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
Author Archives: Reuben Swartz
Unbundling
Have you been part of a discussion where everyone at your company believed that their offering provided more value than a competitor’s, but the customers just don’t see it? The marketing team often thinks sales doesn’t know how to sell … Read More
Price Segmentation
Outside of work, when people learn what I do for a living, I tend to get one of two responses. Most likely, people nod politely while looking for exits. Or, they tell me “we sell widgets, and I know we’re … Read More
French Court Rules Free Shipping Illegal
A French court ruled that Amazon’s free shipping policy violates a law that forbids booksellers from discounting more than 5% off list price. Rather than stopping the practice, Amazon has upped the ante, continuing the policy in the face of … 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
Price of 12 Days of Christmas hits all-time high
According to PNC, the price of the “12 Days of Christmas” (Christmas Price Index, or CPI) rose 3.1%, driven by the rising price of gold and the minimum wage hike, which increased the cost of maids-a-milking. The total cost of … Read More
Cheese Alert: 7 Tips for Raising Prices
It’s almost the end of the year, which means many companies are putting the final touches on their 2008 price lists, and a lot of people are getting ready to have uncomfortable conversations with customers about why their prices are … Read More
Give Their Pricing Team a Bonus
Scotland recently paid £125,000 (over $250,000) to advertising firm The Leith Agency to come up with a new slogan to welcome visitors to Scotland. The old phrase “Scotland, the Best Small Country in the World” typified the “Scottish cringe” according … Read More
A Powerful Pricing Thought Experiment
Courtesy of Seth Godin, who asks you to think about real estate agents charging 6% of a transaction, and facing mounting price pressure. The challenge is… what if you had to charge 7%. What if you had to charge more … Read More
A Great Dilbert Comic
Today’s comic is great; it makes fun of pricing and consulting in the same strip.