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Pricing niche products

kevinlynagh.com

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Re: Pricing niche products

#271

Post by huac »

chinhodado wrote: post #64

A technical question, how was the Vickrey auction done to ensure that you can't just enter a bogus high price?

the Vickrey auction mechanism itself is incentive compatible - each agent maximizes their utility by bidding their true value. the article wasn't explicit on this front* but it's true!

* "All buyers will likely all pay less than they were willing to pay, which makes ‘em feel like they got a good deal." -- buyers maximize utility by bidding true value, if they bid true value, they will _always_ pay no more than their true value, so the expected value is positive. there's no "likely" to it!

Re: Pricing niche products

#272

Post by cr0sh »

miceexpert wrote: post #92
terrellm wrote: post #46

I so want to get into mechnical keyboards but most of my work is done on a 2015 MacBook Pro and I'm so efficient with the large trackpad - I rest my palms on the laptop and can reach everything with just a pivot of the wrist. I tried the Magic Trackpad, but I kept having to move my forearm and it just slowed me down too much. What kind of mouse or trackpad is everyone using with these $xxx - $xxxx keyboards?

> What kind of mouse or trackpad is everyone using with these $xxx - $xxxx keyboards? Mice with holes. Your mouse must have holes. https://i.redd.it/i5s6j18i3hp31.jpg https://i.imgur.com/DSW0lvH.jpg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14d68Wgwevs https://en.reddit.com/r/MouseReview/

None of those look nearly as good as the GITs inspired, Masamune Shirow designed PS/2 serial mouse I own (only as a collector's item - I don't use it). Found it cheap on Ebay years ago. Today I don't even want to think of what it would cost (I'm sure it's become a collectors item of some sort).

Re: Pricing niche products

#273

Post by NeedMoreTea »

sorokod wrote: post #233
james-mcelwain wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The key difference being audiophiles often fail A/B tests comparing audio quality. You would definitely notice how nice an expensive mechanical keyboard feels. Whether you think that is worth luxury pricing is another story, but the quality is at least more immediately appreciable.

Putting definitely in italics dosent make it true. I would be curious about A/B/C test for different prices such as 600/300/100

Play the same source back to back between A and B, and it's incredibly easy to tell the difference between two different amps, speakers, CD players, record decks and even cartridges at various price bands. Frequently it was far from subtle, but quite extreme, particularly at the cheaper end, but still quite easy between £2,500 components (or cartridges in the hundreds).

The question as to which was more accurate, or which you prefer is an entirely different one.

Now I could never tell any difference between £5 standard interconnect and £100+ directional silliness, or beyond QED standard £1/m speaker cable. Needless to say I never bought any of that. So I've never understood the appeal of lunatic territory with £5k mains cables that look more suitable for mooring a ship.

Re: Pricing niche products

#274

Post by jpindar »

tvanantwerp wrote: post #224
equalunique wrote: post #6

It's disappointing how so much money is being poured into "mechanical keyboard kits" that simply re-create the old ANSI/ISO layouts that are rooted in old limitations from the days of the typewriter. Alternate layouts & ortholinear/ergonomic designs should be the forefront of the movement. All this focus on outdated designs makes the community "accessible" but also holds people back. The emergence of row-staggered 40…

I'm someone who really wants to try one of these newer split keyboards, but absolutely does not want to solder the damn thing together myself. I not only wish there were more of these keyboards, but I wish it were easy to just buy one all put-together.

Wouold you be willing to pay someone to assemble it for you? It might be cheaper than you think.

Re: Pricing niche products

#276

Post by joyjoyjoy »

CommieBobDole wrote: post #114

These things have become so esoteric and expensive because the mechanical keyboard hobby is undergoing a more intense version of what happens to most hobbies/pastimes; the purpose of the hobby has transitioned from primarily "making/using the thing" to "obtaining and displaying ever more extreme versions of the thing to impress other people who know about the thing". I feel like this is an outgrowth of the basic huma…

"you're not spending $1600 on a keyboard to improve your"

Well, it is $1600 for a keyboard that you are using 8h a day for the next five years vs a $5 Latte that you are enjoying the next 4 minutes. You do the math.

Re: Pricing niche products

#277

Post by phjesusthatguy3 »

phjesusthatguy3 wrote: post #105
lewisflude wrote: post #12

I'm in the $600+ club too (Kepler that has a full brass bottom weight 6+kg, Kepler 65 with it's forged carbon top etc.) It's a really strange hobby. A bunch of people who really value and love keyboards, the thing that sits between a human and a computer, a tool that many (developers, writers, gamers) use every day for hours on end. Similar to how someone might invest in a nice knife if they love cooking, luxury-pric…

HN lambasts audiophiles every time stupid expensive audio gear comes up, yet here we are paying $hundreds for gimmick keyboard stuff. SF developers making $100k or two a year just aren't in the same money league of the audiophiles spending $thousands on speaker wire. EDIT: I'm not mad at any of the above groups I've mentioned; everybody gets their kicks from something, as well they should. I'm just mentioning what I…

The one set of dirt-cheap headphones everyone seems to agree on is the KOSS KSC75[0]. What is the KSC75 of the keyboard world? Is there such a thing? There was a story on HN[1] a month or so ago about the Amazon Basics keyboard that everyone ate alive for being so... cheap?

[0]https://www.koss.com/headphones/ear-clip/ksc75

[1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20866319

Re: Pricing niche products

#278

Post by [deleted] »

criley2 wrote: post #217
School-Cotton wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I own a $1000 phone and avoid as much as possible other people in public seeing it, because I don't want it to get stolen and I think being recognized for owning a "status symbol" is awkward. Is it really so hard to believe that some people buy the most expensive iPhone simply because it's the best phone available on the market?

"Is it really so hard to believe that some people buy the most expensive iPhone simply because it's the best phone available on the market?" I can believe that you THINK it's the best, and worth the money -- that's literally what advertising is for and how status symbols work -- but of course I would reject any claim that any $1000 phone is worth it on the merits. (Example, this 'pro' branded flagship phone comes sta…

[deleted]

Re: Pricing niche products

#279

Post by kragen »

sova wrote: post #257
kragen wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It might be harder to convince your subscribers that your servers can only support 10 subscribers. They might band together to buy an account for a proxy server. Maybe if you're selling something inherently limited, like sponsorship banner space, or indulgences in inter-user conflicts (“we guarantee to ban any non-core-supporter who reports your account as abusive”).

It's a language learning curriculum in our case, so individual progress is tied to the subscription, making it undesirable to share (but possible s'pose)

Could you auction off private tutoring time? Or being first in line to pick the other website user you get to practice language with.

Re: Pricing niche products

#280

Post by goldenchrome »

joyjoyjoy wrote: post #276
CommieBobDole wrote: post #114

These things have become so esoteric and expensive because the mechanical keyboard hobby is undergoing a more intense version of what happens to most hobbies/pastimes; the purpose of the hobby has transitioned from primarily "making/using the thing" to "obtaining and displaying ever more extreme versions of the thing to impress other people who know about the thing". I feel like this is an outgrowth of the basic huma…

"you're not spending $1600 on a keyboard to improve your" Well, it is $1600 for a keyboard that you are using 8h a day for the next five years vs a $5 Latte that you are enjoying the next 4 minutes. You do the math.

The difference here being that a decent latte costs about $5 but a decent keyboard costs maybe $50.
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