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I noticed Udemy also manipulates users by saying that x course is 80-90% off but only for one more day!!!!... until you realize it's been that exact same price

by colmvp 9y ago

I noticed Udemy also manipulates users by saying that x course is 80-90% off but only for one more day!!!!... until you realize it's been that exact same price for weeks/months. I understand it's not new to have the retail price be higher than the 'sale' price (for example, clothes and furniture), but even at clearance outlets, the price difference while large is rarely as dramatic nor as prolonged.

zodPod 9y ago
Udemy is also huge for having a "One time $10/$15 coupon!" that "expires in 3 days" and will immediately be replaced by another one. All you really have to do is google "Udemy coupon" to get any class on the site for $10 or $15 depending on what the current coupon is. This also works for the craft store chain Michael's but to a lesser extent. They almost ALWAYS have a 40-50% off coupon in their weekly ad. So if you find something that you want but it's expensive, you can usually get it for half off. It's pretty awesome!
- sturgill 9y ago
  Hi/Lo pricing is great that way. Harbor Freight always sends 20% off coupons. It's a wonderful technique for running price discrimination. The frequency of running offers, and which offers to run, are just business details that can be tested and optimized. Some firms are a lot better at it than others. But at its core it's not fundamentally different than coupon mailers or rebate offers. If you ever buy furniture for sticker price you're doing something wrong...
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- vijayr 9y ago
  Not saying this is a nice thing to do, but they do it because it works, no? Didn't someone (JC Penny?) try getting rid of this constant "on sale/coupon" crap but that had a negative effect on their business? If something is constantly "70% off" (especially non digital goods and services), shouldn't consumers stop for a second and think how this makes sense?
  - chipperyman573 9y ago
    JCPenny tried to pivot, which included: - Selling to a different demographic (young adults - like 20-25 y/o) <-- This was probably a huge reason for the failure - Making their stores "trendy" (for example, removing POS, instead employees walk around with iPads that have scanners attached) - Removing constant "70% off" sales Removing the sales probably was a part of the failure. But it was not as huge of a deal as people make it out to be.
xiaoma 9y ago
They've actually improved, too! It used to be $499 courses regularly marked down to $15 and similar ridiculous discounts. It wasn't just limited to people using coupon sites either... Udemy was mailing the crazy discounts to people all the time back in 2014-2015.
smnscu 9y ago
Am I remembering it wrong or was Udemy cancer? https://hn.algolia.com/?query=udemy&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?query=udemy&sort=byPopularity&prefix...

by colmvp 9y ago

zodPod 9y ago

Udemy is also huge for having a "One time $10/$15 coupon!" that "expires in 3 days" and will immediately be replaced by another one. All you really have to do is google "Udemy coupon" to get any class on the site for $10 or $15 depending on what the current coupon is. This also works for the craft store chain Michael's but to a lesser extent. They almost ALWAYS have a 40-50% off coupon in their weekly ad. So if you find something that you want but it's expensive, you can usually get it for half off. It's pretty awesome!

sturgill 9y ago
Hi/Lo pricing is great that way. Harbor Freight always sends 20% off coupons. It's a wonderful technique for running price discrimination. The frequency of running offers, and which offers to run, are just business details that can be tested and optimized. Some firms are a lot better at it than others. But at its core it's not fundamentally different than coupon mailers or rebate offers. If you ever buy furniture for sticker price you're doing something wrong...
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
vijayr 9y ago
Not saying this is a nice thing to do, but they do it because it works, no? Didn't someone (JC Penny?) try getting rid of this constant "on sale/coupon" crap but that had a negative effect on their business? If something is constantly "70% off" (especially non digital goods and services), shouldn't consumers stop for a second and think how this makes sense?
- chipperyman573 9y ago
  JCPenny tried to pivot, which included: - Selling to a different demographic (young adults - like 20-25 y/o) <-- This was probably a huge reason for the failure - Making their stores "trendy" (for example, removing POS, instead employees walk around with iPads that have scanners attached) - Removing constant "70% off" sales Removing the sales probably was a part of the failure. But it was not as huge of a deal as people make it out to be.

xiaoma 9y ago

They've actually improved, too! It used to be $499 courses regularly marked down to $15 and similar ridiculous discounts. It wasn't just limited to people using coupon sites either... Udemy was mailing the crazy discounts to people all the time back in 2014-2015.

smnscu 9y ago

Am I remembering it wrong or was Udemy cancer? https://hn.algolia.com/?query=udemy&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?query=udemy&sort=byPopularity&prefix...