QuikTip #4
Setting the Last Two Digits of a Price
Before deciding on the last two digits of your price, check to see how others in your industry are pricing. For example, if you’re selling quality handcrafted products or art, avoid the $5.98, $10.99 type of prices found in discount stores. (I’ve noticed that most Etsy sellers are using either round numbers or prices ending in five, which to me is a much more pleasing number than eight or nine.)
If you’re selling a self-published print book, set figures that end in $.95 or $.99 like most other trade publishers or, if selling an eBook or report, the magic ending number today seems to be a “7″ ($7, $27, $47, $197, etc.). When offering a service–editing, teaching, speaking, website design, etc.– use round figures such as $35 an hour, or quote a job total in nice round numbers.
THE USE OF WEIRD PRICES in an industry that traditionally uses a certain type of pricing will only mark you as an amateur, so do your research and price accordingly. Says marketing professor Donald W. Caudill, “Some researchers believe that there exists some magic in ending a price in six, seven, or nine. Seven, as you know, is a lucky number; six and nine double and triple the powerful and mystical three. Others suggest pricing on the even dollar because buyers automatically round up to the nearest round figure.”
HAVE YOU INCREASED YOUR SALES by changing the last two digits of your prices one way or the other? If so, your feedback to this post would be very interesting. Use the comment box below to make a little report.
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I am also aware that as items become older, some shops differentiate sales items in percentages of discounts – i.e. ending in .98 could be 50% off, .99 75% off, etc… I cannot imagine ever selling anything that low! lol But, it does support the fact that those last two numbers do have meaning… .