3 ms·
They want to figure out how much the customer can afford to pay, and then charge them exactly that much. This is discussed specifically in [1] -- while the ent
by csense 14y ago
They want to figure out how much the customer can afford to pay, and then charge them exactly that much.
This is discussed specifically in [1] -- while the entire essay is well worth reading, Ctrl+F "Bad Idea #2" for a discussion of why you shouldn't price your products this way.
[1] http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/CamelsandRubberDuckies.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/CamelsandRubberDuckie...
- qompiler 14y agoIs this legal outside of the US? I remember there was a case in China in which a restaurant would charge a different price for tourists.
- Makkhdyn 14y agoIn that case one could argue that the service is tailored to the meet the precise requirements of the client and it explains the price variation (and why the price isn't displayed).
- eb0la 14y agoIt seems to be legal in Europe, too (I'm not a lawyer). Sadly, procurement departments at big corporations play the big discount game (their bonuses are tied to the discount they get): don't get surprised if they try to diqualify you if you don't give a discount.
- ig1 14y agoI imagine it's legal almost everywhere as long as the basis for the segmentation isn't on a protected category (race, gender, etc.)
- csense 14y agoA lot of people have a reaction like yours: This practice sucks and shouldn't happen! That means we don't actually need to make it illegal; since, as the blog post linked in the grandparent notes, "it pisses the heck off of people," the free market will take care of it for us if we're patient. That blog post mentions specific multiple instances of companies that attempt egregious segmentation getting their lunch eaten by companies that don't. As I said, the whole article is worth reading.
- ropz 14y agoI concur, having worked in customer-facing roles for 2 of the 3 cited organizations in the 80s.
- johnward 14y agoWork for one now and agree. Putting pricing in the open would take eat away at profits. Every deal is negotiated. One customer could pay $100 an for my time. Another might be paying $330.