4 ms·

What do you mean by "risky"? Concurrently testing 2 pricing schemes for the exact same service feels sketchy or unfair (to the customer) to me–especially if it

What do you mean by "risky"? Concurrently testing 2 pricing schemes for the exact same service feels sketchy or unfair (to the customer) to me–especially if its a 2:1 ratio ($5 vs. $4.99 I can understand). I'm sure it doesn't fall under "price discrimination" but it still doesn't feel right ... should I not feel that way?

ryanwanger 16y ago
It's understandable that you feel that way. But really, it isn't sketchy. Think of the lower price as a discount that wasn't offered to everyone. The people who paid the higher price thought the value of your service was worth it...no one twisted their arm. If you're really against it, don't test two at the same time. Just double the price for new customers and see how that affects signups.
jacquesm 16y ago
That's not the risk. The risk is your users comparing notes and getting mad at you.
acangiano 16y ago
There is risk because users may find out and be less than impressed by it.
thibaut_barrere 16y ago
It would certainly be considered illegal in some countries (France, I'm pretty sure) to have two prices at the very same moment, based on random, for the exact same product.
- jdietrich 16y ago
  Do you have any idea as to why it would be illegal? In my country it's not at all unusual to see a product in a supermarket being sold at a discount price in a display at the front of the store, but at the usual price on the usual shelf.
  - thibaut_barrere 16y ago
    In France if two prices appear somewhere, you'd pay the lowest on request I believe. My gut feeling is that A/B pricing would be illegal because it's unfair: a part of the buyers have a discount the others don't even know about. IANAL though :)
    - jacquesm 16y ago
      How about gas stations? They routinely charge different prices for the same product from the same store?
      - thibaut_barrere 16y ago
        Do you mean same brand or same physical store ? I believe as long as it's a different physical store, it's probably possible to set a different price. My impression (that would need more research) is that having two different prices for the same product at the same time inside the same physical store or on a website would be problematic; otherwise it's probably ok. I think I really need to make more research - A/B pricing would definitely be interesting.
      - GFischer 16y ago
        Not in my country they don't. I'm not sure which is more common (fixed price across the country like here in Uruguay or Argentina, or store-by-store variation like the US/Canada)

ryanwanger 16y ago

It's understandable that you feel that way. But really, it isn't sketchy. Think of the lower price as a discount that wasn't offered to everyone. The people who paid the higher price thought the value of your service was worth it...no one twisted their arm. If you're really against it, don't test two at the same time. Just double the price for new customers and see how that affects signups.

jacquesm 16y ago

That's not the risk. The risk is your users comparing notes and getting mad at you.

acangiano 16y ago

There is risk because users may find out and be less than impressed by it.

thibaut_barrere 16y ago

It would certainly be considered illegal in some countries (France, I'm pretty sure) to have two prices at the very same moment, based on random, for the exact same product.

jdietrich 16y ago
Do you have any idea as to why it would be illegal? In my country it's not at all unusual to see a product in a supermarket being sold at a discount price in a display at the front of the store, but at the usual price on the usual shelf.
- thibaut_barrere 16y ago
  In France if two prices appear somewhere, you'd pay the lowest on request I believe. My gut feeling is that A/B pricing would be illegal because it's unfair: a part of the buyers have a discount the others don't even know about. IANAL though :)
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    How about gas stations? They routinely charge different prices for the same product from the same store?
    - thibaut_barrere 16y ago
      Do you mean same brand or same physical store ? I believe as long as it's a different physical store, it's probably possible to set a different price. My impression (that would need more research) is that having two different prices for the same product at the same time inside the same physical store or on a website would be problematic; otherwise it's probably ok. I think I really need to make more research - A/B pricing would definitely be interesting.
    - GFischer 16y ago
      Not in my country they don't. I'm not sure which is more common (fixed price across the country like here in Uruguay or Argentina, or store-by-store variation like the US/Canada)