4 ms·

The Big Mac is $9.99 for the person unwilling to download the McDonald's app and use the digital coupons. More broadly, we are very quickly entering a world of

The Big Mac is $9.99 for the person unwilling to download the McDonald's app and use the digital coupons. More broadly, we are very quickly entering a world of personalized pricing, and the best prices go to those willing to jump through whichever hoops sellers create. It's a K-shaped recovery, but it's also K-shaped pricing. So you're seeing more "MSRP" type pricing in places we're not used to seeing it -- kind of like how list prices for college go up and up every year, yet the net price is relatively flat [0]. [0]: https://d3f7q2msm2165u.cloudfront.net/aaa-content/user/files/Screen%20Shot%202018-12-02%20at%2011.51.51%20AM.png?1543780344489 https://d3f7q2msm2165u.cloudfront.net/aaa-content/user/files...

bombcar 4y ago
Everyone has realized what colleges and "enterprise" sellers realized years ago - nobody will pay $10 for a Big Mac if you sell it for $6, but if you price it at $10 and offer even really easy coupons to get it down to $6, you will sell a decent amount of $10 Big Macs.
- throwaway787544 4y ago
  "Here's a coupon for a free Hash Brown!" oh great! hmm, while I'm here I might as well spend $5
wonderwonder 4y ago
You are right. With that said I absolutely hate the fact that I have to load my phone with privacy invading apps for every place I shop. I go to 7-11 and they ask if I have a membership card for discounts, when I asked for one they said its an app and I have to install it... Similar is gas pricing. 10 cents cheaper if you have the app or gas station CC.
- eldavido 4y ago
  The limit case is Spirit Airlines. Sure they're cheaper, but do you really want to feel like you're going to court getting on the plane, arguing over how many personal items you're allowed, their size, etc? There is in fact a limit to what many people (including me) will put up with, at some point, you just want no change fees, no baggage fees, etc and pick Southwest. Incidentally, when people talk about schools and healthcare, and suggest a one-size-fits-all model, I'm shocked they don't see how much peoples' preferences vary. If we can have so much choice and variety when it comes to something as stupid as air travel, it seems crazy we wouldn't want the same thing in healthcare.
  - spaetzleesser 4y ago
    I am good with the Spirit model. You know exactly what you going to get and can buy what you need. It would be great if US healthcare was the same way. Clear, upfront pricing is much friendlier than handing over money for a service for which you don't know the price or extent.
    - fshbbdssbbgdd 4y ago
      I’m fine with incremental pricing aspect of Spirit, but the associated environment of chaos/hostility makes the whole experience very unpleasant.
    - landemva 4y ago
      This surgery center lists their procedures and prices. Cash ... full payment, no insurance. https://surgerycenterok.com https://surgerycenterok.com I was told they have great results in preventing complications like infections, as they would not be able to bill additional costs to insurance.
  - hakfoo 4y ago
    Nobody asked for Spirit Airlines. I feel like they are a by-product of fare deregulation and the movement to self-directed online bookings. Like vermin before the invention of germ theory, they just appeared spontaneously on the market and nobody really planned it. Deregulated fares eliminated the need and most of the opportunity for carriers to compete on experience. If PHX-ORD was the same price on every carrier, you're going to see all the marketing devoted to things like "nicest cabins, best food, most free amenities, most convenient schedule". That's a very hard message to maintain when 95% of customers start at a brand-neutral booking system and searches by price. I sort of wonder if they'd have succeeded in the age of agent-driven bookings, because agents would be disincentivized to recommend a carrier that's likely to yield bad reviews or loss of repeat business. I think Southwest and JetBlue have done a moderate job of beating that cycle-- creating loyalty by promising "reliably slightly worse than awful". I know I'd preferentially book Southwest if I needed a flight just because I know I'm not going to be nickel-and-dimed with luggage fees. Conversely, I don't think people's tastes for health care and education are as broad as you'd expect. There isn't anywhere near as much opportunity to "unbundle" features to try to hit a price target. Nobody says "well, if we can save $250 this year, let's not teach Timmy how to subtract", or "I want my surgery done by Steve, who just finished a three-week Coursera Tonsillectomy Bootcamp, rather than paying full price for Johns Hopkins."
- koolba 4y ago
  In just about every store that lets you use a phone number you can use the “Jenny” number as someone has signed it up: (XXX) 867-5309 Either use the local area code or a common one like NY (212) or LA (213). 7-11 is the best for this as there’s tons of people using it. At one point they had a free coffee every 10 promotion so every time you buy a coffee it was a 1/10 gamble to get a free one.
  - throwaway787544 4y ago
    I used to use BellSouth Ringback lineman numbers for this. If anyone ever called it, it'd call them right back.
  - wonderwonder 4y ago
    "7-11 is the best for this as there’s tons of people using it. At one point they had a free coffee every 10 promotion so every time you buy a coffee it was a 1/10 gamble to get a free one." This is brilliant!
  - dhosek 4y ago
    They still have that promo. It's actually every 7th cup is free.
SantalBlush 4y ago
Along these lines, during the pandemic some restaurants were using QR codes for digital menus for "safety reasons". Scanning the code would pull up a prompt to download their app, or a third-party app. Hopefully that nonsense fades away quickly, but I doubt it.
- trevyn 4y ago
  "My phone's dead." A physical menu magically appears.
secabeen 4y ago
Do you have the original source for that graph? Very useful for pushing against the "college prices go up and up!" claim.
SilasX 4y ago
Appreciate the lead, but it's still a kind of inflation when you have to jump through more hoops to get the good price.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

bombcar 4y ago

Everyone has realized what colleges and "enterprise" sellers realized years ago - nobody will pay $10 for a Big Mac if you sell it for $6, but if you price it at $10 and offer even really easy coupons to get it down to $6, you will sell a decent amount of $10 Big Macs.

throwaway787544 4y ago
"Here's a coupon for a free Hash Brown!" oh great! hmm, while I'm here I might as well spend $5

wonderwonder 4y ago

You are right. With that said I absolutely hate the fact that I have to load my phone with privacy invading apps for every place I shop. I go to 7-11 and they ask if I have a membership card for discounts, when I asked for one they said its an app and I have to install it... Similar is gas pricing. 10 cents cheaper if you have the app or gas station CC.

eldavido 4y ago
The limit case is Spirit Airlines. Sure they're cheaper, but do you really want to feel like you're going to court getting on the plane, arguing over how many personal items you're allowed, their size, etc? There is in fact a limit to what many people (including me) will put up with, at some point, you just want no change fees, no baggage fees, etc and pick Southwest. Incidentally, when people talk about schools and healthcare, and suggest a one-size-fits-all model, I'm shocked they don't see how much peoples' preferences vary. If we can have so much choice and variety when it comes to something as stupid as air travel, it seems crazy we wouldn't want the same thing in healthcare.
- spaetzleesser 4y ago
  I am good with the Spirit model. You know exactly what you going to get and can buy what you need. It would be great if US healthcare was the same way. Clear, upfront pricing is much friendlier than handing over money for a service for which you don't know the price or extent.
  - fshbbdssbbgdd 4y ago
    I’m fine with incremental pricing aspect of Spirit, but the associated environment of chaos/hostility makes the whole experience very unpleasant.
  - landemva 4y ago
    This surgery center lists their procedures and prices. Cash ... full payment, no insurance. https://surgerycenterok.com https://surgerycenterok.com I was told they have great results in preventing complications like infections, as they would not be able to bill additional costs to insurance.
- hakfoo 4y ago
  Nobody asked for Spirit Airlines. I feel like they are a by-product of fare deregulation and the movement to self-directed online bookings. Like vermin before the invention of germ theory, they just appeared spontaneously on the market and nobody really planned it. Deregulated fares eliminated the need and most of the opportunity for carriers to compete on experience. If PHX-ORD was the same price on every carrier, you're going to see all the marketing devoted to things like "nicest cabins, best food, most free amenities, most convenient schedule". That's a very hard message to maintain when 95% of customers start at a brand-neutral booking system and searches by price. I sort of wonder if they'd have succeeded in the age of agent-driven bookings, because agents would be disincentivized to recommend a carrier that's likely to yield bad reviews or loss of repeat business. I think Southwest and JetBlue have done a moderate job of beating that cycle-- creating loyalty by promising "reliably slightly worse than awful". I know I'd preferentially book Southwest if I needed a flight just because I know I'm not going to be nickel-and-dimed with luggage fees. Conversely, I don't think people's tastes for health care and education are as broad as you'd expect. There isn't anywhere near as much opportunity to "unbundle" features to try to hit a price target. Nobody says "well, if we can save $250 this year, let's not teach Timmy how to subtract", or "I want my surgery done by Steve, who just finished a three-week Coursera Tonsillectomy Bootcamp, rather than paying full price for Johns Hopkins."
koolba 4y ago
In just about every store that lets you use a phone number you can use the “Jenny” number as someone has signed it up: (XXX) 867-5309 Either use the local area code or a common one like NY (212) or LA (213). 7-11 is the best for this as there’s tons of people using it. At one point they had a free coffee every 10 promotion so every time you buy a coffee it was a 1/10 gamble to get a free one.
- throwaway787544 4y ago
  I used to use BellSouth Ringback lineman numbers for this. If anyone ever called it, it'd call them right back.
- wonderwonder 4y ago
  "7-11 is the best for this as there’s tons of people using it. At one point they had a free coffee every 10 promotion so every time you buy a coffee it was a 1/10 gamble to get a free one." This is brilliant!
- dhosek 4y ago
  They still have that promo. It's actually every 7th cup is free.

SantalBlush 4y ago

Along these lines, during the pandemic some restaurants were using QR codes for digital menus for "safety reasons". Scanning the code would pull up a prompt to download their app, or a third-party app. Hopefully that nonsense fades away quickly, but I doubt it.

trevyn 4y ago
"My phone's dead." A physical menu magically appears.

secabeen 4y ago

Do you have the original source for that graph? Very useful for pushing against the "college prices go up and up!" claim.

SilasX 4y ago

Appreciate the lead, but it's still a kind of inflation when you have to jump through more hoops to get the good price.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]