Half-price Ancestry.com subscription offer - May 2022

[At home in NZ]

For 6 months All Access the offer is USD129

Using my own bank’s rate of exchange (because that is who will be setting the rate when I pay) it is NZD202.23

12 months is therefore about NZD404

For 12 months All Access in the UK site it is £224.99

My bank’s conversion is NZD 444.53

I know where I am better off.

 

[peter]

I know where I am better off.

It surely depends whether you want a 6 month subscription or a 12 month one?

If you want 12 months then the UK site will be cheaper - because the discounted rate at the US site only applies for the first 6 months. But if you only want 6 months then it's a no-brainer, you go for the US site.

For people in the UK or the EU the equation is different, because they'll be charged VAT on top. Anyone considering taking up the offer should look closely at the final price including tax before making the purchase.

 

[At home in NZ]

It surely depends whether you want a 6 month subscription or a 12 month one?

If you want 12 months then the UK site will be cheaper - because the discounted rate at the US site only applies for the first 6 months. But if you only want 6 months then it's a no-brainer, you go for the US site.

For people in the UK or the EU the equation is different, because they'll be charged VAT on top. Anyone considering taking up the offer should look closely at the final price including tax before making the purchase.

Tax is never added to my Ancestry sub, what they quote is exactly what they charge.

 

[peter]

Tax is never added to my Ancestry sub, what they quote is exactly what they charge.

Whether tax is added depends on which Ancestry site it is and where the user lives: we know where you live, but which sites have you subscribed to?

Unfortunately tax rules and taxes don't stay the same, as users in Canada discovered recently. I think there was also a change in Australia a few years ago. Has anyone paid tax on a Findmypast subscription? They never used to add tax on top but this may have changed - I think that could be why users in Canada had trouble subscribing to Findmypast.com at one point in the past year.

 

[JoyNor]

My cousin in the UK was about to subscribe to Ancestry for 6 months, at the intermediate level - without the worldwide access. By subscribing to the US offer he has, after exchange rate & taxes are added, got a 6 months worldwide access for just £5 more than the £79.99 he was about to shell out. He will now concentrate on ancestors who went overseas & at renewal may then downgrade a level & concentrate on the UK data for the next 6 months, unless they make another offer he can't resist.

 

[At home in NZ]

Whether tax is added depends on which Ancestry site it is and where the user lives: we know where you live, but which sites have you subscribed to?

Unfortunately tax rules and taxes don't stay the same, as users in Canada discovered recently. I think there was also a change in Australia a few years ago. Has anyone paid tax on a Findmypast subscription? They never used to add tax on top but this may have changed - I think that could be why users in Canada had trouble subscribing to Findmypast.com at one point in the past year.

I subscribe to ancestry UK, always have and always will. Always have 12 months.

Our GST (Goods and Services Tax) has been the same rate for several years, if a change is going to be made we will be advised in advance.
There was a rule that goods and services obtained from overseas were zero rated for GST and that was changed not so long ago due to the popularity of online shopping at sites such as Amazon.com. According to the NZ Customs Service website it only applies to anything that costs $1,000 or more.

In any case I think those of us who live outside the UK would be fully aware of any tax that applies to their Ancestry sub so I'm not sure why you always mention it. Maybe you have a bee in your bonnet about paying tax??

 

[peter]

In any case I think those of us who live outside the UK would be fully aware of any tax that applies to their Ancestry sub so I'm not sure why you always mention it. Maybe you have a bee in your bonnet about paying tax??

When I warned about tax earlier in this discussion it was primarily residents of the UK and the EU that I was alerting - if they purchase an Ancestry subscription from the US site they will pay tax on top. You seem to think it so blindingly obvious that it's not worth mentioning - which only goes to show how difficult you find it to put yourself in someone else's position.

Unlike you I can't be blasé about these things because there are real people who will lose real money if they're not warned to check the total before completing their purchase. Someone in the UK who had only ever subscribed to Ancestry.co.uk wouldn't expect to be charged tax on top of the quoted price for an Ancestry.com subscription - why would they?

In the posting which began this discussion you demonstrated that the US site is about 10% cheaper than the UK site; however, if tax at 15% or 20% is added it will be more expensive. This may not be a consideration for you and the other 3000 members in New Zealand, but it certainly is for the 43,000 members in the UK (as well as those in the EU).

 

[peter]

There was a rule that goods and services obtained from overseas were zero rated for GST and that was changed not so long ago due to the popularity of online shopping at sites such as Amazon.com. According to the NZ Customs Service website it only applies to anything that costs $1,000 or more.

As far as I can see the $1000 limit only applies to goods, and online services are subject to 15% GST if the vendor has a turnover of over NZ$60000.

https://www.ird.govt.nz/gst/gst-for-overseas-businesses/supplying-remote-services-into-new-zealand

However the subscription rates at Ancestry.co.uk include VAT, so you shouldn't be charged extra even if I'm right.

 

[At home in NZ]

You seem to think it so blindingly obvious that it's not worth mentioning - which only goes to show how difficult you find it to put yourself in someone else's position.

Thanks for the put down.

n the posting which began this discussion you demonstrated that the US site is about 10% cheaper than the UK site;

You failed to notice my error, I should not have doubled the initial six month cost but added the cost of the next 6 months which I doubt would be subject to the same offer.
Therefore: first 6 months is USD129 plus second 6 months at full price of USD259, total is USD388.
Today, my bank's conversion is NZD611.22
12 months All Access in the UK site it is £224.99
Today, my bank's conversion is NZD445.70 a saving of NZD165.52

thus demonstrating it pays to look at the full picture and not just the offer in front of you.

You seem to think it so blindingly obvious

It becomes blindingly obvious when the price is displayed at payment point. It is very easy to abort the transaction.

There is also a rule in NZ 'Any surcharges must be declared before you buy' one would hope the same applies elsewhere in the world.

 

[peter]

You failed to notice my error, I should not have doubled the initial six month cost but added the cost of the next 6 months which I doubt would be subject to the same offer.

Of course I noticed what you had done, and that's why in my reply I wrote

If you want 12 months then the UK site will be cheaper - because the discounted rate at the US site only applies for the first 6 months. But if you only want 6 months then it's a no-brainer, you go for the US site.

I could have pointed out your error explicitly but then you would have said:

Thanks for the put down.

It becomes blindingly obvious when the price is displayed at payment point. It is very easy to abort the transaction.

Again, this shows your inability to put yourself in someone else's position.

Just because something is 'blindingly obvious' to you doesn't mean that it will obvious to some one else who has no reason to think that the price is going to change. Far too many people have told me in the past that they ended up paying more than they expected because they didn't notice the tax added on at the end.

I don't want anyone to make a bad decision - that's why I try to ensure that members are in possession of the full facts. For some reason you object to this.