9 ms·

Wouldn't it make more sense that the price would go down as more are purchased, as the most popular logos are already taken? Is someone really going to pay $100

by pram 10y ago

Wouldn't it make more sense that the price would go down as more are purchased, as the most popular logos are already taken? Is someone really going to pay $1000 for 'Mr. Grin'

jaz46 10y ago
I think he just wants to encourage people to buy some of the logos quickly while the the prices are cheap. Forces immediate action instead of waiting and thinking about it. I doubt there's any expectation that he'll sell all or even most of the logos in this fashion and it's certainly not revenue-maximizing -- but that clearly doesn't seem to be the goal.
ISL 10y ago
If there's a logo there that you like, the upward-racheting price adds urgency and drives a 'need to pounce' lest a) it disappear, and b) the price increase. The author is pouring gasoline onto the impulse-buying fire. At the long end, there are plenty of people who might pay a premium for a logo from someone whose logos are so good that they sold 48 of them in a day.... The author/artist is clever.
nolemurs 10y ago
I think you maybe misunderstand the point of this web site. The designer has no interest in selling all or even most of the logos at the sort of market rate they could actually command. The website is much more useful as a portfolio/marketing tool than as an actual logo store. What the designer wants is for the price to rise high enough to prove that he can sell logos and to set expectations for clients who want custom work, while also guaranteeing that most of the logos go unsold thus keeping his portfolio active and engaging. If the price went down with each logo sold, he might never even get that first sale, and if he did, there would eventually be a snowball effect which would lead to everything selling out, and his no longer having such a neat attention-getting portfolio.
sborra 10y ago
Thought the same thing, Cheap first picks and expensive leftovers doesn't sound so smart.
condescendence 10y ago
After spending much time among entrepreneurs I find that there are very few with a "business" mind. Great idea, horrible model. This pricing model is so far out of left field that I had to do some research to see if it's ever been successful. It hasn't. Although https://github.com/metafizzy https://github.com/metafizzy is kinda interesting (what this websites UI is based off of)
- leesalminen 10y ago
  I've purchased multiple licenses from MetaFizzy. Good software and great folks over there! The founder reached out personally after purchase to learn more about our use of his product and sent me some stickers.
- tptacek 10y ago
  Seems to be working reasonably well so far today.
  - RussianCow 10y ago
    Except now it's stopped at $320. That's an average of $93.33 per logo (if my math is right). They would make more money by simply selling the logos for $100 each, and they would probably sell way more logos.
    - whamlastxmas 10y ago
      At $560 only 6 hours later from your comment
    - incongruity 10y ago
      If he sells all 50 that he has, he'd net an average of $1020 per logo. (First one was $40, price increases by $40 per logo, last logo is $2,000, total net is $51,000)
      - RussianCow 10y ago
        That's a highly unlikely "if". I doubt they'll sell any logos for much more than $400, which averages "only" $146.66 per logo. That's pretty good one-off revenue if the logos were already finished, especially considering they can probably sell the remainders on the side for some extra cash, but it's probably not a sustainable business model.
arcatek 10y ago
English not being my native language, reading your comment just made me realize the ":mrgreen:" pun (the smiley code that was shipped with standard phpBB installations).
Kiro 10y ago
I don't know. I think the feeling of getting it cheaper if you jump on early outweighs it.
- RussianCow 10y ago
  The early momentum is great, but the problem is sales will basically stop after the price hits a certain level.
  - lallysingh 10y ago
    This is a promotion to make people excited about the logos that this guy creates. The pricing of the individual logos is irrelevant outside of the promotional value they give to the designer. Adding some tension like this increases perceived value, and watching other people take logos due to the raising price makes the perceived value go up even more.
  - pbhjpbhj 10y ago
    >sales will basically stop after the price hits a certain level // Sales from the site, but not referral sales for bespoke logos. Also it helps to provide information as to the price that people will pay for logos.
  - IanCal 10y ago
    Seems like a pretty good way of finding out an upper limit to a sustainable logo sales business. Increase prices until people stop buying, relaunch with logos a bit below that cost.
    - RussianCow 10y ago
      I agree, seems like a great price experiment if nothing else.
  - sova 10y ago
    yeah just like at apple where people stop paying absurd prices for stuff ;D
doppel 10y ago
I assume the argument is that people will see it and strike "while the price is right". While $1000 is not cheap, it's also not exactly exorbitant when you consider the cost of creating your own logo or hiring someone to make it.
- gthtjtkt 10y ago
  99Designs is cheaper than the current price ($320). Plus you get to have input and request revisions.
  - vidarh 10y ago
    Which takes time, and time is money. If you find a logo you like here that you can just snap up, that may very well be worth a higher price than giving input into creating something you don't know if will come out the way you want it.
eloisant 10y ago
I think he wants people to hurry and buy it now before it goes up, rather than holding off and wait until it gets cheap enough. That's a classical business move, like any "time limited sale", force people to buy it right now before they have the time to think whether they need it or not.
- corysama 10y ago
  Yep. This isn't a store, it's an event. The price model is about introducing time pressure to motivate you to buy right now rather than take the time to investigate alternatives. If the price reduced as more were sold, it would motivate a competition around "how long can I risk waiting for the price to go down?" which would lead to people leaving and forgetting to come back.
- xigency 10y ago
  Does a logo really strike you as a thing that you want to "hurry and buy it now" compared to spending some time looking at it?
  - nzp 10y ago
    Yes, actually, there are at least a couple (one especially) there I would not think twice buying if I had any financial justification (a business to attach it to or even just expendable money). He gets this particular design style perfectly, and these are really high quality logos.
  - ytjohn 10y ago
    Sure. Maybe not for a company, but a lot of times, people put logos on individual projects. Maybe not around the current price of $500, but at the earlier lower prices, I could see someone looking at a logo and impulse buying it for a public-facing side project they've been working on.
jrs235 10y ago
Yes, eventually sales will slow down as the price becomes too much. But in the interim the pricing model creates a sense of urgency that is likely to increase sales now. With the site most likely being used to market and sell custom logos (in and for the log run) his current pricing model doesn't seem that bad. Not to mention the pricing model also has some baked in social proof... someone paid $xxx for one of his cookie cutter logos! "Someone else found it to be worth it, I won't be outlandishly foolish if I buy one too..."
davemel37 10y ago
Two points. 1. Peoples tastes are subjective, so while Mr. Grin is likely not going to sell IMO, who knows who else might like it. The pricing accomplishes two great things that are quite brilliant. When someone is ready to buy, there are two excuses they turn to to not take action. The first is trust and the second is procrastination. Within the context of trust, is value (is it a good deal). By having the price go up, and inventory disappearing, you conquer both excuses. 1. Social proof of a) others like these logos and b) others are willing to pay this price for that value. 2. As the price goes up, you get worried about paying too much for something you want and wondering if you will lose out on a logo you like. Both of these compel you to take action. As you wait, your risk of missing out or getting ripped off go up in a very visual and real way. This also does a great job of framing the logo value when you order custom from the designer. All in all, it is pretty brilliant IMO.
snowfield 10y ago
Not really, this way you find the price people are willing to pay for your product
calbear81 10y ago
Actually, coming from a marketing perspective, this model is sort of like the Kickstarter model. Those who take a risk with a logo before the design firm has been established with a reputation will get a high discount factor but as more clients buy logo, the designer establishes a track record and can thus command higher prices since they can show a past history of sales/clients.
IshKebab 10y ago
No because price increases incentivise buying now. Price decreases incentivise waiting.

by pram 10y ago

Wouldn't it make more sense that the price would go down as more are purchased, as the most popular logos are already taken? Is someone really going to pay $1000 for 'Mr. Grin'

jaz46 10y ago

I think he just wants to encourage people to buy some of the logos quickly while the the prices are cheap. Forces immediate action instead of waiting and thinking about it. I doubt there's any expectation that he'll sell all or even most of the logos in this fashion and it's certainly not revenue-maximizing -- but that clearly doesn't seem to be the goal.

ISL 10y ago

If there's a logo there that you like, the upward-racheting price adds urgency and drives a 'need to pounce' lest a) it disappear, and b) the price increase. The author is pouring gasoline onto the impulse-buying fire. At the long end, there are plenty of people who might pay a premium for a logo from someone whose logos are so good that they sold 48 of them in a day.... The author/artist is clever.

nolemurs 10y ago

I think you maybe misunderstand the point of this web site. The designer has no interest in selling all or even most of the logos at the sort of market rate they could actually command. The website is much more useful as a portfolio/marketing tool than as an actual logo store. What the designer wants is for the price to rise high enough to prove that he can sell logos and to set expectations for clients who want custom work, while also guaranteeing that most of the logos go unsold thus keeping his portfolio active and engaging. If the price went down with each logo sold, he might never even get that first sale, and if he did, there would eventually be a snowball effect which would lead to everything selling out, and his no longer having such a neat attention-getting portfolio.

sborra 10y ago

Thought the same thing, Cheap first picks and expensive leftovers doesn't sound so smart.

condescendence 10y ago

After spending much time among entrepreneurs I find that there are very few with a "business" mind. Great idea, horrible model. This pricing model is so far out of left field that I had to do some research to see if it's ever been successful. It hasn't. Although https://github.com/metafizzy https://github.com/metafizzy is kinda interesting (what this websites UI is based off of)

leesalminen 10y ago
I've purchased multiple licenses from MetaFizzy. Good software and great folks over there! The founder reached out personally after purchase to learn more about our use of his product and sent me some stickers.
tptacek 10y ago
Seems to be working reasonably well so far today.
- RussianCow 10y ago
  Except now it's stopped at $320. That's an average of $93.33 per logo (if my math is right). They would make more money by simply selling the logos for $100 each, and they would probably sell way more logos.
  - whamlastxmas 10y ago
    At $560 only 6 hours later from your comment
  - incongruity 10y ago
    If he sells all 50 that he has, he'd net an average of $1020 per logo. (First one was $40, price increases by $40 per logo, last logo is $2,000, total net is $51,000)
    - RussianCow 10y ago
      That's a highly unlikely "if". I doubt they'll sell any logos for much more than $400, which averages "only" $146.66 per logo. That's pretty good one-off revenue if the logos were already finished, especially considering they can probably sell the remainders on the side for some extra cash, but it's probably not a sustainable business model.

arcatek 10y ago

English not being my native language, reading your comment just made me realize the ":mrgreen:" pun (the smiley code that was shipped with standard phpBB installations).

Kiro 10y ago

I don't know. I think the feeling of getting it cheaper if you jump on early outweighs it.

RussianCow 10y ago
The early momentum is great, but the problem is sales will basically stop after the price hits a certain level.
- lallysingh 10y ago
  This is a promotion to make people excited about the logos that this guy creates. The pricing of the individual logos is irrelevant outside of the promotional value they give to the designer. Adding some tension like this increases perceived value, and watching other people take logos due to the raising price makes the perceived value go up even more.
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  >sales will basically stop after the price hits a certain level // Sales from the site, but not referral sales for bespoke logos. Also it helps to provide information as to the price that people will pay for logos.
- IanCal 10y ago
  Seems like a pretty good way of finding out an upper limit to a sustainable logo sales business. Increase prices until people stop buying, relaunch with logos a bit below that cost.
  - RussianCow 10y ago
    I agree, seems like a great price experiment if nothing else.
- sova 10y ago
  yeah just like at apple where people stop paying absurd prices for stuff ;D

doppel 10y ago

I assume the argument is that people will see it and strike "while the price is right". While $1000 is not cheap, it's also not exactly exorbitant when you consider the cost of creating your own logo or hiring someone to make it.

gthtjtkt 10y ago
99Designs is cheaper than the current price ($320). Plus you get to have input and request revisions.
- vidarh 10y ago
  Which takes time, and time is money. If you find a logo you like here that you can just snap up, that may very well be worth a higher price than giving input into creating something you don't know if will come out the way you want it.

eloisant 10y ago

I think he wants people to hurry and buy it now before it goes up, rather than holding off and wait until it gets cheap enough. That's a classical business move, like any "time limited sale", force people to buy it right now before they have the time to think whether they need it or not.

corysama 10y ago
Yep. This isn't a store, it's an event. The price model is about introducing time pressure to motivate you to buy right now rather than take the time to investigate alternatives. If the price reduced as more were sold, it would motivate a competition around "how long can I risk waiting for the price to go down?" which would lead to people leaving and forgetting to come back.
xigency 10y ago
Does a logo really strike you as a thing that you want to "hurry and buy it now" compared to spending some time looking at it?
- nzp 10y ago
  Yes, actually, there are at least a couple (one especially) there I would not think twice buying if I had any financial justification (a business to attach it to or even just expendable money). He gets this particular design style perfectly, and these are really high quality logos.
- ytjohn 10y ago
  Sure. Maybe not for a company, but a lot of times, people put logos on individual projects. Maybe not around the current price of $500, but at the earlier lower prices, I could see someone looking at a logo and impulse buying it for a public-facing side project they've been working on.

jrs235 10y ago

Yes, eventually sales will slow down as the price becomes too much. But in the interim the pricing model creates a sense of urgency that is likely to increase sales now. With the site most likely being used to market and sell custom logos (in and for the log run) his current pricing model doesn't seem that bad. Not to mention the pricing model also has some baked in social proof... someone paid $xxx for one of his cookie cutter logos! "Someone else found it to be worth it, I won't be outlandishly foolish if I buy one too..."

davemel37 10y ago

Two points. 1. Peoples tastes are subjective, so while Mr. Grin is likely not going to sell IMO, who knows who else might like it. The pricing accomplishes two great things that are quite brilliant. When someone is ready to buy, there are two excuses they turn to to not take action. The first is trust and the second is procrastination. Within the context of trust, is value (is it a good deal). By having the price go up, and inventory disappearing, you conquer both excuses. 1. Social proof of a) others like these logos and b) others are willing to pay this price for that value. 2. As the price goes up, you get worried about paying too much for something you want and wondering if you will lose out on a logo you like. Both of these compel you to take action. As you wait, your risk of missing out or getting ripped off go up in a very visual and real way. This also does a great job of framing the logo value when you order custom from the designer. All in all, it is pretty brilliant IMO.

snowfield 10y ago

Not really, this way you find the price people are willing to pay for your product

calbear81 10y ago

Actually, coming from a marketing perspective, this model is sort of like the Kickstarter model. Those who take a risk with a logo before the design firm has been established with a reputation will get a high discount factor but as more clients buy logo, the designer establishes a track record and can thus command higher prices since they can show a past history of sales/clients.

IshKebab 10y ago

No because price increases incentivise buying now. Price decreases incentivise waiting.