Originally Posted by GreyWolf

Sure, the effects are obvious to any foreign webmaster and same applies to US folks when the higher import/oil prices and the credit crunch hits - it's a no-win all round.

On the second para.. not sure which aspects you are thinking of, but can think of a few here which have been applied for a few years now in anticipation of problems.

This is basically using the Big Mac index as a valuer of currencies and having for example, where a site may be priced as $30, having geo-signup pages, firstly reflecting the local currency, and secondly converting that $30 into whatever is a "marketable price" for each country. Simple example... instead of charging $30 for a UK signup - charge $50, but express that in GBP as 24.95 etc. The gain in the UK instance is $20 at the moment, but it's at a price equivalent to five packets of cigarettes a month.

In the US instance, still charge in dollars, but up the price and get more dollars. There is little point in doing business in any country and not getting a reasonable margin per head.

In Euros.. well.. we just keep them the same and use that as a base figure to price GBP, dollars and other currencies. It's something OPEC would love to do (and probably will if the dollar keeps sliding), and we have the option to do this now without losing eg 50% revenue.

Bottom line... what may be lost on lesser US signups is gained on other currencies. Hard to say, but smell an further extension of this may be forced on us - whether we like it or not, and may involve just pricing US clients at a globally acceptable rate and if they buy, fine, if not - no biggie.