Am I paying too little for stuff?

WSJ writes…..
Selling something for less than its sticker price is hardly new. But the tech industry has gone to new heights. You might get an ad-supported music subscription that still gives you the world’s music, a 100-night mattress trial or $50 for referring a friend to MealPal.
To grow, companies need to stand out in some way, said Robert Dolan, a professor at Harvard Business School. “There’s so much emphasis on growing their userbase,” all other considerations fade away.

Tech companies are finding ways to sell just about anything at crazy-low prices.


If a product becomes indispensable, its creator can sometimes raise prices without losing customers. That’s why the prices of Amazon Prime and Netflix have risen lately: They’re betting that because I love two-day shipping and “Stranger Things,” I won’t cancel. (They’re right.)
Larger companies can also afford to make little or no money on some products, betting they will make it up elsewhere.
For smaller fries without a lot of money to lose, this is harder calculus. “Companies are very reluctant to raise their prices, especially in an era where everything you do automatically gets a reaction from the crowds on social media,” said Prof. Dolan. Spotify could become profitable by raising its prices, for example, but “the backlash would be huge.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/am-i-paying-too-little-for-stuff-1535979601?mod=djemDailyShot&mod=djemDailyShot

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