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**mbossman2** · 08-05-2006, 06:30 AM

pricing is an interesting game.

Product pricing does not ONLY include the price of the physical product and overhead and markup.

It also includes the undefinable "value" of the retailer.

While price is certainly a factor, when ever I hear the comment that "Price is everything" I have to laugh...that "statement" is only half of the true statement:

All things being equal, price is everything

the key here is "all things being equal". again, like the above comment, what the product is, is only half the equation. into this "all things being equal", you must factor in:

reliability
trustworthiness
availability
sales/return/shipping policies
ease of buying
accessibility of the sales/customer service departments
ease of returning
location of stock

all of things go into exactly what you are willing to pay for a product. Many of these factors may not be conscious decisions or based upon direct knowledge : how do you know Newegg is a good player? if you haven't bought from them yet, you have no direct knowledge of them. Everything else is hearsay. There is an immense amount of trust that goes into online retailing: trust in the product, trust in the retailer, trust in the shipping company etc. and that directly influences what you are willing to pay.

lets take 2 examples:

2 identical widgets:

retailer A has it for $500
retailer B has it for $600 (20% premium)

retailer A:

Not in stock
Stock will come into nothern Lithuania (1 week)
Shipping will be via ground (estimated shipping time from "in stock" date: 2 weeks)
Shipping method: Ahmed's camel and ground transportation (read that as "you never heard of them")
Insured (insurance? you don't need no stinking insurance!)
Website is a www.geocities.com/retailerA domain and pops up sometimes with the message "subscriber has over utlized their bandwidth, please try later"

Retailer B

Also not in stock
Stock in 2 weeks (stock will be in Nashville, TN)
Shipping will be via ground (ship time 7 days)
Shipping method: Fedex Ground
Insured: yes
Website: always up, always fast.

Now, both retailers don't have it in stock (of all sources they have the best ETAs), bsed upon the above information: who do you order from? why?

08-05-2006, 06:30 AM	#15
mbossman2 I am, in reality, a moose Staff Premium Member Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: RTP, NC Posts: 2,441	pricing is an interesting game. Product pricing does not ONLY include the price of the physical product and overhead and markup. It also includes the undefinable "value" of the retailer. While price is certainly a factor, when ever I hear the comment that "Price is everything" I have to laugh...that "statement" is only half of the true statement: All things being equal, price is everything the key here is "all things being equal". again, like the above comment, what the product is, is only half the equation. into this "all things being equal", you must factor in: reliability trustworthiness availability sales/return/shipping policies ease of buying accessibility of the sales/customer service departments ease of returning location of stock all of things go into exactly what you are willing to pay for a product. Many of these factors may not be conscious decisions or based upon direct knowledge : how do you know Newegg is a good player? if you haven't bought from them yet, you have no direct knowledge of them. Everything else is hearsay. There is an immense amount of trust that goes into online retailing: trust in the product, trust in the retailer, trust in the shipping company etc. and that directly influences what you are willing to pay. lets take 2 examples: 2 identical widgets: retailer A has it for $500 retailer B has it for $600 (20% premium) retailer A: Not in stock Stock will come into nothern Lithuania (1 week) Shipping will be via ground (estimated shipping time from "in stock" date: 2 weeks) Shipping method: Ahmed's camel and ground transportation (read that as "you never heard of them") Insured (insurance? you don't need no stinking insurance!) Website is a www.geocities.com/retailerA domain and pops up sometimes with the message "subscriber has over utlized their bandwidth, please try later" Retailer B Also not in stock Stock in 2 weeks (stock will be in Nashville, TN) Shipping will be via ground (ship time 7 days) Shipping method: Fedex Ground Insured: yes Website: always up, always fast. Now, both retailers don't have it in stock (of all sources they have the best ETAs), bsed upon the above information: who do you order from? why? __________________ Veritas Principium Libertas Traveling Moose