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Sure, but does it actually improve things for either side? That couch business wasted both your time AND the sales rep's time. Who does it help to not post pri

Sure, but does it actually improve things for either side? That couch business wasted both your time AND the sales rep's time. Who does it help to not post prices? For B2B, sure, you can't give an exact quote until you figure out the custom logic, but the customer can at least ballpark what long term operation costs will be based on any published pricing you have. I've never talked to a SaaS vendor without some idea of ongoing price, even if we're going to need upfront work that will be priced separately.

tomatotomato37 7y ago
It sounds like that furniture business is trying to gain prestige through a "If you have to ask you can't afford it" model, which can be a viable strategy for very high end goods (though I wouldn't exactly say a ~$5000 sectional fits in that category). The big purchases in such a model make any extra time investment worthwhile versus normal retail
cj 7y ago
> That couch business wasted both your time AND the sales rep's time. Who does it help to not post prices? Because there isn't a price to show. The missing detail I left out in the original comment is that the sale rep also said "We have hundreds of fabric and color options available, and we can accomodate any configuration." Sure, I guess they could post prices for the models sitting on the floor, but that price would only be for that exact configuration. The point is, the sale person wants to spend 1-2 hours working with the customer to determine their fabric preferences, then color preferences, then configuration / shape of the couch. The store does not cater to people who want the ability to walk in, point to something and say "I want that, how much?" - those people are not their customers. > For B2B, sure, you can't give an exact quote until you figure out the custom logic In the couch example, it's the same, exact "custom logic" is instead fabric, color, configuration, pull out vs. no pull out, ottoman vs no ottoman, etc. (For the record, I hate non-transparent pricing as much as anyone. Heap is an example that has been on my mind lately since we're looking at analytics solutions at our company: https://heap.io/pricing https://heap.io/pricing - it's impossible to infer the "contact us" pricing, since the only other plan they have is "Free" -- we're on their "Startup" plan for $499/mo, and I have no idea if we're being ripped off, or if that's what everyone else is paying too...)
- Nullabillity 7y ago
  They can show a breakdown with the base cost of each module, the surcharges for the different fabric and colour options, and a price example for the display unit. It's not rocket surgery, IKEA manages to do this just fine.[0] [0]: https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/planner/gronlid-planner/ https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/planner/gronlid-planner/

tomatotomato37 7y ago

It sounds like that furniture business is trying to gain prestige through a "If you have to ask you can't afford it" model, which can be a viable strategy for very high end goods (though I wouldn't exactly say a ~$5000 sectional fits in that category). The big purchases in such a model make any extra time investment worthwhile versus normal retail

cj 7y ago

> That couch business wasted both your time AND the sales rep's time. Who does it help to not post prices? Because there isn't a price to show. The missing detail I left out in the original comment is that the sale rep also said "We have hundreds of fabric and color options available, and we can accomodate any configuration." Sure, I guess they could post prices for the models sitting on the floor, but that price would only be for that exact configuration. The point is, the sale person wants to spend 1-2 hours working with the customer to determine their fabric preferences, then color preferences, then configuration / shape of the couch. The store does not cater to people who want the ability to walk in, point to something and say "I want that, how much?" - those people are not their customers. > For B2B, sure, you can't give an exact quote until you figure out the custom logic In the couch example, it's the same, exact "custom logic" is instead fabric, color, configuration, pull out vs. no pull out, ottoman vs no ottoman, etc. (For the record, I hate non-transparent pricing as much as anyone. Heap is an example that has been on my mind lately since we're looking at analytics solutions at our company: https://heap.io/pricing https://heap.io/pricing - it's impossible to infer the "contact us" pricing, since the only other plan they have is "Free" -- we're on their "Startup" plan for $499/mo, and I have no idea if we're being ripped off, or if that's what everyone else is paying too...)

Nullabillity 7y ago
They can show a breakdown with the base cost of each module, the surcharges for the different fabric and colour options, and a price example for the display unit. It's not rocket surgery, IKEA manages to do this just fine.[0] [0]: https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/planner/gronlid-planner/ https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/planner/gronlid-planner/