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Do not talk about pricing

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Re: Do not talk about pricing

#51

Post by cromulent »

FussyZeus wrote: post #37

How about instead of anchoring or negotiating or special discounts or sales or any of this nonsense, we have a simple agreement: I, a customer, will give you money for a product/service, and you deliver that product/service as described with no conditions, strings, or other such insulting attachments and we call it a freaking day? When did commerce get so bloody hard?

Totally agree, but I think haggling and anchoring have been around for a very long time, at least as long as markets. I don't see them going away any time soon.

Re: Do not talk about pricing

#52

Post by hartpuff »

tedmiston wrote: post #18

Just me or does anyone else only picture The New York Times when you hear "The Times"? Is that just me? Or just an American thing?

It's not just you, and probably not even just an American thing. I personally think of the The Times when I see "The Times", but I'm British, like the author of this Medium article.

I know why it happens, but it's somewhat ironic that The Times is given a made-up regional-sounding name (The London Times or Times of London) to differentiate it from shorthand versions of region-specific titles that are, directly or indirectly, inspired by The Times.

Re: Do not talk about pricing

#53

Post by tajen »

lucaspiller wrote: post #31
nitwit005 wrote: post #27

If you try to buy things, it's sometimes desperately frustrating that no one will just quote you a simple price. They have different pricing tiers, and want a salesperson to talk to you so they can pretend to give you a "special" discount, and all sorts of BS. I'm sure these things work, but they also alienate customers sometimes. People have founded entire businesses on offering clearer pricing schemes.

They do alienate customers, and for a lot of companies this is on purpose. Try finding a price for one of Oracle's or IBM's enterprise products on their website - you won't - their products aren't designed for the casual browser, they are designed for directors who have budgets in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars range (where strangely the price ends up pretty similar to the budget). This is the type…

I would argue that IBM's business is selling golf courses and Orlando software-and-wine conferences to CEOs, for having witnessed it, because honestly, which sysadmin would accept to run such horrible pieces of software (IBM Rational Suite or IBM FileNet), let alone... pay for it, really? It looks like nothing more than corruption of officers on fiduciary duty.

Secret pricing is exactly how they conduct that business: With no public price, employees can't challenge IBM's consultants to provide the value they're charged for. If all from Atlassian to SpaceX publish their pricing, any other behaviour should trigger a SEC investigation.

Re: Do not talk about pricing

#54

Post by Nimitz14 »

ipsin wrote: post #3
josephjrobison wrote: post #2

The most surprising thing I learned from this is that even juxtaposing two options will help you get higher pricing. When thinking of product and service pricing, for me it's difficult to invent three different options sometimes, so it's relieving to know that I could create just two and it will get me most of the way there. It is also crazy to think how relational it all is. I don't really need that extra $7 beer at…

For me, the thing is that you're buying one beer for $7 one time, not "beer in perpetuity, or until you remember to change your mind".

But you're also getting something for it in perpetuity.

People, I find, are simply irrational when it comes to monthly subscriptions. I'm a student with <1000E income and a monthly cost <20E doesn't even register; as long as I get something from it I want. If it's not big enough to induce a lifestyle change, what's the problem? So often I see people use Spotify and complain about the commercials, and I'm just like 'What is wrong with you? Literally nothing would change if you spent that money and clearly you would benefit from it. Why do you not do it?'

Re: Do not talk about pricing

#55

Post by labster »

increment_i wrote: post #35
wildmusings wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You make a good point but I don't think this is the main dynamic at play. I'm much more hesitant to buy a $5 app, a one-time purchase, than a $7 beer.

Is it possible that you now (like most consumers) have been conditioned to expect apps to be free? Meanwhile, nobody expects anyone to give them a pizza or a beer for free.

I guess you've never gone to university then, because those places don't function without free pizza. It is the only reliable way to get students (and postdocs) to attend your event.

(Yes, I'm aware that attendance is the "price" for the pizza, but let's just say that cold pizza can still be had for free.)

Re: Do not talk about pricing

#56

Post by CM30 »

If I get told to 'ask the sales team for a quote', then sorry, I'll find another product or service that just provides the information up front. Would I be willing to pay their prices if I talked to the sales guys? Maybe, but it's still an extra inconvenience that's easier to avoid than go along with.

And no offence, but it's very unlikely your product or service is that unique that there's no viable alternatives out there. That don't waste everyone's time.

Re: Do not talk about pricing

#57

Post by Consultant32452 »

cromulent wrote: post #51
FussyZeus wrote: post #37

How about instead of anchoring or negotiating or special discounts or sales or any of this nonsense, we have a simple agreement: I, a customer, will give you money for a product/service, and you deliver that product/service as described with no conditions, strings, or other such insulting attachments and we call it a freaking day? When did commerce get so bloody hard?

Totally agree, but I think haggling and anchoring have been around for a very long time, at least as long as markets. I don't see them going away any time soon.

It's certainly true that haggling and such have been around essentially forever, but scientific rigor hasn't. There are now entire generations of PhDs who have carefully studied these psychological phenomenon to maximize business' ability to squeeze every last drop of blood out of you. Meanwhile the consumer has been left relatively uneducated and unprepared to recognize and maneuver in this world.

Re: Do not talk about pricing

#59

Post by rargulati »

lucaspiller wrote: post #32
dingo_bat wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've noticed that I'm more open to spending money on food rather than things like apps/music etc. Buying a $2 app is a week-long decision for me. Whereas I regularly spend ~$10 on a pizza when I'm bored.

I'm the same and it doesn't really make any sense. Ok food is physical and tasty, but you enjoy it for maybe 15 minutes vs a game that could provide 100s of hours of entertainment?

Think you nailed it on the head with your example - with food, you're fulfilling a necessary contract with your body. You have to eat, and even if the pizza is terrible and you're unhappy with it, you've satisfied the necessity of eating.

With the app, not only are you out a few dollars, you potentially commit the sin of wasting your time by not fulfilling any desires. Though the upside is exponential (in relation to the food), so is the downside.

Re: Do not talk about pricing

#60

Post by jpetso »

Is it not notable how, among all of these examples and thought processes, not a single word was lost on the value provided to the totality of customers, in addition to how much is monetizable?

Obviously the ability to pay quality journalists is a valuable cause, but it irks me that retaining a large percentage of customers/consumers, and the corresponding potential to make much more of a difference in the world, isn't also considered a mention-worthy aim in itself.

Got the opportunity to cure diseases but decides to play mind games for fun instead? In a position to bring awesome tech to the masses but prefers to market it as luxury item to a limited audience? Making lots of profits already but spends serious effort to drive the competitor out of business to earn even more as monopolist? ...good for you, "disruptor".

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