In my line of work, I encounter a lot of small business owners who set their prices by copying the “going price” in “the market” or by sticking their fingers in the wind. This is unfortunate, but fixable. What really … Read More
psychology
If you think you’re worth it, but can’t say it…
A lot of businesses think they have a great product or service. Something above and beyond what the competition offers. But when it comes time to put a price on all this awesomeness, they are still cheaper than the competition. … Read More
Pricing and the Placebo Effect
This summer, Steve Silberman over at Wired wrote a great article called “Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why.” While the implications for pricing in the pharmaceutical industry are obvious, there are also important analogies to … Read More
I Am Rich– No More
We’ve had other discussions about how for some luxury goods, the exorbitant price is part of the value (see $300,000 watches that only tell you whether it’s day or night). Meanwhile, as some of you may have heard, Apple launched … Read More
An Innovative Way to Sell $50 T-Shirts
Here’s an interesting pricing model for t-shirts. 200nipples (yes, even the name is, umm, remarkable) sells limited edition runs of 100 tshirts. The first shirt costs $1, the second $2, all the way up to $100. This has the nice … Read More
The Psychology of Price Increases
In last week’s post How to Raise Prices, I referenced two interesting articles on techniques for raising prices, and also suggested using unbundling to differentiate between customers who want maximum value and customers who want minimum price. Today, let’s look … Read More
Luxury Pricing: Top This!
Although I’ve said before that with luxury items, the price is the value, I’m still occasionally astounded. Now along comes one of the most absurd items I’ve ever seen. Swiss watchmaker Romain Jerome created a watch they call “Night & … Read More
Pricing Advice from the World’s Oldest Profession
For many people watching the Elliot Spitzer scandal unfold, the shocking part of the story was not that a powerful politician went to a prostitute. That seems almost retro these days. What seemed jaw-dropping was the amount of money Spitzer … Read More
In Luxury Goods, Price is Part of the Value
Luxury vendors have long known that high price is part of their appeal. Not the price per se, but the exclusivity that comes with it. Like a peacock’s tail, the conspicuous consumption of goods that lack any practical purpose is … Read More
Back from the Writers’ Strike– A Daily Show and This Blog
As you may have noticed, the quantity and quality of posts has suffered since my writers have gone on strike. But like The A Daily Show, we’re back. Fittingly, when Jon Stewart returned to the studio last week, he had … Read More