
The Pricing Trilogy - sgdesign
http://sachagreif.com/the-pricing-trilogy/
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keiferski
The idea that charging high prices is somehow "unethical" is completely
ridiculous. If you don't like the product, don't buy it. Value based pricing
rules the world, guys. Nothing, repeat, nothing, you buy in daily life is
priced completely on its material costs. Giving an Ebook author flak about it
is just silly.

~~~
hkmurakami
Agreed, and this book is "only" $29!! Buyers should just consider what kind of
economic benefit the book will bring them, and make a decision to buy or pass.

By the way, the most expensive ebook I've seen was a $1999 ebook by one of the
best high stakes online poker players in the world. Some people complained
about the price, but it sold like hotcakes. (and this was back in 2009 iirc!)

~~~
kriro
If it was the book by Tri that's selling for about 60$ now and he has
basically been outed as someone who vastly oversold his own skills.

But yeah there are some examples of guys I'd consider more reputable selling
audio/e-books for 500$-2k (I have payed these amounts and didn't regret it). I
think that's easier to pull off in poker where the link between information
and the value of said information is pretty direct. Additionally those books
sold at a time where many players had a base philosophy of "poker money is not
real money" because after all it's just stuff to keep track of the score.
Paying directly from your poker account probably doesn't sting as much as
paying from the same allotment of money that you have set aside to pay other
bills (speculation on my part)

The "poker coaching industry" is an interesting area of research in asymetric
information though.

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dmix
As I posted in the other thread, the key difference between the old ebook
sales page and the new one (for both Sacha and Nathan) is the fact they no
longer focused on selling an ebook. They are basically selling a "course" with
videos, resources, etc in addition to the book.

This combined package and the new sales pitch basically results in a new
product. One that provides a much better value-justification to the user for
the high price.

This is about product repositioning as much as it is about changing pricing.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positioning_(marketing)>

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timme
Someone writing about plugging products while plugging their product
referencing someone writing about plugging products while plugging their
product.

We have come full circle.

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pchristensen
I bought Sacha's new book, and it's magnificent! Based on how I value my time,
I spent more money reading the first chapter or two, and given that I'm going
to be starting a Meteor project soon, the quick ramp-up I got from his book is
easily worth thousands of dollars. Not to mention the opportunity cost benefit
of using Meteor vs something slower to develop with.

$39 is expensive if your time is cheap and your results aren't worth much.
It's also expensive if you expect a lousy book, but Discover Meteor is
outstanding so far.

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ruswick
I agree that there is nothing "unfair" about charging exorbitant sums. People
fail to acknowledge that price is not a representation of innate value (such a
thing does not exist), but is rather a manifestation of what the market is
willing to tolerate. If everyone is willing to pay $100,000 for the book, it
is worth $100,000. There is nothing that makes a product intrinsically "worth
it."

That said, I think that "reasonable" prices are probably those that offer
lucrative revenue while still permitting a large portion of prospective users
to buy the book. This is where the $39 model ceases to be optimal. Although it
might increase revenues, it will ultimately preclude many purchases, and limit
the ability of the book to proliferate. This is because most people, despite
their interest in the book, simply cannot afford such an inordinate
expenditure. This is certainly what occurred with me. Despite the fact that I
was quite excited about the book and am optimistic about Meteor as a
framework, there is simply no way I can front the money for such an expensive
product.

I suppose that if revenues are the only thing that one desires, this is
probably the preferable model (and there is certainly nothing unethical about
it), but more accessible pricing is better if you want to reach a large
audience.

~~~
patio11
For many technologists, $39 is a very small amount of money relative to many
things they could compare it to. (For example, the implicit cost of learning
the new JavaScript hotness.) The audience of professional developers who can
spend $39 is quite large. For example, if you're ever at a developer event,
look for the folks with the hardware with the fruit on it; they're universally
capable of paying $39. The fruit company does not appear to be hurting for
market share.

~~~
solutionyogi
Boy, that fruit reference really threw me off but now I am laughing my ass
off. If you were not in to software, you could have definitely made a career
in stand ups.

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antidaily
Good grief. What's with all the fucking ebooks?

~~~
StavrosK
Sex is a popular subject, I guess.

~~~
antidaily
Touche.

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ricardobeat
I'm curious, are the persons featured in interviews paid a percentage of
sales?

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omnibobble
Some of these ideas are dubious. Indeed — pricing higher sometimes leads to
greater sales.

