4 ms·

People like to feel like they got a deal. They want to be able to go back to their boss and tell how they talked you down from $250/hr to $200/hr. Why not pad

People like to feel like they got a deal. They want to be able to go back to their boss and tell how they talked you down from $250/hr to $200/hr. Why not pad your pricing to begin with and let them feel like they won? This is particularly important for dealing with people for big corporations where buyers are evaluated on their ability to squeeze vendors. In the end, you'll still get the price you need but you can leave them with that warm fuzzy feeling that you gave them special treatment because you value their business so much.

judk 13y ago
This practice turns off honest customers who just want good work at a good rate. Those customers will just not call you, or go to a competitor who has lower no-bullshit face pricing
- joshfraser 13y ago
  Not always. It comes down to knowing your audience. I'm guessing you've never negotiated with a buyer from a fortune 500 company.
  - derefr 13y ago
    How would you feel if, upon asking for a discount (say, 10% off a $100k contract), I offer to instead raise the base rate just for your contract, so it costs the same in the end, but you can also say you got a discount?
  - joshfraser 13y ago
    I had a buyer for a big corp tell me to increase my base price because the discount I offered wasn't big enough. As you might guess, her bonus was tied to the percentage discount she was able to get from her vendors.
- Noughmad 13y ago
  People are irrational beings, and so are customers. We will rather buy something that's on sale from 100 to 80 than the pretty much same item that's selling for the regular price of 70. Stores artificially raise prices and then offer discounts, why shouldn't freelancers?
  - yuhong 13y ago
    What is funny is this is not the worst of it. I like to post these two links: http://www.reddit.com/r/web_design/comments/ifjld/launching_a_new_portfolio_who_isnt_hows_it_look/c23g2xl http://www.reddit.com/r/web_design/comments/ifjld/launching_... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4349781 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4349781 I remember a comment where michaelochurch called freelacing a "reputation economy": http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/technology-we-can-change-our-leadership-or-we-can-quit/#comment-5034 http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/technology-we...
- sparkzilla 13y ago
  Everyone wants a discount. The first thing I do when I see "fixed pricing" is ask for a discount. If I don't get one I move on to the next supplier.
  - lotsofpulp 13y ago
    It depends on who needs who. If you have enough customers that you can afford to avoid haggling with a buyer, then that's great for the seller. If the seller is deciding between no money and some money, then they might have to haggle. Right now, I'm lucky enough that I don't have to haggle when I sell my services. It saves both me and the buyer time, because they know they can't afford me and go move on.
lotsofpulp 13y ago
>Why not pad your pricing to begin with and let them feel like they won? One reason is that if the seller doesn't need the buyer, then negotiating prices is a waste of time for the seller.

judk 13y ago

This practice turns off honest customers who just want good work at a good rate. Those customers will just not call you, or go to a competitor who has lower no-bullshit face pricing

joshfraser 13y ago
Not always. It comes down to knowing your audience. I'm guessing you've never negotiated with a buyer from a fortune 500 company.
- derefr 13y ago
  How would you feel if, upon asking for a discount (say, 10% off a $100k contract), I offer to instead raise the base rate just for your contract, so it costs the same in the end, but you can also say you got a discount?
- joshfraser 13y ago
  I had a buyer for a big corp tell me to increase my base price because the discount I offered wasn't big enough. As you might guess, her bonus was tied to the percentage discount she was able to get from her vendors.
Noughmad 13y ago
People are irrational beings, and so are customers. We will rather buy something that's on sale from 100 to 80 than the pretty much same item that's selling for the regular price of 70. Stores artificially raise prices and then offer discounts, why shouldn't freelancers?
- yuhong 13y ago
  What is funny is this is not the worst of it. I like to post these two links: http://www.reddit.com/r/web_design/comments/ifjld/launching_a_new_portfolio_who_isnt_hows_it_look/c23g2xl http://www.reddit.com/r/web_design/comments/ifjld/launching_... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4349781 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4349781 I remember a comment where michaelochurch called freelacing a "reputation economy": http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/technology-we-can-change-our-leadership-or-we-can-quit/#comment-5034 http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/technology-we...
sparkzilla 13y ago
Everyone wants a discount. The first thing I do when I see "fixed pricing" is ask for a discount. If I don't get one I move on to the next supplier.
- lotsofpulp 13y ago
  It depends on who needs who. If you have enough customers that you can afford to avoid haggling with a buyer, then that's great for the seller. If the seller is deciding between no money and some money, then they might have to haggle. Right now, I'm lucky enough that I don't have to haggle when I sell my services. It saves both me and the buyer time, because they know they can't afford me and go move on.

lotsofpulp 13y ago

>Why not pad your pricing to begin with and let them feel like they won? One reason is that if the seller doesn't need the buyer, then negotiating prices is a waste of time for the seller.