# What businesses drive you insane with indefensible or incoherent pricing policies? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2007, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601 "2007-02-10T06:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/41 "2007-02-10T23:45:06Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] The point of iTunes pricing is that out of 10 tracks on an album people usually want one or two. So they’re willing to pay $2 for two songs that they like instead of $15 for 2 songs that they like. [/QUOTE] My whole point. This makes sense with pop music. Not with classical music - I was just a few moments ago looking for recordings of Sibelius 5 on there. A few individual movements from individual recordings could be purchased, but if for example I wanted the Bernstein recording of the piece, I have to buy a £25 album. There’s an advantage to be had over selling CDs to this market which isn’t being exploited, which is being able to sell individual works as single entities rather than the 60-70 minute bundles which are available on the shelf. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/42 "2007-02-10T23:48:36Z")
[QUOTE=Throatwarbler Mangrove] I think the primary cost component of places like Starbucks would be real estate- that is the rent on the location. [/QUOTE] Well, that I could see. But their cold drinks, although easier to prepare and having no exotic ingredients, cost noticably extra. And these are the people who make half of their chocalate shakes from _ice_. Why is it more expensive than, say, a Double Moccha Backflip Latte Frappacino with Ninja Shot? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/43 "2007-02-11T01:33:08Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Airlines. [/QUOTE] No kidding. I live in Connecticut. Last year my father was hospitalized and possibly terminal. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. I flew down earlier in the year, and he ended up being discharged from the hospital. Anyway, on this occasion I was all ready to purchase a one-way ticket on a Tuesday night for $150 from Southwest, but didn’t finalize the purchase because my father seemed to be stabilizing. The next day at noon, his condition worsened, and I was told I needed to get there ASAP. The same flight was now $350! Now, last minute is last minute. How is 12 hours before a flight much different from 4 hours before a flight? I could have bought two tickets the night before for less money! I should add that I still love Southwest, despite getting stung for an extra $200 in this case. I did get the $150 flight when I flew back home. Also, I got a previous short notice one-way flight from them for $240, when all of the major carriers were at around $1,500. Nevertheless, the pricing schemes of airlines is crazy. The prices for a given flight _on a given day and time_ go up and down with no rhyme or reason, depending on when you actually purchase the ticket. I have seen prices go higher and lower after I purchased my ticket. ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/44 "2007-02-11T01:39:51Z")
The banks now charge you $33 when you go over your balance with a debit card. They used to simply not approve, and you would pull out another card or cash or not make the sale. You have no choice. You cannot keep the card if you don’t want this charge. Just five years ago the charge was $3. Then they got super greedy. But this rip-off overcharge is just wrong, used to be illegal and I’m hoping once it comes in front of a Democratic admistration will be illegal again. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/45 "2007-02-11T01:45:53Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] Cosmetics. Especially the really high prices ones. You think paying $500 for a Gucci handbag is insane? Try $500 for a two-ounce container of some exotic facial cream! And what’s worse, the stuff is virtually identical to the $20 variety. In fact, a lot of it comes from the same batch of material, and they’ll just add some random inert glurge to the high end stuff and call it the special ingredient to justify the ludicrous price. [/QUOTE] Once out of curiosity I decided to see what made eye cream different from face cream so I compared the ingredient lists for a face cream and an eye cream in the same product line. The ingredient lists were identical. The eye cream was just in a tiny jar and it cost maybe a dollar less than the other jar. Not only is that stupid pricing but it’s crooked because it’s pretty difficult to compare the ingredient lists what with the tiny print and the fact that you are comparing words you’ve never seen before. The fact that they’ve marked two different uses for the same product on the labels is misleading and I don’t know why it’s legal. That takes idiot tax to a new level. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/46 "2007-02-11T05:12:08Z")
Airlines that charge more for a single ticket from A to B than for the return ticket A to B and back to A. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/47 "2007-02-11T05:22:40Z")
[QUOTE=Cunctator] Airlines that charge more for a single ticket from A to B than for the return ticket A to B and back to A. [/QUOTE] That one actually makes sense. Most of these airlines have as part of their conditions that you must use the return leg of your trip. If you don’t, you owe them full fare. One way travel is typically more expensive, not just with airlines. Reasoning goes that if you need a one-way ticket, a roundtrip ticket that requires you to return won’t do, so you are stuck buying a one-way ticket. There’s a lot less people buying one-way tickets so it’s not as competitive, so they can charge more. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/48 "2007-02-11T05:41:04Z")
[QUOTE=groman] That one actually makes sense. Most of these airlines have as part of their conditions that you must use the return leg of your trip. If you don’t, you owe them full fare. [/QUOTE] The airline I was using had no such condition. I wanted to fly from A to B only. The choice was: - a ticket from A to B for about $800; or - a ticket from A to B and back to A for about $350. Naturally I bought the second option and simply threw the unused return portion of the ticket in the bin once I got to B. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/49 "2007-02-11T06:56:29Z")
The vodka industry. All vodkas taste the same if served ice cold. All warm vodka will taste the same by the fourth shot. There is no point for people to pay $60 for one bottle of vodka. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/50 "2007-02-11T07:07:40Z")
> [@](#): > > The point of iTunes pricing is that out of 10 tracks on an album people usually want one or two. > > So they’re willing to pay $2 for two songs that they like instead of $15 for 2 songs that they like. It’s not a bad deal for people who just want a few songs, and who don’t mind being limited in the ways they can use them. For people who want the whole album, a CD is an extra $4-5, and it comes with a physical medium and artwork, and without Apple’s mediocre sound quality and restrictive DRM. That’s worth it to me. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/51 "2007-02-11T07:14:37Z")
[QUOTE=Lakai] All vodkas taste the same if served ice cold. All warm vodka will taste the same by the fourth shot. There is no point for people to pay $60 for one bottle of vodka. [/QUOTE] I agree that most of the time there is no point to pay $60 for one bottle of vodka, when a $20 bottle will do just fine. but a couple of points: A) Serving vodka ice cold is only reserved for vodkas that are undrinkable otherwise or you actually prefer it that way :dubious: Just like most rums taste the same when mixed with coke, doesn’t make all rums the same. b) For me it takes ten to twelve shots before bad Vodka stops tasting like turpentine, but I also have a weird taste in Vodka and actively dislike Absolut/Smirnoff and prefer Finlandia to Stoli. I guess that makes me some sort of a traitor 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/52 "2007-02-11T07:29:27Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Jewelry. 200% mark-ups and then huge sales. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Think learning curve. I used to make jewelry. You can burn up a lot of very expensive materials in the learning process, lemme tellya. But yes, there is a big markup. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/53 "2007-02-11T07:54:12Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] That’s called an idiot tax. Similarly one of my grade school classmates found that at a certain restaurant, you could buy cheese fries for $3.00 or a regular order of fries for $1.00 and an ‘extra cheese’ for $0.50. [/QUOTE] There’s a diner down the way that has burgers and sandwiches and such. They’ve got a bacon cheeseburger for, $6.50 and a “sourdough bacon cheese melt” for $7.50. The difference between the two? One’s on a bun and the other is on sourdough. I asked if I could have a bacon cheeseburger on sourdough and the waitress didn’t even blink an eye. “Sure thing, hon!” Also, some of the burgers come with fries and some with potato chips. The distribution seems pretty random with no apparent correlation between expense of toppings/burger variety and economy of side-dish. However, if you want fries with a potato chip burger, you pay a buck extra. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/54 "2007-02-11T12:30:59Z")
[QUOTE=robby] No kidding. I live in Connecticut. Last year my father was hospitalized and possibly terminal. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. I flew down earlier in the year, and he ended up being discharged from the hospital. Anyway, on this occasion I was all ready to purchase a one-way ticket on a Tuesday night for $150 from Southwest, but didn’t finalize the purchase because my father seemed to be stabilizing. The next day at noon, his condition worsened, and I was told I needed to get there ASAP. The same flight was now $350! Now, last minute is last minute. How is 12 hours before a flight much different from 4 hours before a flight? I could have bought two tickets the night before for less money! I should add that I still love Southwest, despite getting stung for an extra $200 in this case. I did get the $150 flight when I flew back home. Also, I got a previous short notice one-way flight from them for $240, when all of the major carriers were at around $1,500. Nevertheless, the pricing schemes of airlines is crazy. The prices for a given flight _on a given day and time_ go up and down with no rhyme or reason, depending on when you actually purchase the ticket. I have seen prices go higher and lower after I purchased my ticket. [/QUOTE] I remember watching a documentary on Discovery chanel on this very thing. It’s hard to explain, but if you ever catch it, it really does make sense. All the pricing is based on supply and demand, and also airline routing. Big differences in price with airline routing. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/55 "2007-02-11T13:09:07Z")
The American Auto Parts industry. **$250** for a piece of plastic the size & weight of a\*\* coffee mug\*\*!?! **$125** for a metal clip the size & composition of an **office bindery clip**? AARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHH! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/56 "2007-02-11T13:38:40Z")
[QUOTE=According to Pliny] The banks now charge you $33 when you go over your balance with a debit card. They used to simply not approve, and you would pull out another card or cash or not make the sale. You have no choice. You cannot keep the card if you don’t want this charge. Just five years ago the charge was $3. Then they got super greedy. But this rip-off overcharge is just wrong, used to be illegal and I’m hoping once it comes in front of a Democratic admistration will be illegal again. [/QUOTE] In the meantime, switch to a credit union. Mine doesn’t typically allow overdrafts on my debit card but if one does get through it’s an $18 fee. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/57 "2007-02-11T16:02:39Z")
Real estate. Here in the Southwest, where the bubble is supposedly breaking, it’s almost impossible to figure out the value of anything: prices are insane, sellers are delusional and two cookie cutter houses in the same neighborhood can be priced 100K apart. ---
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/58 "2007-02-11T17:35:49Z")
Car sales Jesus christ. Nothing pisses me off more than the Car Sales Industry. My father and I went to go and find a car one day and we stoped at a dealership. We told him our price range, 5600 to 7000 and the guys said “Well, the closest thing we have it 12,000 but we could knock off a few thousand to start” WTH!?@!@ Then howcome it was 12,000 to start? I don’t understand why you can’t have a car dealership that says, here’s the price. Take it or leave it. Simply make it 15% (or something appropriate) over their cost. I think they’d make a killing if they could do something like that. But that’s my $.02 ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/59 "2007-02-11T19:03:16Z")
[QUOTE=Surbey] Car sales Jesus christ. Nothing pisses me off more than the Car Sales Industry. My father and I went to go and find a car one day and we stoped at a dealership. We told him our price range, 5600 to 7000 and the guys said “Well, the closest thing we have it 12,000 but we could knock off a few thousand to start” WTH!?@!@ Then howcome it was 12,000 to start? I don’t understand why you can’t have a car dealership that says, here’s the price. Take it or leave it. Simply make it 15% (or something appropriate) over their cost. I think they’d make a killing if they could do something like that. But that’s my $.02 [/QUOTE] Saturn used to do that, don’t know if they still do. If I recall, their whole marketing strategy was “no haggling.” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601/60 "2007-02-11T19:07:57Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit] Starbucks. I’m sure it makes them money, but I still don’t entirely understand why some of their cold drinks cost 5 dollars. It is nice, but if I carried around a blender I could do a pretty good imitation of most of their cold drinks for about 25 cents. Add another 25 for the bulk packaged materials, and another 50 for storage. Of course, they are ridiculously overstaffed at my local shop, often with 6 or more people for a 1-2 man job. [/QUOTE] There’s a pretty good explanation of this in the book [The Undercover Economist](http://www.amazon.com/Undercover-Economist-Exposing-Poor-Decent/dp/0195189779), in the chapter “What the supermarkets don’t want you to know.” Basically, it boils down to the coffee shop wants each customer to pay as much as they are willing to pay. Starbucks wouldn’t be able to have on their menu:[ul] [li]Coffee: $1.50\*[/li][li]Coffee for those willing to pay more: $1.75[/li][/ul] But they are able to have: [ul] [li]Coffee: $1.50[/li][li]Cafe Mocha: $1.75[/li][/ul] Even though the added chocolate hardly costs anything. From the book: > [@](#): > > “By charging wildly different prices for products that have largely the same cost, Starbucks is able to smoke out customers who are less sensitive about the price.” I hope I explained it well. I haven’t finished reading the whole book (it’s not exactly a fast, easy read) but what I have read so far has been pretty interesting. \*I realize the prices are probably not the actual Starbucks prices, but are used for illustration purposes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-businesses-drive-you-insane-with-indefensible-or-incoherent-pricing-policies/391601.md?page=4)