I've been wondering if independent software vendors might benefit from some humanizing of the sales effort. Instead of charging $2 for an app, how about framing it as "buy the developer a taco", or for $4 "buy the developer a grande latte". The amazing $10 app could be "buy the developer a roll of sushi". You get the idea.
Psychologically, I find it much more satisfying to be rewarding friends & associates with more tangible things than some dollar amount.
Does anyone know if this model has been attempted before?
This is exactly the opposite of the pricing psychology ISVs benefit from. Good anchors for pricing are not cheap, disposable items but rather expensive, valuable economic inputs like "your fully loaded cost for $TIME."
I know a dev or two with "buy me a beer" buttons. Anecdotally, one of those buttons plus $5 will buy you a beer.
Personally, I find it quite humiliating to have to (almost literally) beg for food just to be paid for work done, which in every single other aspect of life is considered perfectly normal.
Plus, how much does it really help? There are so many people with 'donate' buttons on their website who don't get enough 'donations' each year to even eat a single meal.
It flips it around to begging and belittling the time spent.
A far better proposition is just charging what you think it is worth and advertising the benefits to the buyer. Telling the buyer you're going to get a sushi roll doesn't assist them. Telling them they save x hours a week, or avoid situation y - now that's better marketing.
Psychologically, I find it much more satisfying to be rewarding friends & associates with more tangible things than some dollar amount.
Does anyone know if this model has been attempted before?