4 ms·
>Value-based pricing says, "how much it cost me to create the photo is irrelevant". Almost, but not quite. In the case of a hobbyist, yes it's irrelevant. But
by prof_hobart 15y ago
>Value-based pricing says, "how much it cost me to create the photo is irrelevant".
Almost, but not quite. In the case of a hobbyist, yes it's irrelevant. But for a business, the cost to create should set the minimum cost they'd be prepared to charge (or at least be expecting to charge - you may find yourself discounting it below cost if you've already made it and fail to sell).
I do mostly agree though, and it always amuses me when I see people complaining about eBooks that cost more than dead tree ones. If it's not worth more to you, then don't buy it.
>The moralism in these threads is an irrelevant sideshow.
Again, not quite. Morality doesn't, or shouldn't, come into play when determining the price. But it does when it comes to how a "buyer" reacts to a price they don't like in relation to goods that have no marginal cost to produce a new copy - e.g. digital photo, movie download. If you don't like the price that's been set, but it's not going to cost the creator anything for you to simply take a copy for free, do you have any moral issue with that?
- maxerickson 15y agoI wonder, do you think that the people complaining about ebook prices are buying them? It seems likely to me that they are mostly complaining because the price has stopped them from making the purchase.
- prof_hobart 15y agoPossibly, but it's usually not the price of the ebook itself that they are complaining about. It's the fact that the paper version is cheaper. If someone charged £10 for a particular ebook and £15 for the paper one, then there would rarely be much complaint. If they charged £10 for the ebook and £5 for the paper one, then people are up in arms. And the argument is alway that it's cheaper to make the ebook than the paper one, and that it's therefore wrong to charge more for the ebook. The point is that this is the wrong way to think about it. As a buyer working out how much you're prepared to pay for something, the cost of manufacture should be pretty much irrelevant. If the ebook is worth £5 more to you than the paper one, then buy the ebook. If it isn't, then buy the paper one instead.