3 ms·

Absolutely. But a company the size of AOL surely can't make the excuse that they have to start somewhere. According to internetworldstats North America is onl

by mixmax 19y ago

Absolutely. But a company the size of AOL surely can't make the excuse that they have to start somewhere. According to internetworldstats North America is only 18% of the global market. Even Europe is bigger with 26%. Sourse: (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm)

dgabriel 19y ago
There are also liability issues. This service is offered to US citizens only, possibly because their billing practices don't conform to laws of other nations. Localization of legal issues is costly and time consuming. If you examine the member agreement linked on that page, you see the following: 3. QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP To use the AOL Services, you must be a U.S. resident and legally able to enter into contracts. AOL reserves the right to limit you to one free trial or promotion of a paid subscription plan that cannot be combined with other offers.
- mixmax 19y ago
  Well if startups from small European countries can deal with that, the I'm sure large American companies can as well. If they choose to do so of course.
  - dgabriel 19y ago
    They can, for sure, and many of them do (just not all of them). It's a decision based on the cost of legal vs. the income benefit of providing services to the international market. AOL has apparently decided the US is its target market. You can get better free web mail from other sites, anyway. :)
    - mixmax 19y ago
      he he, yes absolutely... My point is not to downgrade American companies, it's more that I'm perplexed why some of them are content with such a small share of the global market. If an European startup can do it, then it seems like it is not an issue of it being too hard or too expensive.
  - tim2 19y ago
    Everyone wants to sue the billion dollar company, no one will bother suing the broke, gone-tomorrow startup.
yummyfajitas 19y ago
Marketing in the US: "Ebooks for sale." If you live in the same state as our office, pay sales tax, otherwise tax free. Marketing in the EU: "Ebooks for sale." Possibly illegal in France (do laws against free shipping apply to ebooks?). Some ebooks are not legal in some states, e.g. nazi-related books in Germany. Maybe I forgot a few other problems. Time to hire 27 lawyers to find out.

by mixmax 19y ago

dgabriel 19y ago

There are also liability issues. This service is offered to US citizens only, possibly because their billing practices don't conform to laws of other nations. Localization of legal issues is costly and time consuming. If you examine the member agreement linked on that page, you see the following: 3. QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP To use the AOL Services, you must be a U.S. resident and legally able to enter into contracts. AOL reserves the right to limit you to one free trial or promotion of a paid subscription plan that cannot be combined with other offers.

mixmax 19y ago
Well if startups from small European countries can deal with that, the I'm sure large American companies can as well. If they choose to do so of course.
- dgabriel 19y ago
  They can, for sure, and many of them do (just not all of them). It's a decision based on the cost of legal vs. the income benefit of providing services to the international market. AOL has apparently decided the US is its target market. You can get better free web mail from other sites, anyway. :)
  - mixmax 19y ago
    he he, yes absolutely... My point is not to downgrade American companies, it's more that I'm perplexed why some of them are content with such a small share of the global market. If an European startup can do it, then it seems like it is not an issue of it being too hard or too expensive.
- tim2 19y ago
  Everyone wants to sue the billion dollar company, no one will bother suing the broke, gone-tomorrow startup.

yummyfajitas 19y ago

Marketing in the US: "Ebooks for sale." If you live in the same state as our office, pay sales tax, otherwise tax free. Marketing in the EU: "Ebooks for sale." Possibly illegal in France (do laws against free shipping apply to ebooks?). Some ebooks are not legal in some states, e.g. nazi-related books in Germany. Maybe I forgot a few other problems. Time to hire 27 lawyers to find out.