Minnesota state Senator Dick Day has had it with gas stations charging fractions of a penny for gas. If he gets his way and abolishes fractional pricing, stations will round up to the nearest penny, perhaps costing drivers an extra … Read More
Blog
Upcoming Talks: Pricing with Imperfect Information
I had a post back in December about pricing with imperfect information. This will also be the subject of two upcoming talks, one at the PROS Pricing Conference in March, and one at the Professional Pricing Society Conference in May. … Read More
Evils of Codesharing– Why Insist that Your Product Is a Commodity?
Many (most?) blogs are more a collection of rants than useful information. I have tried hard to avoid that. However, a recent experience requires a rant, and may provide useful information as well. Back in December, I got bumped from … Read More
Metreo Acquired by Holding Group
Symphony Technology Group, a holding company in Palo Alto, California, acquired neighbor Metreo, after Metreo put its assets up for sale following a default on a loan. Symphony replaced Metreo CEO Daphne Carmelli, who will remain as a consultant to … Read More
Rude Restaurant Bartenders– It’s About Fencing
Here’s a timely article that makes a good example for our Good Fences Make Good Prices post. about why restaurants offer food service at the bar, and why the level of customer service there may be very different from the … Read More
The Paradox of Choice
I recently read a great book by Barry Schwartz called The Paradox of Choice, Why More Is Less, which discusses why Americans have every-increasing choice and material plenty along with increasing rates of depression and dissatisfaction. His basic thesis is … Read More
Metreo “Hits Wall”, Assets to Be Liquidated
Metreo, former darling of the venture capital community, will be liquidated by creditors this week after failing to make debt payments. The MSNBC report illustrates the danger of plotting growth curves for very small companies: The company had reported revenue … Read More
How Much for That Aisle Seat?
Airline industry analyst Terry Trippler predicts we’ll see surcharges for assigned seats and aisle seats by the end of the year. Airlines have already started charging for “meals” that make the mediocre, overpriced airport fare seem like a good deal. … Read More
Good Fences Make … Good Prices
Slate had an interesting article today about why Starbucks doesn’t advertise its “Short” size. Basically, they create a fence that makes it harder to order the smaller, less profitable (but tastier) drink. As an aside, when Starbucks began, they had … Read More
Spitzer Sets Sights on Digital Music
New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer has begun a “preliminary investigation” into whether record labels are colluding to set prices for digital music downloads. I don’t know whether this is based on any evidence, or just Spitzer seeing smoke, assuming … Read More