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Affordable price with Purchasing Parity Power

Breakdown of Gumroad and Dracula UI's Purchasing Parity Power Discounting Logic

So I’ve been wanting to get the Dracula UI for a while. Since I was building up my personal blog now, and I really doesn’t want to just follow the default that comes with the theme, so I decided to get the palette from it, and see if I can make it work on my blog.

Just when I’m about to hit the buying button, this lovely banner bumps into my eyes:

Banner of PPP discount

I honestly don’t recall seeing that before, because 51% off is a huge price gap that should have made me buy it without a doubt when I first saw it. Nevertheless, before I make my way to checkout, I thought this is a good chance to try out the VPN subscription that Iโ€™ve been paying for a while. Although switching countries is just a click away, itโ€™s still a bit of a hassle, so after playing around with some neighboring countries, I dive deep into the code to see if thereโ€™s anything I can facilitate. First I found an API endpoint at https://ppp.dracula.workers.dev, which is an API that responds the discount based on the clientโ€™s IP address. Good enough, but can be better.

๐Ÿช„ Automate #

Then I suddenly realize, that the API is the single source of truth of the discount, since the merchant dealing the payment does not verify the code when the user is applying the code, and the code is just a country code suffix with the fixed string of UI, so I can just brute force the code with the ISO 3166-1 code.

Here is the results:

List of discount in different countries
CountryISO 3166-1Discount
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ IndonesiaID69%
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ UgandaUG69%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ AfghanistanAF68%
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฟ AlgeriaDZ68%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฟ AzerbaijanAZ68%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡พ LibyaLY68%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ South SudanSS68%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ท SurinameSR68%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ด AngolaAO67%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡พ BelarusBY67%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ EgyptEG67%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ถ IraqIQ67%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฌ KyrgyzstanKG67%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ MyanmarMM67%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ PakistanPK67%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Sri LankaLK67%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ Tanzania, United Republic ofTZ66%
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Viet NamVN66%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ CambodiaKH65%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ GambiaGM65%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ MadagascarMG65%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ท MauritaniaMR65%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฎ NicaraguaNI65%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ท ArgentinaAR64%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ KazakhstanKZ64%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ MalaysiaMY64%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ณ MongoliaMN64%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡จ SeychellesSC64%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฏ TajikistanTJ64%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท TรผrkiyeTR64%
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ UkraineUA64%
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ UzbekistanUZ64%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡น BhutanBT63%
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ด Dominican RepublicDO63%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฟ EswatiniSZ63%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น EthiopiaET63%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช GeorgiaGE63%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ GhanaGH63%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ IndiaIN63%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Lao People’s Democratic RepublicLA63%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ MalawiMW63%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ MozambiqueMZ63%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ต NepalNP63%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ NigeriaNG63%
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ผ RwandaRW63%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Sierra LeoneSL63%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฉ SudanSD63%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ณ TunisiaTN63%
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ ZimbabweZW63%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ซ Burkina FasoBF62%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฉ ChadTD62%
๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฒ OmanOM62%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡พ ParaguayPY62%
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russian FederationRU62%
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ ZambiaZM62%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ BeninBJ61%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ GuineaGN61%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ธ LesothoLS61%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ PhilippinesPH61%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Saudi ArabiaSA61%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฒ ArmeniaAM60%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ BangladeshBD60%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ MaliML60%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ MoroccoMA60%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฐ North MacedoniaMK60%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ TogoTG60%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ณ Brunei DarussalamBN59%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ CameroonCM59%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฌ CongoCG59%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Cรดte d’IvoireCI59%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ช NigerNE59%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ ThailandTH59%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ BulgariaBG58%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡บ MauritiusMU58%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ณ SenegalSN58%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฑ AlbaniaAL57%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฆ Bosnia and HerzegovinaBA57%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ผ KuwaitKW57%
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South AfricaZA57%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฒ TurkmenistanTM57%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ผ BotswanaBW56%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฎ BurundiBI56%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด ColombiaCO56%
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ SerbiaRS56%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฆ GabonGA55%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช PeruPE55%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ถ Equatorial GuineaGQ54%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ผ Guinea-BissauGW54%
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ด JordanJO54%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Moldova, Republic ofMD54%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฑ Timor-LesteTL54%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท BrazilBR53%
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ HungaryHU53%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ MexicoMX53%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ช MontenegroME53%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฆ NamibiaNA53%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ PolandPL53%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ป El SalvadorSV52%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ท Iran (Islamic Republic of)IR52%
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด RomaniaRO52%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan, Province of ChinaTW51%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡น Trinidad and TobagoTT51%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ด Bolivia (Plurinational State of)BO50%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ป Cabo VerdeCV50%
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ณ HondurasHN50%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช KenyaKE50%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ญ BahrainBH49%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡พ GuyanaGY49%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ EcuadorEC48%
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡น HaitiHT48%
๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ฆ QatarQA48%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ ChinaCN46%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฒ ComorosKM46%
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ฒ JamaicaJM46%
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฏ DjiboutiDJ45%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡น GuatemalaGT45%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฟ BelizeBZ44%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ ChileCL44%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Congo, Democratic Republic of theCD44%
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท CroatiaHR43%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น LithuaniaLT43%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ SlovakiaSK42%
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ UruguayUY41%
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฏ FijiFJ40%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ณ Saint Kitts and NevisKN40%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฆ PanamaPA39%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ช United Arab EmiratesAE39%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ CzechiaCZ38%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Antigua and BarbudaAG37%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ซ Central African RepublicCF37%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ป LatviaLV37%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ง LebanonLB37%
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡จ Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesVC37%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ผ ArubaAW36%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฌ Papua New GuineaPG36%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ SingaporeSG36%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ท Costa RicaCR34%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ป MaldivesMV33%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡น Sao Tome and PrincipeST33%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฉ GrenadaGD32%
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฒ DominicaDM30%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ด MacaoMO30%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช EstoniaEE29%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡น MaltaMT29%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท GreeceGR28%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡พ CyprusCY27%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ท NauruNR27%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ SloveniaSI27%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ท EritreaER26%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡จ Saint LuciaLC26%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น PortugalPT25%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Korea, Republic ofKR24%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ด TongaTO24%
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Hong KongHK23%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ท Puerto RicoPR21%
๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ธ SamoaWS21%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ SpainES21%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฎ KiribatiKI18%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฒ San MarinoSM17%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น ItalyIT12%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฝ ร…land IslandsAX0%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ธ American SamoaAS0%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฉ AndorraAD0%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฎ AnguillaAI0%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ถ AntarcticaAQ0%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ AustraliaAU0%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น AustriaAT0%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ธ BahamasBS0%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ง BarbadosBB0%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช BelgiumBE0%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฒ BermudaBM0%
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBQ0%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ป Bouvet IslandBV0%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ด British Indian Ocean TerritoryIO0%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ CanadaCA0%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡พ Cayman IslandsKY0%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Christmas IslandCX0%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡จ Cocos (Keeling) IslandsCC0%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Cook IslandsCK0%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡บ CubaCU0%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ผ CuraรงaoCW0%
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ DenmarkDK0%
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Falkland Islands (Malvinas)FK0%
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ด Faroe IslandsFO0%
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ FinlandFI0%
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท FranceFR0%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ซ French GuianaGF0%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ซ French PolynesiaPF0%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ซ French Southern TerritoriesTF0%
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช GermanyDE0%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎ GibraltarGI0%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฑ GreenlandGL0%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ต GuadeloupeGP0%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡บ GuamGU0%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฌ GuernseyGG0%
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Heard Island and McDonald IslandsHM0%
Holy SeeVA0%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ IcelandIS0%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช IrelandIE0%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Isle of ManIM0%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ IsraelIL0%
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต JapanJP0%
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ช JerseyJE0%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ต Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of)KP0%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ท LiberiaLR0%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฎ LiechtensteinLI0%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ LuxembourgLU0%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ญ Marshall IslandsMH0%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ถ MartiniqueMQ0%
๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡น MayotteYT0%
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Micronesia (Federated States of)FM0%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡จ MonacoMC0%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ธ MontserratMS0%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ NetherlandsNL0%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡จ New CaledoniaNC0%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ New ZealandNZ0%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡บ NiueNU0%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ซ Norfolk IslandNF0%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ต Northern Mariana IslandsMP0%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด NorwayNO0%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ผ PalauPW0%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ธ Palestine, State ofPS0%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ณ PitcairnPN0%
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ช RรฉunionRE0%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฑ Saint BarthรฉlemyBL0%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ญ Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSH0%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ซ Saint Martin (French part)MF0%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฒ Saint Pierre and MiquelonPM0%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Sint Maarten (Dutch part)SX0%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ง Solomon IslandsSB0%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ด SomaliaSO0%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ธ South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsGS0%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฏ Svalbard and Jan MayenSJ0%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช SwedenSE0%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ SwitzerlandCH0%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡พ Syrian Arab RepublicSY0%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฐ TokelauTK0%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡จ Turks and Caicos IslandsTC0%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ป TuvaluTV0%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandGB0%
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ United States Minor Outlying IslandsUM0%
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States of AmericaUS0%
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡บ VanuatuVU0%
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ช Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)VE0%
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฌ Virgin Islands (British)VG0%
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฎ Virgin Islands (U.S.)VI0%
๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ซ Wallis and FutunaWF0%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ญ Western SaharaEH0%
๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡ช YemenYE0%

The results are rather interesting. If you compare the results with the List of countries by GDP (PPP) per Capita, you can see there are some mismatches:

  • ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Singapore ranked with the 4th most purchasing power, but still has a 36% of discount
  • Same goes with ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Hong Kong, ranked around 11th ~ 12th with a 23% of discount
  • Many African has a high percentage of discount (e.g. ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Uganda has 69%), but some barely have any (๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ท Liberia, ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ด Somalia). Although some might be due to the sanctions, that’s just my guess.

Conclusion #

After some Googling, I’ve also discovered that Gumroad itself had built-in support for location deals, with some customizable options. Therefore, judging from the results, the author of Dracula UI not only grants the discount based on the purchasing power, but the disproportionate discount for some countries also shows that he is probably also granting the discount to reach more users that the theme is not yet popular in.

Nevertheless, this is a good chance and opportunity for me to dig into more about the purchasing power of different countries. Moreover, this mechanism is also a good way to bring equality to the world as an individual, and I would like to see more people doing this.