In 1997, Compaq scored a major pricing coup by offering the first major-label desktop for under $1,000. Now, Compaq acquirer HP is offering a desktop (sans monitor) for $249, almost to the magic $199 consumer electronics price point. With back-to-school … Read More
Author Archives: Reuben Swartz
Oracle Pricing “A Comedy of Fractions”
We’ve had several posts on how advances in chip technology make the traditional “per-CPU” software pricing model less and less compelling. Oracle had stuck firm to its “one core = one CPU” policy. They’ve relented, but in a way that … Read More
Delta Rethinks Fare Caps
Delta raised their one-way, walk-up fares caps from $499 to $599 for coach, and up to $699 for first class. They attributed the fare increase to higher than expected fuel costs. As the reader who sent this piece in asked: … Read More
Saks Submits Documents in Markdowns Lawsuit
As noted earlier, clothing vendors have started suing retailers over payments. The heart of the matter is the actual price the customer pays for the merchandise, which then gets divided between the retailer and the maker. So if the customer … Read More
Sorry If I’ve Lost Any Comments
I’ve been trying to streamline the commenting system, and I think most comments from the old system have been preserved, but if I’ve missed any, particularly if you asked questions, please let me know.
Your Thoughts on the Tyranny of Averages
One of things that’s struck me lately is how much we rely on “averages”, and how misleading those averages can be. I’d love to get your comments on this (anonymous is fine). The power of averages is that they can … Read More
Yield Management at the Cinema Takes a Small Step Forward
Movie showings are a lot like airplane flights– revenue comes from putting people in seats, and if you don’t have someone in a seat for the movie, you’ve missed out on that revenue opportunity forever. In other words, it’s a … Read More
Ford Does Conjoint Analysis Online
After giving Ford a hard time in my previous post, I’m happy to report that they’ve also been doing some innovative pricing research. According to The Car Connection, the pre-launch site for the upcoming Fusion model included randomized base and … Read More
Big 3 Auto Makers Sell Price– Toyota Continues to Sell Cars
Ford and (Daimler)Chrysler matched GM’s “Employee Pricing For All” program with similar programs of their own. GM’s sales surged 41% in June, thanks to the new pricing program. I have two main thoughts about this. First, if you have to … Read More
Oracle Acquires Pricing Firm
Oracle announced that it will buy ProfitLogic, a retail price optimization software vendor for undisclosed terms. The addition of ProfitLogic will provide an interesting edge as no other large suite vendor offers price optimization capabilities. The buy comes on the … Read More