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I do this all the time, and it always works. Just today someone asked for a discount, and I wrote a similar email to this one, explaining why we don't give disc

I do this all the time, and it always works. Just today someone asked for a discount, and I wrote a similar email to this one, explaining why we don't give discounts, our products are great value, etc. I did offer them an extra 1 month trial for free, as they were just starting a new business, and they were very happy with that and will probably become a long-term customer. I think people are just programmed to ask for discounts. However unless there is another product which gives them all the features they want for a lower price, they will almost certainly buy your product even if you don't give them a discount (as long as you're nice about it). The only time I would give a discount is if the person genuinely can't afford it, but that very rarely happens (as my prices are pretty reasonable).

fijal 12y ago
I would like to swap "people" in your sentence for "americans". It's a cultural thing, not a human thing.
- pedrosorio 12y ago
  It's actually the opposite: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargaining#Regional_differences http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargaining#Regional_differences
- simplemts 12y ago
  Seriously? Bargaining, or discounts, in this example is very, very common all over the world. I have found Americans do less of it than in most parts of the world, such as China, Turkey, Thailand, Morocco, etc.
  - dspillett 12y ago
    I've assumed that my experience is accurate and that it is more common in rural areas (where ad-hoc/informal barter systems still prevail) and poor areas that see significant numbers of (relatively) richer visitors (i.e. tourists). In the latter case the price starts high (to catch the people who will just pay anyway) then the price goes down, or there is a bait & switch (the bargain item advertised in the window is sold out, could we interest you in this instead?), or both. Perhaps the poster above is conflating "loud, brash, confident tourists bargaining" with "American tourists" - a pair of populations that certainly do intersect though not as much as commonly held stereotypes would suggest.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- cpncrunch 12y ago
  Actually, it is mostly Indian customers who seem to automatically ask for a discount, and they generally aren't too bothered when they don't get it. As another comment pointed out, bargaining is a way of life in India, so this shouldn't be too surprising. American customers usually have a reason for asking for a discount ("do you have educational discounts" or "we're just a startup"). Generally larger businesses don't ask for any discounts, although that could just be because my prices are low for them.
  - skj 12y ago
    Larger businesses don't ask for discounts... before they purchase the product. They ask for discounts when it's actually time to pay up and they've started using the service.
snowwrestler 12y ago
Price is itself a signal of value. If a company is constantly willing to give deep discounts, it signals that they themselves don't believe that their value proposition is very good. Quite a few companies refuse to offer discounts at all, or tie their discounts to some logical system (like discounting for volume). Over time this supports their own story about how valuable their product or service is. This is why you almost never see current-gen Apple products sold for less than MSRP. For the engineers reading this: yes, it's pure marketing. But to survive, a company needs sales, and marketing helps achieve sales because humans are emotional, irrational creatures. Another nice aspect of avoiding discounting is that customers who demand big discounts up front often tend to be pains in the butt when it comes to support. Being willing to let a few of those folks "get away" might be beneficial in the long run.

fijal 12y ago

I would like to swap "people" in your sentence for "americans". It's a cultural thing, not a human thing.

pedrosorio 12y ago
It's actually the opposite: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargaining#Regional_differences http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargaining#Regional_differences
simplemts 12y ago
Seriously? Bargaining, or discounts, in this example is very, very common all over the world. I have found Americans do less of it than in most parts of the world, such as China, Turkey, Thailand, Morocco, etc.
- dspillett 12y ago
  I've assumed that my experience is accurate and that it is more common in rural areas (where ad-hoc/informal barter systems still prevail) and poor areas that see significant numbers of (relatively) richer visitors (i.e. tourists). In the latter case the price starts high (to catch the people who will just pay anyway) then the price goes down, or there is a bait & switch (the bargain item advertised in the window is sold out, could we interest you in this instead?), or both. Perhaps the poster above is conflating "loud, brash, confident tourists bargaining" with "American tourists" - a pair of populations that certainly do intersect though not as much as commonly held stereotypes would suggest.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
cpncrunch 12y ago
Actually, it is mostly Indian customers who seem to automatically ask for a discount, and they generally aren't too bothered when they don't get it. As another comment pointed out, bargaining is a way of life in India, so this shouldn't be too surprising. American customers usually have a reason for asking for a discount ("do you have educational discounts" or "we're just a startup"). Generally larger businesses don't ask for any discounts, although that could just be because my prices are low for them.
- skj 12y ago
  Larger businesses don't ask for discounts... before they purchase the product. They ask for discounts when it's actually time to pay up and they've started using the service.

snowwrestler 12y ago

Price is itself a signal of value. If a company is constantly willing to give deep discounts, it signals that they themselves don't believe that their value proposition is very good. Quite a few companies refuse to offer discounts at all, or tie their discounts to some logical system (like discounting for volume). Over time this supports their own story about how valuable their product or service is. This is why you almost never see current-gen Apple products sold for less than MSRP. For the engineers reading this: yes, it's pure marketing. But to survive, a company needs sales, and marketing helps achieve sales because humans are emotional, irrational creatures. Another nice aspect of avoiding discounting is that customers who demand big discounts up front often tend to be pains in the butt when it comes to support. Being willing to let a few of those folks "get away" might be beneficial in the long run.