# How do retailers price things?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-retailers-price-things/170654>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 23, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-retailers-price-things/170654 "2003-04-23T18:50:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CastleAnthrax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@CastleAnthrax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastleAnthrax)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-retailers-price-things/170654/1 "2003-04-23T18:50:43Z")

</div>

I want to sell widgets. I use widgets daily and I’m tired of running out and I know to get a good price, I must buy enough to resell. The best widget-makers are out of the country, so I import them.  
OMG the price difference! I am buying smallish amounts, so I am not getting the best available deals. Still, I pay $9 per widget and other people sell them for $100. More than ten times the price is highway robbery, isn’t it? Is that a usual markup?  
So I think about how much it costs me to sell these. With advertising, time spent, gas costs, Customs fees, and everything, my total cost is about $11.00.  
If I price my widget at $22, which still seems high but acceptable, nobody will buy it because they assume something is wrong with it to be so cheap. If I price it at $100, I feel like I’m cheating people. I just talked to a guy on the phone who offered me a two-widget deal for $330! And he gets it.  
What is the usual pricing scheme for ready-made retail goods?

And then we get into the area of stuff I make. Widgets are useless by themselves- you have to turn them into Super Widgets. Any idiot can make a Super Widget but many people have been given the wrong instructions, or don’t have the time or inclination. It costs me about $.50 to make a Super Widget. Other people sell similar for $15.00. Mine are actually higher quality than the 15.00 ones. I can use the Super Widget to make Extra Super-Duper Widgets which are even easier to use. Extra Super-Duper widgets cost me about .25 to make. Extremely inferior ESDW sell for $2.00 to 5.00 apiece.  
I can upgrade widgets while I read the boards or watch TV. It takes no skill or dexterity.  
I’ve been told I can double my current prices and still give people a bargain. I don’t want to charge more than I would pay. Where is the middle ground?  
Thanks,  
HennaDancer