website.

We initially set out this intended policy in March 2019 but, due to the uncertainty around Brexit and of course the Covid-19 pandemic, we have had to repeatedly postpone its adoption.

Therefore, from 1st November 2022, all international pricing for digital downloads will be updated daily in line with UK currency (£) pricing, applied at the relevant conversion rate as shown on the exchange website XE.com. Third-party payment website rates may show a small variation to our guide price.

As we bring the download pricing into line with that of UK customers, however, we are also introducing a 10% discount saving for overseas customers who order items which total over £50 in value.

This automatic discount (previously available only to UK customers) will now apply worldwide. Please note that it does not apply to items added from offer pages, pre-discounted items, vinyl, subscriptions, bundles or pre-orders.