Discount=reducing the cost to consumers
Dynamic pricing=increasing the cost to consumers
I seriously doubt that Amazon was offering their former standard price to those they felt they could get the most money out of and reducing the price for everone else.
I stopped buying anything at Amazon the second they made the history of my trasactions with them public property.
If I did still shop at Amazon, I’d still look around for the best price. If they decide I can pay more than someone else, but still have the lowest price I guess I wouldn’t care that it’s more than someone else paid. Besides, they don’t have such a great selection there anyway, just mainstream, total * s h i t * !!!
Lucky, you can’t be that naive! Come on!
Well salior, maybe I am. My point was that when WalMart, Target or whomever offers a product at X dollars to the general public, but gives a 5% discount to seniors, they are reducing the price (and their profit). They do this becasue they are hoping to get more buisness from seniors and make them loyal customers.
Dynamic pricing is akin to offering a product at X price, and charging an additional 5% to seniors.
If WalMart is operating on a 3% profit margin, they may offer a discount reducing their profit margin to 2.98%. No problem there. Dynamic pricing would maintain a 3% margin as the base, and jack it up to 3.xxx, depending on the consumer.
But perhaps that doesn’t address your point. If you could clarify…
strategies and tactics evolve in military power games as the technology changes, the same is going to be true in the economic power game. consumers have to learn how to fight in the paycho-techno-economic wargame of the 21st century.
use your VCR to tape shows then fast scan thru the commercials on playback. have to learn how to keep your browser from giving away information about you. maybe someone should design and market a consumer warfare browser. blocks commercials and doesn’t give out any info you don’t want, clearly explains how websites get info about you from the browser.
Dal Timgar
Dynamic pricing, my ass! More like dynamic gouging, I think.
As seen in this thread, large corporations are attempting to hoodwink the consumer with any repackaging or pricing structure that yields an extra dime.
As in the other thread, my advice remains the same:
Boycott
This is the one thing that makes companies shiver in their shorts. Do not, repeat, do not patronize any companies that don’t adhere to fixed price policies.
You have to hit them in the pocketbook to make them see daylight on an issue like this.
I am not sure I understand that well. Could you explain it better? Do you mean to say “Do not, repeat, do not patronize any companies that don’t adhere to fixed price policies” or rather “Do not, repeat, do not patronize any companies that don’t adhere to fixed price policies”?
Oh, BTW, I will continue to patronize whoever I want. I only take orders that I get through the approved channels from my superiors in Beta Callistei.
I will buy from whomever gives me the best price for the service/product I am purchasing. Really what they charge someone else is of minimal concern to me.
I doubt it’ll change anyone’s opinions, but Amazon has apologized for the “experiment” and refunded the money of consumers who were overcharged.
It can be argued this was bad PR but I cannot see how they did anything wrong.
“dynamic pricing” happens all around you all the time. The latest thing is with priceline. I see people at my crocery store paying less for their groceries than I’m paying. There have always been coupons and a hundred other ways to have selective pricing.
Companies try to charge more to those who can pay more and less to those who can pay less because that way they can sell more. If they charge the same to everyone, then the lowere end doesn’t buy and the upper end saves money. In effect those who pay more are subsidizing those who pay less. It’s ironic that when the government does this it is considered a good thing but if a private company does it it is considered a bad thing.
The only mistake they made here was a PR mistake in not seeing this would backfire.
As is being discussed in another thread: Suppose I sell pizzas and I advertise:
“Pizza $11, free delivery, $1 discount if you pick it up” . . Smart PR.
Now, if instead of that I advertise:
“Pizza $10 plus $1 surcharge for delivery”
now that is not a smart move and yet I am saying exactly the same thing.