Maybe not a software suggestion, but a billing one

John Horrigan

So disclaimer here, old semi retired curmudgeon here.  Still on V19 but about to go to 22/23.

Long ago when the earth was still cooling (and Global Mapper reliably showed same), members here got a discount and purchasing was straightforward, and of course, less expensive (I know...see above under 'curmudgeon').

I tried to renew online.  Price has gone up. OK.  Discount code no longer offered.  Well, OK.    Credit card convenience fee, of 4%.  Hmmm.. That's not really a thing in my province, so I looked up the practice in the US.  It's allowed, but it's the lower of 4% or what the credit card issuer charges.   Last I checked, my credit card charges everyone 2.4%.  Maybe I missed that along the way too.  So I called Visa.  Nope.  2.4% was the answer. 

Now, 4% doesn't seem like a lot, until you throw in exchange rate and watch the price go north of $700 in my local currency.  Add in retirement budgets, you get the picture. 

So I contacted Global Mapper.  Nice people, always.  This was no different.  Their approach was to offer alternatives.   I don't need to use a credit card, I can use a wire transfer or a cheque.  Well, cheque might work, let's see about wire.  I can send it for free, but I can't control handling fees after it leaves Canada.  Global Mapper will charge me whatever comes their way.  So I may get a hefty charge in US dollars, or not, no way of knowing.  Or, I can pay $35 US up front as a one time, coverall amount.  $35 USD =   6.3%!

Now clearly one can argue that after paying $549 for software, $35 is nickels and dimes and that would be exactly right.  My question is, why extract these nickels and dimes from the users?  Most other vendors don't do this.  In fact, in the past year, it's been only this one transaction that I've seen it done.

I know this is policy from somewhere up the food chain and really want to be fair to the front line staff who try to make it work every day and respond to emails within minutes.  Please don't take this as a poke at you.  I hope to renew.  But first, I think I need to get my BP back into 3 digits.   I'd make some comment about pulling my hair out, but thanks to my pandemic haircutting strategy, that would actually be an improvement....

Rant off....

John

Danielle Caron

Hi John,

Thank you very much for your years of being a Global Mapper user. We are so pleased you are considering upgrading to the latest version of the application. I would like to help clarify the wording on the quote you received regarding additional fees charged. The best route for you would be to send a check. We are happy to accept payment by check. There are no fees for making a payment with a paper check through the mail.

Sending a wire is also an option, Blue Marble doesn’t charge for the wire payment however the funds may be routed through multiple banks that make a deduction shorting the total before it arrives at Blue Marble. Therefore, we suggest adding to the payment total or asking the bank to deduct all fees from the senders’ account. The local branch of your financial institution should be able to assist with that.

The only transaction that would incur additional fees from Blue Marble is payment by credit card. This is that 4% charge as you indicated.  Make no mistake, we hate adding fees to our pricing.  It doesn’t look favorable on Blue Marble and all of the hard work we put into maintaining an incredibly low price point for powerful geospatial software.  We appreciate your position and feedback on our payment options. It really is our goal to make the process straightforward, easy and to keep Global Mapper reasonably priced for everyone. Customers from around the globe daily share with us their success stories while using Global Mapper. We look forward to hearing yours as well.

Cordially, 

Danielle Caron Operations Manager  |  Blue Marble Geographics 1-800-616-2725 ext. 1113  |  1-207-622-4622 ext. 1113  |  bluemarblegeo.com 22 Carriage Ln, Hallowell, Maine 04347 U.S.A.        GeoTalks Express - Free one-hour webinars