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>>We don’t want to be one of those companies that has a "who you are determines how much we can charge you" pricing model. We find those models unfair, dishones
by credo 16y ago
>>We don’t want to be one of those companies that has a "who you are determines how much we can charge you" pricing model. We find those models unfair, dishonest, and flat out unappealing.
Using moralistic language like this to describe non-profit pricing is a bit too harsh.
Would it be dishonest to donate their product or offer a discount to a single non-profit ? If not, why would it be dishonest to offer the same deal to 10 non-profits or all non-profits ?
I wonder what the blogger would say about freemium plans and tiered pricing. Freemium pricing always means that the paid customers subsidize free customers (many of whom will never become paid customers).OTH the absence of freemium may reduce the number of paid customers making the product un-viable.
Is it unfair and dishonest to do freemium pricing ?
[disclosure: All of our iPhone apps are registered in Apple's "education pricing" discount program for students and faculty. I see nothing dishonest about this.]
- Yzupnick 16y agoThe difference being that freemium pricing is a loss leader that does not "discriminate" based on who the user is. Rather, it "discriminates" based on amount of the product being used, a perfectly acceptable and unbiased reason to charge a user more. Charging less to NPOs would be "discriminating" based on who the user is, which is not acceptable. I'm not sure I agree with the OP, just trying to explain his position.
- jasonfried 16y ago"Would it be dishonest to donate their product or offer a discount to a single non-profit ? If not, why would it be dishonest to offer the same deal to 10 non-profits or all non-profits?" At our discretion, no. Just like you may choose to support a specific charity or cause without supporting all charities or causes, we may choose to put our support behind a specific charity or cause. As I mentioned in post, we've done exactly that. But to say we should support every single non-profit by offering them a lower price simply because they are a non-profit doesn't make sense to me.
- JoelSutherland 16y agoThis is exactly his point. You choose causes to support based on some criteria. Others choose causes based on the US Tax definition of 'non-profit'. Given that both are a matter of choice, it is harsh to call a set of criteria different than your own dishonest and unfair. Or to strike more directly at the heart of the matter: when we behave charitably it is almost always suboptimal. A dollar given to the Gates Foundation is a dollar not given to Habitat for Humanity, and vice versa. To criticize a system of generosity for being suboptimal is certainly reasonable, but now how most would probably want to spend their time.
- credo 16y agoI'm not sure why my parent post is getting downvoted.However, I think you're throwing a red herring here >>But to say we should support every single non-profit by offering them a lower price simply because they are a non-profit doesn't make sense to me I'm not asking you to do anything about your prices. Whether you offer a lower price or a higher price or the same price doesn't really matter to me. My point is that it is not "unfair, dishonest" to offer discounts to non-profits. You yourself concede that you choose to support "a specific charity or cause". Why is it "unfair, dishonest" for others to support a specific cause - (in this case, all non-profits) ?