General / Off-Topic ED not a premium product

[jojje]

The first thought that struck my mind when reading Newsletter #40 was why in g*ds name do they use prices only (mostly) seen at chains specializing in low quality, low budget goods?

Don't they have any pride and confidence in the product?

If their marketing guys are dead set on using the old ".99" pricing trick "to pull a fast one over the slow witted", then I'd encourage them to read the following insightful paper on the subject.

We use four experiments to examine consumers' processing of comparative regular
and sale price information in advertisements. Consistent with our hypothesized
right digit effect, we find that, when consumers view regular and sale prices with
identical left digits. they perceive larger price discounts when the right digits are
"small" (i.e., less than 5) than when they are "large" (i.e., greater than 5) As a
result, they may attribute greater value and increased purchase likelihood to higher-
priced, lower-discounted items.

Even Apple seems to regard the stuff in the paper as making sense. Just take a look at their pricing for lower cost items.

If the FD marketing guys fancy themselves having a premium product to offer, but still want to play the pretend discount game, then pricing the product at xx.95 might make more sense.

What do you guys think? Any brave and self proclaimed "dimwit" (consumer) wanting to step forth and give his/her view on what emotion a price at £39.95 evokes, compared to one at £39.99 ?

 

[Adam Lusardi]

I have to agree I hate this approach.
But its so commonplace now you just ignore it.

 

[Corium]

We are announcing today that the price of the final release of Elite: Dangerous will be £39.99 ($59.99 and €49.99).

I don't see your point in posting as you used false information to spark a thread that has no merit.


This is the base price of almost any game, cept for indie and such.

 

[Bob 'snake' Plissken]

hehehe, high five

 

[ste]

You would be hard pressed to find any where that prices their products .00 instead of .99.

 

[jojje]

I don't see your point in posting as you used false information to spark a thread that has no merit.

What exactly was false in what I wrote?

 

[Mack]

I fail to see any relevance to your logic..

EG.

Assassin's Creed: Unity £44.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/UBI-Soft-As...3?ie=UTF8&qid=1410537618&sr=8-13&keywords=ps4

Sony Ps4 Console + Destiny £347.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-PlaySt..._3?ie=UTF8&qid=1410537618&sr=8-3&keywords=ps4

World of Warcraft (can't get much more premium) $19.99

https://us.battle.net/shop/en/product/world-of-warcraft

Personally I round the price up if it's >.50 and down if it's less. It's just a price.
And as far as apple goes, who cares how they price, as everything is grossly overpriced and not just by $0.04 either.

 

[Aleksej]

Can you post, which premium product (game) has a rounded price?

 

[Wavey]

What do you guys think? Any brave and self proclaimed "dimwit" (consumer) wanting to step forth and give his/her view on what emotion a price at £39.95 evokes, compared to one at £39.99 ?

Take your insults elsewhere

 

[sibbers]

Interesting factoid about the .99p tactic...

It originated to stop tellers from bypassing the tills and pocketing cash for themselves by forcing them into giving change, thus making the likelihood of the exchange result in cash for the till.

/might not be true

Also, another factoid for you is that items reduced by a single penny (or centime, whatever) will sell more despite everyone seeing and knowing the trick according to research by a French firm studying pizza sales.

/also might not be true

 

[Windscreen Smudge]

What exactly was false in what I wrote?

The significance and implications that it should have any impact on my daily life.

That was false.

 

[Beachlight7]

Premium products:
Ferrari 458 £179,535 retail price
Lear Jet 36A $1.975million retail price.
2 bed flat in London £5.995 million list price.

 

[jojje]

Can you post, which premium product (game) has a rounded price?

Hi Alex, thanks for a relevant question.
I wasn't thinking of games when I looked at the price. Rather I was thinking of goods commonly regarded as premium, such as jewlery, hotel prices, tailors and good restaurants.

I really have no idea what prices are used for games as I just see the aggregate total on the credit card slip each month, after the kids' shoping sprees on steam.

PS. Just the original post was intentionally inflammatory to evoke replies. Apologies to anyone why felt hurt and upset by the employment of that rhetoric trick. It was in no way intended as derogatory to anyone at FD (except perhaps marketing, as I have seldom gotten along with such folk).

 

[EAGLE 5]

Meh no real foul there I always round down to the base dollar so I don't even look at the cents. Plus not online but I have to pay a 8.25% sales tax over the price so in the end is not even what is labeled.

Some retailer though use the cents to indicate sale or even closeout status. Here if you buy anything at Walmart that ends in a penny it's a closeout item and are probably getting a deal.

It's all about smart consumerism and learning to read between the lines.

 

[jojje]

The significance and implications that it should have any impact on my daily life.
That was false.

Haha, yes and if what you wrote had any kind of reference to what I wrote, then your post would would have been an addition to the topic

 

[Titus Balls]

Premium products:
Ferrari 458 £179,535 retail price
Lear Jet 36A $1.975million retail price.
2 bed flat in London £5.995 million list price.

*cough* The Completionist $15000 *cough*

 

[Ixnatifual]

What do you guys think? Any brave and self proclaimed "dimwit" (consumer) wanting to step forth and give his/her view on what emotion a price at £39.95 evokes, compared to one at £39.99 ?

None. I read them both as £40 and that's also what I would enter when converting to my local currency.

 

[Windscreen Smudge]

I really have no idea what prices are used for games as I just see the aggregate total on the credit card slip each month, after the kids' shoping sprees on steam.

By all means take a look at the itemized charges from Steam, and good luck finding a single round number in the lot.

You'll find $4.99 and $7.49 a lot, and some really good ones like $10.99, $2.19 and $3.33.

 

[kilvenny]

Hmm - I shop in a store called poundland - everything is a pound (UK Sterling)
Go to a garage and look at car prices its never 10000 its 9995. I have been in a few computer shops buying games over the years and its always odd number unless its a 3 for a tenner multibuy.

Its simply good old psychological pricing - the brain thinks 39.99 is a 30+ game whereas when the brain sees 40.00 it thinks its a 40+ game.

I always fall foul of this when shopping doing a rough count in your head and adding up multiple items the brain rounds down and then the bill is higher than you expected.

For me - the pricing is exactly what I would have expected and if it gets a shop release as well then everything is nicely in sync.

 

[ste]

Its getting desperate now the nit picking and fault finding.