Price it Right

Don’t price products or services using round numbers. Odd prices may appear as though even more thought went into your decisions. In this way, prospective clients may subconsciously believe the prices you choose are “correct,” and they may act accordingly. This phenomenon is intended to create less friction between consumers’ wallets and your cash register.

Wal-Mart at Walmart.com, Phone.com at Phone.com, and DomainMarket.com at DomainMarket.com are good examples of places that often sell products with strange looking prices that may end with “88,” instead of the more common “99” or “00.”

While round numbers seem honest and customers might find a price of $.99 to be sneaky, using $.88 is a way of getting near the next higher increment without actually marking the price up to the next round number.

The authors believe that “88” sounds good, looks good, is somewhat unique, doesn’t risk offending people, and is simple yet appears to have required some thought or process. While the efficacy of creative pricing is debatable, it’s easy to do and is unlikely to have negative effects.

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