Monthly Archives: October 2006

The Price of Wine– Not About the Wine

What determines the price of wine? Not necessarily taste or quality, according to the Journal of Wine Economics. A summary in The Economist notes: The relationship between the price of a bottle of wine and its taste is weak, according … Read More

Vista a Chance for Microsoft to Flex Pricing Muscle?

PC maker Acer has accused Microsoft of shipping an inadequate low-end version of the upcoming Vista operating system to force more customers to move to the more expensive Vista Home Premium edition. Acer VP Jim Wong says that Microsoft’s own … Read More

Email Updates Now Available

Readers have asked for the ability to subscribe by email. Now there’s a link in the upper right corner for just that. Your email address will not be sold, rented, or used for anything other than delivering content from this … Read More

Why Pricing Is a CFO Priority

Shares of memory maker Sandisk fell by 20% despite higher reported profit, because investors fear that the company does not have the pricing power to sustain those profits. Some folks would say that the memory business is particularly price-sensitive, and … Read More

The Importance of Framing

This article from the LA Times discusses the importance of reference points in assessing the “fairness” of prices. The article notes: If you ask college students if the average price of a textbook is more or less that $7,000, they … Read More

Audi Aims for Pricing Parity

German luxury carmaker Audi announced plans to close the pricing gap with BMW and Mercedes-Benz by improving the product, customers’ perception, and raising prices over the next 5 years. The announcement comes as Toyota’s Lexus brand moves into the 6-figure … Read More

Seth Godin: Cheaper is the Last Refuge…

In a recent post, Seth Godin responds to someone seeking help persuading her boss to lower prices. Seth notes …perhaps she ought to consider raising prices and using the extra money to create a remarkable experience… Cheaper is a short … Read More

Oracle to Pay $98M Pricing Fine

Oracle agreed to pay a $98.5M fine, resulting from overcharging on government contracts by Oracle’s PeopleSoft subsidiary. (The overcharging took place before Oracle acquired PeopleSoft .) The government is always supposed to get the “best price”, but in some cases, … Read More

What’s on the minds of pricing people?

As I prepare to head out to the Fall Conference of the Professional Pricing Society, I’m wondering what do people consider the big issues pricing? Looking at the conference agenda, there has been a clear shift over the past several … Read More