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One of my favorite rules of thumb came from the Nichomachean Ethics where Aristotle said that in considering how much you should pay for a service rendered, you

One of my favorite rules of thumb came from the Nichomachean Ethics where Aristotle said that in considering how much you should pay for a service rendered, you should consider how much it was worth to you before it was accomplished. Not sure it's a documented bias, but it should be: the universal tendency to underappreciate what we already have.

schoen 9y ago
Related to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect (although that refers to being willing to pay more to avoid losing something than to acquire it in the first place). Edit: actually, I'm not clear on the difference between the endowment effect and loss aversion.
ams6110 9y ago
Colloquially, the call girl principle.
- Ntrails 9y ago
  I don't understand - the implication being that post "service" people tend to feel it wasn't worth the price?
  - dazc 9y ago
    I think the implication is that people are 'less willing to pay' rather than they 'feel it wasn't worth the price'? I, honestly, have never used the services of a call-girl but I can relate to the concept.
  - mattmanser 9y ago
    You lose power, the service has already been rendered but you've not been paid yet. You can't negotiate for payment by threatening to withhold service. Same thing happens to freelance developers and why some add kill switches[1]. You deliver, the client then says "It's not quite what I asked for, I'll give you Nothing/10%/50%/80% of what we agreed". Obviously it's worse for call girls as they can't take you to court in most countries, hence why they always ask for money up front. Their post-service negotiating position is extremely weak. So no money up front, no service. [1] I personally think that as long as you make it clear to the client + part of the contract that they only have a temporary licence key until full-payment, kill switches are fine. Adding it on the sly is not.

schoen 9y ago

Related to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect (although that refers to being willing to pay more to avoid losing something than to acquire it in the first place). Edit: actually, I'm not clear on the difference between the endowment effect and loss aversion.

ams6110 9y ago

Colloquially, the call girl principle.

Ntrails 9y ago
I don't understand - the implication being that post "service" people tend to feel it wasn't worth the price?
- dazc 9y ago
  I think the implication is that people are 'less willing to pay' rather than they 'feel it wasn't worth the price'? I, honestly, have never used the services of a call-girl but I can relate to the concept.
- mattmanser 9y ago
  You lose power, the service has already been rendered but you've not been paid yet. You can't negotiate for payment by threatening to withhold service. Same thing happens to freelance developers and why some add kill switches[1]. You deliver, the client then says "It's not quite what I asked for, I'll give you Nothing/10%/50%/80% of what we agreed". Obviously it's worse for call girls as they can't take you to court in most countries, hence why they always ask for money up front. Their post-service negotiating position is extremely weak. So no money up front, no service. [1] I personally think that as long as you make it clear to the client + part of the contract that they only have a temporary licence key until full-payment, kill switches are fine. Adding it on the sly is not.