A Rule of Thumb: Pricing Should Be Simple • Hacker News Board

Re: A Rule of Thumb: Pricing Should Be Simple

#21

Post by magicofpi » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 4:24 AM UTC

isleyaardvark wrote: post #12

magicofpi wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, the iPad's pricing is relatively simple to figure out: $499, plus $100 for every storage increase after that. If you want 3G, that's $130 extra. The New York Times, on the other hand, seems less logical. The website+smartphone app is $15/4 weeks, the website+tablet app is $20, all three is $35, so the website is worth... nothing? Or, you could go with the home delivery option, which would cost you $455 (all dig…

More importantly the iPad's pricing is normal. The Nook, the Kindle, and the Xoom all come in different versions. People expect to pay different amounts for different hardware. Nobody's doing what the NYT is doing. Netflix and Hulu are given as examples of content producers that have a simple pricing scheme over multiple devices. Lots of people use those services. The NYT pricing not only violates expectations for on…

Yes, exactly. Perhaps the 4 weeks approach is to link it with the existing home delivery system (which is also calculated by week), but it sounds strange in practice.

I guess we'll see how it turns out, though. Maybe most customers won't actually mind these irregularities.

Re: A Rule of Thumb: Pricing Should Be Simple

#22

Post by makmanalp » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 5:11 AM UTC

e1ven wrote: post #17

I absolutely agree with this- I've been in negotiations with a CDN for the last week. They refused to send me real numbers, or give me a test file.. It was "Let's set this up, and a third party source will verify". What's the price? It depends on you, and what your needs will be in 9 months, and the phase of the moon, and my mood and and and. They ended up quoting me three different prices, each going UP because they…

Wow, yes. Another pet peeve of mine is just websites with no prices on them. You click, and arrive at a web contact form or phone number with "our sales associate will be happy to help!". No, goddamnit. I don't want to and don't have the time to get schmoozed by your associate. That's okay for one off, large, custom deals but for your daily routine sale, this is not okay. I'm just about to make a decision, and now it finally hinges on the price. I lack information on your product. The other one wins.

Re: A Rule of Thumb: Pricing Should Be Simple

#23

Post by chrisbolt » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 5:50 AM UTC

e1ven wrote: post #17

I absolutely agree with this- I've been in negotiations with a CDN for the last week. They refused to send me real numbers, or give me a test file.. It was "Let's set this up, and a third party source will verify". What's the price? It depends on you, and what your needs will be in 9 months, and the phase of the moon, and my mood and and and. They ended up quoting me three different prices, each going UP because they…

Did you try telling them you're going with a competitor? That might change their tune.

Re: A Rule of Thumb: Pricing Should Be Simple

#24

Post by e1ven » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 5:54 AM UTC

chrisbolt wrote: post #23

e1ven wrote: post #17

I absolutely agree with this- I've been in negotiations with a CDN for the last week. They refused to send me real numbers, or give me a test file.. It was "Let's set this up, and a third party source will verify". What's the price? It depends on you, and what your needs will be in 9 months, and the phase of the moon, and my mood and and and. They ended up quoting me three different prices, each going UP because they…

Did you try telling them you're going with a competitor? That might change their tune.

They made themselves not worth it by their process.

By the time I went got ahold of the Sales rep again, and had him return an email, I would have been done with the project with their competition.

Re: A Rule of Thumb: Pricing Should Be Simple

#25

Post by Ratfish » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 7:01 AM UTC

Another agreement. My pet peeve. Real-estate agents should put a price on houses they are trying to sell. I'll either buy, or I won't. Who wants to pay for building reports and lawyers before an auction just to turn up and realize they can't afford the property? Agents underestimate sale price to get people to come to auctions. And what's with silent auctions, and all their other BS. Ask for what you want by putting a price on whatever your selling.

Re: A Rule of Thumb: Pricing Should Be Simple

#26

Post by dantheman » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 7:55 AM UTC

jacobian wrote: post #16

follower wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> when I click "buy" on that 99¢ app I know I'll be billed exactly $1.07 (sales tax), not a cent more or less. Coming from a country that always includes (for consumers) tax in the advertised price I find it amusing that "99 cents becomes $1.07" is considered simple. :)

Indeed - it's pretty silly that in the US apps cost anywhere from 99¢ to $1.10 depending on where your credit card's billing zip code points to. But I can hardly hold Apple responsible for the US's lame sales tax system, and at least Apple doesn't add a $1-$2 "wetlands recovery fee" to my monthly bill. That's not a joke. AT&T does.

I'm glad sales tax is broken out like that, it reminds people how expensive the government is... imagine if people had to write a check for income tax and not have it automatically deducted each pay period.

Re: A Rule of Thumb: Pricing Should Be Simple

#27

Post by chris_vannoy » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 10:38 AM UTC

magicofpi wrote: post #21

isleyaardvark wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More importantly the iPad's pricing is normal. The Nook, the Kindle, and the Xoom all come in different versions. People expect to pay different amounts for different hardware. Nobody's doing what the NYT is doing. Netflix and Hulu are given as examples of content producers that have a simple pricing scheme over multiple devices. Lots of people use those services. The NYT pricing not only violates expectations for on…

Yes, exactly. Perhaps the 4 weeks approach is to link it with the existing home delivery system (which is also calculated by week), but it sounds strange in practice. I guess we'll see how it turns out, though. Maybe most customers won't actually mind these irregularities.

Actually, my guess is the every-four-weeks bit is to goose revenue.

With monthly, you're getting paid 12 times a year. With every four weeks, you get paid 13 times.

It's a nifty little sales trick. Most people (including me) automatically round four weeks up to a month before thinking about it.

Re: A Rule of Thumb: Pricing Should Be Simple

#28

Post by cao825 » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 10:42 AM UTC

As someone who works on the pricing system for a distribution company - this article may apply to retail, but it definitely does not apply to everything. Our suppliers try to screw us at every turn by making us deal with complex cost side, so we have to have an incredibly dynamic and flexible system to deal with an international customer base.