Blockbuster paid $630,000 and offered refunds to some customers to settle suits in 47 states over its “No Late Fees” program, which actually charges late fees. The New Jersey suit is still pending. For those just tuning in, the suits … Read More
Monthly Archives: March 2005
Pricing Guaranteed to Make Millions Mad
I’ve referred to Microsoft pricing a number of times in my newsletter. They practice great segmentation, they create new markets by lowering price points, and of course, they get in trouble through aggressive discounting and bundling practices. One issue they’re … Read More
Learning from Buffett
In Berkshire Hathaways 2004 Annual Report, Warren Buffett talks about how to make money in the highly commoditized insurance business. In short, you underwrite business you think will be profitable, not business that is simply available. You do this by … Read More
Pitfalls of Best Pricing — Keeping Track
Best price guarantees are a great way to make customers feel good, and they can even contribute to higher prices in some markets, but you have to keep track of them. Nowhere is this more important than in dealings with … Read More
Outlawing Gender-Based Pricing
A recently married Ontario legislature has decided that price gaps between men’s and women’s clothing, shoes, dry cleaning, and hair styles are a human rights violation. Lorenzo Berardinetti has proposed a bill that would levy fines for those who offer … Read More
The 1% Discount Plan
How do you encourage loyalty among even the most price-sensitive customers? Loyalty programs are a big component of both consumer and business-to-business pricing strategies. (In B2B, they’re usually called rebates, promotional allowances, co-op advertising, or the like, but they’re essentially … Read More
PA State Gov Getting Out of Liquor Pricing?
The AP reports that The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board may allow stores to set their own prices on liquor. Since Prohibition, the state has required liquor stores to have uniform prices across the entire state for the first time since … Read More
Small Biz Owners: Keep Web Prices Current
Putting up a website can be a great way to promote a small business. Just make sure you keep it up to date. The owner of a restaurant in New Zealand pleaded guilty to violating the Fair Trading Act and … Read More
Nice Price Presentation
I’ve been meaning to write about some good pricing examples, and I found one at the airport yesterday morning (way too early). The menu read something like this: 2 Breakfast Tacos (Egg, Cheese & Potato).……6.692 Breakfast Tacos with Bacon ……………………..7.492 … Read More
Why Low Prices May Miss the Mark
There’s nothing like humor to get a point across. Dilbert is usually the king of office humor, but this Foxtrot strip says something important about how we often think about pricing.