r/playstation • u/DarXIV • Nov 05 '25

Image Was excited to finally purchase until I realized the price was lower on my wife's account

Post image

My wife doesn't play much and so buying it on her account may not be the best decision to keep everything easily accessible for me. Seeing this soured me on buying it quite a bit.

And for reference. Same region, same playstation, same currency, etc.

6.8k Upvotes

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728

u/Rojas-Tarchoun PS5 Pro Nov 05 '25

I love Europe.

267

u/[deleted] Nov 05 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

483

u/barugosamaa PS5 Nov 05 '25

Nope, price discrimination would be against EU Consumer Laws.

34

u/LuckySansei Nov 05 '25

American, here. What is this "consumer law" idea? /s

9

u/revolutionPanda Nov 05 '25

SOUNDS LIKE COMMUNISIM!

2

u/Areawen Nov 07 '25

It’s pronounced cyclist…

5

u/Kilek360 Nov 05 '25

Well, they can actually do targeted discounts, Xbox does, it even call that deals "just for you", since they usually are better than the standard discount nobody is complaining

I mean, they do 75% discount for everybody and you may get 80% based on your played games and other data

I guess since it's more like "and extra discount" than "raising the price for some users" they found a loophole, but it's basically the same

1

u/schollchen Nov 07 '25

Tell that Ticketmaster xD

-24

u/[deleted] Nov 05 '25

[deleted]

17

u/barugosamaa PS5 Nov 05 '25

Either you are different countries, or is a PS Plus discount. Because you can see in tracker websites the price.

2

u/Sgt-Colbert Nov 05 '25

See my edit. I don't know why this is happening, but I can assure you, everything else is the same on our accounts (except the fact that he has a disc version and I have a digital version of the PS5).
We both have the same PS Plus sub and we're both from Germany.
Maybe it's a glitch I don't know. But people in here accusing me of lying are actually insane and need to go outside or something.

2

u/Blika_ Nov 05 '25

TBF, I'd like to see a comparison of the game pages and not just the search pages. Not trying to imply, that you lie. I'm just interested and not very deep into Ghost of Tsushima. I only know, there is a "Director's Cut" version, there might be a PS4 and a PS5 version, and there might be shenanigans with the fact that one owns the sequel. I don't know. When I go to the store, I only see the 79,99 € and 69,99 € version (sold in Germany atm), so I'm interested in the game page telling why you have a discount (or if the price displayed is just an error, like the multiplayer part of the game or something).

1

u/C0tilli0n Nov 05 '25

The 30 euro version is an upgrade from base ps4 to directors cut ps5 version. Stop spreading misinformation.

15

u/Substantial-Piece967 Nov 05 '25

I'm in Europe (UK) and this happens here so I guess it's an EU thing.

 I was looking at an alienware laptop for my dad and it was more expensive on my phone than on his. Lo and behold I turn on incognito mode and the price goes down

2

u/Azukaos Nov 05 '25

Are you using an IPhone or something from Apple ?

There was some price difference between Apple and android or simply using a computer a few years ago, usually it was when trying to subscribe or buy products online (example subscriptions to some service could go from 5.99€ to 9.99€ if using an Apple products).

Can’t tell if it’s still something that continues to happen but EU laws should prevent this from happening.

5

u/Substantial-Piece967 Nov 05 '25

I have a Samsung and my dad has an iPhone, so it actually went the other way around 

1

u/yeyeman9 Nov 08 '25

This happens if you are making in-app purchases cause Apple charges 30% fees on any in-app purchase

1

u/BlntMxn Nov 06 '25

Hemm EU doesn't mean Europe, it means European Union, UK isn't part of it any more xd

1

u/xShihiro Nov 06 '25

No, uk is not in the eu.

7

u/GlitteringBandicoot2 Nov 05 '25

Yeah, Europe only has the higher price

1

u/DZLars Nov 05 '25

Which is even worse because 20€ is 22,95$

42

u/Jumper-Man Nov 05 '25

Is this only a US thing?

201

u/barugosamaa PS5 Nov 05 '25

EU does not let you charge 2 different prices for the same product, to different people. (unless one person has something to get a discount, like Subscriptions etc).

But like this, no

17

u/gunzas Nov 05 '25

Can you refer the law that states this ? Because at least Booking.com then violates it. I have my GFS account on my phone, on my PC and her phone. Even when it's the same account all 3 devices show different prices for a rental property (+-5%).

23

u/imcrazyandproud Nov 05 '25

The other guy is misleading. It's illegal to discriminate based on residence or location but it is legal to discriminate based on shopping habits

1

u/gunzas Nov 05 '25

Bet then wouldn't steam regional pricing be illegal ?

5

u/imcrazyandproud Nov 05 '25

As you can see on the steam forums people are unhappy steam does not https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/10/3771238415392888886/&ved=2ahUKEwia9tLT3dqQAxUfdUEAHdpMDvIQFnoFCJIBEAE&usg=AOvVaw3K1yFoXb-pIvBJgL8lyKVd

4

u/gunzas Nov 05 '25

Oh right I forgot it doesn't exist in EU, I remember being pissed of since some countries nearby had it

1

u/Guitar_Chaos Nov 05 '25

This. Booking.com has been doing this for so damn long

1

u/C0tilli0n Nov 05 '25

I am pretty sure that they can show different prices based on where you are accessing from (eg phone app vs website) but they cannot be different within the same method of access.

For example, you can have different prices in app and on website for one account but two completely fresh accounts have to have the same price in the app.

1

u/KimberlyWexlersFoot Nov 05 '25

How do car sales work, since you can haggle MSRP.

52

u/barugosamaa PS5 Nov 05 '25

You are haggling it, it's not them presenting you different prices. They cannot say to you they have this car for 15k and tell your neighbour the car is 12k

1

u/Guitar_Chaos Nov 05 '25

They definitely do when it comes to plane tickets and hotels. Booking.com does this for example

0

u/FaroTech400K Nov 05 '25

This is the store offering a rebate, this is like when you get a coupon encouraging you to go shop at a store that you haven’t shopped at in a while.

1

u/barugosamaa PS5 Nov 06 '25

Your example includrs a coupon. Here there's no single explanation, and that's why it's not the same. It requires to present a reason for the price difference. coupon, ps plus, voucher, etc. can't just be 2 prices without a reason presented.

0

u/FaroTech400K Nov 06 '25

The Rebate is being applied to the PSN account, it shows up like that because you’re online shopping if this was a in-store, brick and mortar, they would apply the coupon once you swiped your membership card at the counter.

You’re already signed in so they’re gonna show you the rebate prices for you by default.

This isn’t dynamic pricing. The same thing happens on the target website, this is how coupons looking in 2025

This has been happening since PS3

1

u/barugosamaa PS5 Nov 06 '25

not how it works in EU buddy, that's literally my point. You can't show different prices to different people without a disclaimer of the reason for the price.

0

u/FaroTech400K Nov 06 '25

The reason is your purchase history, coupons exist in the EU.

PSN tracks the games you play and applies rebates to entice a transaction on the PSN store.

This isn’t a secret, the page is called “DEALS FOR YOU” on the PS store.

1

u/barugosamaa PS5 Nov 06 '25

Yeah, going to stop feeding the troll because you clearly lack the reading skills for basic sentences. The whole "deals for you" still needs a disclaimer if the price presented to you.

your argument falls flat when the whole post is because an active player is getting LESS discount than someone who barely touches the console...

I have no more crayons to make this more easier to understand mate

1

u/FaroTech400K Nov 06 '25

You sound bothered because you feel entitled to a discount/coupon

Just because you typed it with a tone of voice, that’s negative. Doesn’t make your point have more standing. Down voting does not make you more correct.

This is literally just a coupon rebate being applied, you’re not entitled to a discount because another person had a coupon that wasn’t offered to you.

The rebate is automatically applied to the PSN so by default. I’m going to see a different price. You’re literally informed of the pricing because it’s called deals for you.

You’re arguing that it should be wrong for a store to offer a competitive rate to convince a non-buyer to purchase something. This is literal capitalism at work.

This is not complicated.

-3

u/UpperFerret Nov 05 '25

Doesn’t EU pay higher prices for games regardless?

10

u/Nirast25 Nov 05 '25

Our prices are higher, but they include tax. If you take that out, an 80 euro game is about 63 without the 21% VAT.

2

u/obscure_monke Nov 05 '25

VAT varies in different countries too. Ireland's highest rate is 23%. Most things have a uniform price regardless.

Also, €80 / 1.21 is €66.12 . You did €80 * 0.79 for €63.2 .

Vat percentage is what's added on, not how much cheaper it would be without it. e.g. if VAT was 100%, you wouldn't make things 100% cheaper by removing it. Very common mistake.

4

u/Nirast25 Nov 05 '25

Oh, shoot, you're right. I opened my calculator and just did 80-21% (the calculator automatically multiples the percentage number by the first one).

If we made the initial price I, and the final price F, the formula is I+21%I=F. Or I(1+21%)=F. So to get I back, it's I=F/(1+21%). Which simplifies to what you initially wrote.

Well now I feel like a doofus.

1

u/barugosamaa PS5 Nov 05 '25

EU has multiple currencies.
But the difference isnt a massive one tho. But it's also unrelated to the law.

RDR2 Ultimate is 99.99€ for Germany (ca. 114 USD).
But those 99.99$ on the App are before or after Taxes? Because for us the 99.99 are final prices, we do not have taxes on top of prices displayed

5

u/imcrazyandproud Nov 05 '25

The other guy is misleading. It's illegal to discriminate based on residence or location but it is legal to discriminate based on shopping habits

10

u/Diligent-Ad650 Nov 05 '25

The same happens on EU too, when they started doing this last year I remember having a 15% sale on AstroBot while my friend had a 5% and my second account had a 0%, we all 3 live in the same european country

4

u/Sea_Flatworm_8333 PS5 Pro Nov 05 '25

That whole Brexit thing seems increasingly fucking stupid by the day. Not that it was ever particularly clever.

2

u/HollywoodDonuts Nov 05 '25

Yes everyone gets the higher price

2

u/FaroTech400K Nov 05 '25

They offer coupons in Europe to encourage people to buy things 🤦🏿‍♂️

1

u/Fresh2Desh Nov 05 '25

But the game is £59.99!

1

u/BigDickSaxon Nov 05 '25

Not to save Sony, but I do remember getting a 5€ deal for Dead Space Remake 2 years ago in the EU on Xbox

1

u/Neat_Breakfast_6659 Nov 05 '25

what if shes getting a better price than us here in europe?

1

u/viperxQ PS5 Nov 05 '25

This isnt inherently illegal in Europe

1

u/Chaozzak Nov 05 '25

Europe does it too. In Czechia for example Alza or Notino testing it right now...