To buy in Origin US from abroad

[Lorien]

So...  finally it has happened: They have the Sims3 game and expansions and stuff all 50% off, and I was so happy and ready to purchase all the stuff I'm interested in...  and when I click "Buy now" it redirects me from the US store to the Origin site in Spain (where I am), and where not only there are no special sales, but the games are so much more expensive that I could never possibly be able to afford them   

Does anybody know if there's no way to avoid the site redirecting me to a different store, or can anyone think of a way to work this out?

Thank you all in advance   

[Pam]

Welcome to our forum.

Please change the subject of this thread to something more specific. The current subject doesn't give any indication of what it's about.  Just use Modify on the first post to make the change.

[Lorien]

Thanks Pam.  You're right I should have been more specific so people reading the subject can know what the post is about. I hope now is right; if you can think of a better subject please change it for me.
P.S. I was hoping to place the post in the right place so you wouldn't need to move it...  and I have given you work anyway!  Sorry   

[Wai]

Lorien,

I'm in the UK.  It is so unfair, but, as far as I am aware, it is not possible for Europeans to take advantage of offers made in the USA.  We get the "privalage" of paying full price until eventually the price drops naturally over time.  I usually wait until new EP's are issued as this is when the price of older EP's starts to drop.  Try shopping around for bargains in your own country and be prepared to buy physical disks rather than downloads as these, at least here in the UK, are generally cheaper.

[Lorien]

Thanks Wai.  I'm afraid it's just as you say: I've tried with Amazon.com where I've been able to buy another kind of things in the past, but it seems that it doesn't allow to purchase videogames if you're outside the US (at least The Sims).
My despair comes from the fact that I don't even have the basic game (it's not that I would like to add some new world or an expansion or a stuff pack).  And I'm dying to start playing!
I was hoping I would be able to afford the game with at least the Pets and Generations expansions, but as you've said, it seems we have to wait until we find a good chance to buy them.
Right now, in the Spanish Origin Store, the basic Sims3 game costs $55, same as any of the expansions, even the older ones. So I'm facing $165 instead of $45 to be able to start with the basics I wanted...   
Maybe I should try with physical stores or ebay for physical disks.
Thanks anyway for your reply; now I know it's nothing I can easily work out, so I'll focus on finding better options.

[Castaras]

I'd recommend for us europeans to buy things through steam rather than origin, then use the cd key you get through steam on the origin client for downloading. Currently they have a 50% off sale that's world wide, and while it's still more expensive than for the US, it'll be cheaper than getting a full price game through origin.

I feel sorry for the Australians really - the prices they have to pay are insane.

[Lorien]

So, if I've not misunderstood you, I should only buy the basic game from steam, and then I'd be given a code with which I would be able to download other things (expansions and stuff packs) from origin?
Thanks a lot   

I feel sorry for the Australians really - the prices they have to pay are insane.

Yes, I have an Australian friend and everytime I feel tempted to complain I think of her and I stop whining...

[Ricalynn]

My understanding is that you can buy the base game and the expansions through steam.  Steam will give you a registration code that can be used to register on TheSims3.com and once you've registered, you will be able to then download through origin instead of steam if you don't want to go through steam.   Steam is a great program, however it does not work well with the way that Sims is set up and sometimes can give problems. 

[Castaras]

My understanding is that you can buy the base game and the expansions through steam.  Steam will give you a registration code that can be used to register on TheSims3.com and once you've registered, you will be able to then download through origin instead of steam if you don't want to go through steam.   Steam is a great program, however it does not work well with the way that Sims is set up and sometimes can give problems.

Explained it better than I did with regards to buying it. I use Steam for Sims due to personal reasons regarding Origin, which means I can't use the world editor (steam version has a few differences that mean world editor can't find the data it needs). There's slight hiccups with downloading things - you have to start up sims before you can download store content, but otherwise works just as well as my old disc version did.

[Lorien]

Thank you so much, Ricalynn and Castaras; I've finally understood how that works.
Well, seems to me that Steam and the worldwide option (despite a bit more expensive than the Origin prices they would be something I could afford) it's the best solution for me.
Thanks to you I might have soon my Sims game to start playing!

You've been really helpful; thanks so much again