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> if you imagine a smoothed curve then the levelling off between $4.99 and $6.99 and subsequent drop at $7.99 suggests that $6.99 may be the current sweet spot

by antirez 12y ago

> if you imagine a smoothed curve then the levelling off between $4.99 and $6.99 and subsequent drop at $7.99 suggests that $6.99 may be the current sweet spot for SongSheet’s pricing. At 4.99 and 6.99 the income was almost the same, with 6.99 having only a small edge. However at 4.99 more people are using your application, that may improve the long term growth. Also in general for about the same income, isn't it better to have more users benefitting from your work, and a cheaper to buy application?

gabrielhauber 12y ago
Good question, one that I did consider at the time. I figured that the normal weekly variation at $4.99 actually made the total a little higher than it would otherwise. i.e. I went with my gut to a certain degree. You may be right about the more users thing at the lower price point giving better growth in the long term. The interesting thing (something I glossed over in the post) was that during the experiment, the total during the week it was at $4.99 was a lot higher than the baseline before the experiment (when it was also at $4.99).
- antirez 12y ago
  Maybe the previous weeks have an effect on the next, for example a low price point brings more new users that will bias the result of the next week and so forth. It's hard to make a controlled experiment... but at least it is possible to do multiple experiments over time shuffling the order in which the prices are tried.
pmelendez 12y ago
>"isn't it better to have more users benefitting from your work, and a cheaper to buy application" Because the edge is so small it looks like the amount of user are the same and that edge is just because the price difference.
k-mcgrady 12y ago
>> "for about the same income, isn't it better to have more users benefitting from your work, and a cheaper to buy application?" Don't forget support costs. You can make the same income at each price point but at the lower one you will have to respond to lots more emails driving down your total income. Your point that more people using it could lead to higher long-term growth though is valid especially is the app is spreading via word-of-mouth. So it's an important trade off to consider.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
clarky07 12y ago
the difference might not be that big at these price points, but if you go to the extreme I'd say no because of support costs. if you can make a similar amount on free with ads and at 9.99 your support costs will be lower at 9.99. Also, your lifetime value of a user is much much higher. If all those people who would get it at free actually need it, perhaps over time you'll be able to convince some of them to actually pay the 9.99. The value of your total addressable market is higher at the higher price point. Also, I've found on the app store the biggest hurdle you have to get over is that free -> not free jump. Once you convince someone it's worth paying for, getting them to pay another dollar or two isn't that hard.

by antirez 12y ago

gabrielhauber 12y ago

Good question, one that I did consider at the time. I figured that the normal weekly variation at $4.99 actually made the total a little higher than it would otherwise. i.e. I went with my gut to a certain degree. You may be right about the more users thing at the lower price point giving better growth in the long term. The interesting thing (something I glossed over in the post) was that during the experiment, the total during the week it was at $4.99 was a lot higher than the baseline before the experiment (when it was also at $4.99).

antirez 12y ago
Maybe the previous weeks have an effect on the next, for example a low price point brings more new users that will bias the result of the next week and so forth. It's hard to make a controlled experiment... but at least it is possible to do multiple experiments over time shuffling the order in which the prices are tried.

pmelendez 12y ago

>"isn't it better to have more users benefitting from your work, and a cheaper to buy application" Because the edge is so small it looks like the amount of user are the same and that edge is just because the price difference.

k-mcgrady 12y ago

>> "for about the same income, isn't it better to have more users benefitting from your work, and a cheaper to buy application?" Don't forget support costs. You can make the same income at each price point but at the lower one you will have to respond to lots more emails driving down your total income. Your point that more people using it could lead to higher long-term growth though is valid especially is the app is spreading via word-of-mouth. So it's an important trade off to consider.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

clarky07 12y ago

the difference might not be that big at these price points, but if you go to the extreme I'd say no because of support costs. if you can make a similar amount on free with ads and at 9.99 your support costs will be lower at 9.99. Also, your lifetime value of a user is much much higher. If all those people who would get it at free actually need it, perhaps over time you'll be able to convince some of them to actually pay the 9.99. The value of your total addressable market is higher at the higher price point. Also, I've found on the app store the biggest hurdle you have to get over is that free -> not free jump. Once you convince someone it's worth paying for, getting them to pay another dollar or two isn't that hard.