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This is the way things are moving anyway with used car sites like Carvana, Shift, etc. offering non-negotiable pricing. A welcome change as there’s no reason t

by awb 5y ago

This is the way things are moving anyway with used car sites like Carvana, Shift, etc. offering non-negotiable pricing. A welcome change as there’s no reason to charge different prices for the same product in the same state, same county and sometimes even the same town.

MBCook 5y ago
As I remember that was part of the sales pitch for the Saturn brand.
- mywittyname 5y ago
  This doesn't mean that the idea itself is a bad one, or that it will never succeed. Saturn isn't the only brand to try this -- Scion did as well. Tesla has a few major advantages. First, they aren't tied to a dealership network. Second, since they sell online, they can dynamically change pricing with demand, something Saturn and Scion couldn't really figure out.
  - MBCook 5y ago
    Oh I totally agree. Despite Saturn eventually failing the fixed pricing was extremely popular the whole time it was offered (can’t remember if they gave up). I’d be happy to have it with my next car.
jeffbee 5y ago
One of the first models of the non-negotiable car sale was carmax. They always said it was non-negotiable, but if you looked at their sales the actual selling prices were often slightly lower than the list price. So, “non” negotiable.
- mwint 5y ago
  How do you “look at their sales”?
  - jeffbee 5y ago
    At the time (still may be the case) their REST APIs exposed everything about their operation. I had a robot that tracked it, since it was publicly traded.
vkou 5y ago
> there’s no reason to charge different prices for the same product in the same state, same county and sometimes even the same town There is, and that reason is that you want to charge the maximum amount that the customer will pay. And different customers have different maximums. Airlines are the kings of a low-margin industry being incredibly aggressive about optimizing pricing, and the exact same ticket will cost you wildly different amounts through different sales channels, on different days, etc.
- Guest19023892 5y ago
  As a customer, I find these type of sale strategies absolutely exhausting. I hate booking flights for this reason. I find a fair price, try to coordinate time off, accommodation, my partner's schedule, and then I go to book and... the price has doubled. Ok, cancel that plan, I'll search for alternatives and wait a few days to see if the prices improve. Ok, there's a deal again, but I'll need to shift things by a week. I'll just make that adjustment to my schedule and get confirmation, go to book, and... the prices have changed again. For another example, I'm thinking about buying a laptop this month. Companies like Lenovo completely turn me off with their $4,500 prices minus $2,450 in "eCoupons". Another pain point is manufacturers that give different prices for the identical laptop configuration, simply because I started the customization wizard with different base models. I have no respect for these companies as they waste my time. I like the Apple pricing approach. I can feel confident making a purchase at any moment, because I know their prices don't fluctuate weekly, and they're not going to have a 30% off coupon code a month after launch that makes me feel like a fool.

by awb 5y ago

MBCook 5y ago

As I remember that was part of the sales pitch for the Saturn brand.

mywittyname 5y ago
This doesn't mean that the idea itself is a bad one, or that it will never succeed. Saturn isn't the only brand to try this -- Scion did as well. Tesla has a few major advantages. First, they aren't tied to a dealership network. Second, since they sell online, they can dynamically change pricing with demand, something Saturn and Scion couldn't really figure out.
- MBCook 5y ago
  Oh I totally agree. Despite Saturn eventually failing the fixed pricing was extremely popular the whole time it was offered (can’t remember if they gave up). I’d be happy to have it with my next car.

jeffbee 5y ago

One of the first models of the non-negotiable car sale was carmax. They always said it was non-negotiable, but if you looked at their sales the actual selling prices were often slightly lower than the list price. So, “non” negotiable.

mwint 5y ago
How do you “look at their sales”?
- jeffbee 5y ago
  At the time (still may be the case) their REST APIs exposed everything about their operation. I had a robot that tracked it, since it was publicly traded.

vkou 5y ago

> there’s no reason to charge different prices for the same product in the same state, same county and sometimes even the same town There is, and that reason is that you want to charge the maximum amount that the customer will pay. And different customers have different maximums. Airlines are the kings of a low-margin industry being incredibly aggressive about optimizing pricing, and the exact same ticket will cost you wildly different amounts through different sales channels, on different days, etc.

Guest19023892 5y ago
As a customer, I find these type of sale strategies absolutely exhausting. I hate booking flights for this reason. I find a fair price, try to coordinate time off, accommodation, my partner's schedule, and then I go to book and... the price has doubled. Ok, cancel that plan, I'll search for alternatives and wait a few days to see if the prices improve. Ok, there's a deal again, but I'll need to shift things by a week. I'll just make that adjustment to my schedule and get confirmation, go to book, and... the prices have changed again. For another example, I'm thinking about buying a laptop this month. Companies like Lenovo completely turn me off with their $4,500 prices minus $2,450 in "eCoupons". Another pain point is manufacturers that give different prices for the identical laptop configuration, simply because I started the customization wizard with different base models. I have no respect for these companies as they waste my time. I like the Apple pricing approach. I can feel confident making a purchase at any moment, because I know their prices don't fluctuate weekly, and they're not going to have a 30% off coupon code a month after launch that makes me feel like a fool.