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The $ is the most powerful currency in the World. Compared to the measly INR, it is a mark of the economic prowess of the United States. Albeit, the Euro is gaining ground, but the $ still remains the dollar. Living in a country where the currency is at such a stark contrast with the dollar makes it quite hard when it comes to interacting with people who use the dollar, or its equivalent[1] regularly. The problem becomes even more pronounced when it comes to the internet.
1 USD exchanges at about 45 INR. Quite staggering difference, I confess. And with this difference comes difference in other spheres of life. For example, a bottle of Coca-cola costs much lesser if you buy in INR than in USD. However, buying in INR feels costly when you’re an Indian.

This is another reason why countries like India have such “cheap” labor[2]. In India, a single person can make through a month on about Rs. 25000 easily. That’s less than $600! However, for an American, the cost of living per month is about $3000. That’s almost 150 thousand INR. You can clearly see the contrast in living costs. Hence, when an Indian quotes prices for a job offshore, he’ll take into consideration _his_ living expenses, and not that of the person his employers are ready to pay. That, however, gives out the misconception that Indians are cheap. Yes, we may have a cheaper lifestyle than Americans or most Europeans, but we’re not “cheap”, if you know what I mean[3].
This is probably the sole reason why outsourcing is flourishing. If all countries in the World were to merge together under a single currency, outsourcing would evaporate faster than I finish writing this sentence!

It is also very difficult to buy goods (mostly electronics) which are mostly new and have been released in developed countries. Companies usually “don’t see a good enough market” in developing countries, and we get stuff which are late by years. By the time I’ll be able to get my hands on an XBox 360 (legally, that is), Sony will be ready to launch PS 3 (Yes, the XBox 360 is yet to launch in India.)!
Another thing to consider is the price of such goods. As they are mostly imported by third party distributors, they retain their USD prices, and add in a profit margin, thus putting in grossly out of the hand of most average people.
Let’s go back to the monthly thingy again, shall we? For a $4000/month earning American, buying a $1399 MacBook is a good choice, and one that can be done without much saving and thinking. However, for INR 25000 earning guy from India, buying a MacBook worth INR 70000 involves planning, careful consideration, and months of prior savings.

Coming to myself, I find it really really tough to cope with this situation. And I face it more often than many others as I interact with people all over the World over the internet. When I charge for web design, I am always at two minds over what to charge, and almost always ask a friend. On one side, my mind tells me that I’ll be content with an INR value that I know is much smaller than what many people ask. At the other side, I also wonder whether I’m cheating myself by asking a price that’s much lesser than what is expected off it.
I’ve been approached a few times by people who are interested by the fact that I’m Indian. So, when I ask a price in USD, most of them are surprised. I’ve even had people say, “But aren’t you Indians supposed to be cheap?” I’m highly offended by these remarks, and never entertain such people.
I know I haven’t been able to charge as high as many designers do, but slowly and surely, I’m getting there. As for those of you who say that I’m not worthy of charging such high prices, I say, screw you.

It’s a long and hard road to understanding the true value of the $. I don’t know whether charging in $ is the right thing to do for me or not.
I am not at all for outsourcing. I know it’s good for our economy, but it ain’t good for humanity. That’s the sole reason why I’ve decided to charge the same as everyone else in web designing. Because the moment you start providing goods at a rate that’s 80% cheaper than the original, people will flock to you, and view you in a different light. You’ll also lose respect of colleagues in the same field. I’ve decided to earn that respect.

fn1. Equivalent here is the Euro and Pound, maybe the various other $’s.

fn2. Cheap here can signify 2 things. The first being “Relatively low in cost; inexpensive or comparatively inexpensive”. The second degrading meaning being “Of poor quality; inferior: a cheap toy.” or “Worthy of no respect; vulgar or contemptible: a cheap gangster.”

fn3. again, the cheap in the quotes signifies meaning 2, which many Americans have come to believe.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 30th, 2006 at 12:14 am and is filed under Life, Me. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.