Hi Dien

Thanks for the comments. As for competition, I don't believe there is any. In five years of searching I think we would have found it! The closest we found was a web site with about 100 URL's.

Thanks

Philip

> Hi Philip,

> My opinion on pricing has gradually changed
> over time....

> Two common business strategies are:

> * High price, low volume
> * Low price, high volume

> I think you should decide which type of
> business you would prefer:

> * A business where people pay MORE, but you
> have fewer customers to deal with (and they
> end up getting better service), or...

> * A business where people pay less, but you
> have more customers to deal with, who may
> end up getting worse service (since you're
> spreading yourself more thinly)....

> I like the first option better. I'd prefer
> to charge more, but offer more in return for
> it (to ensure I have happy customers).

> I think the high price, low volume type of
> business is probably easier for the
> "small guy or gal" to succeed in
> as well. However, it depends on your
> product.... I think the more unique your
> product is - as long as that uniqueness is
> beneficial to the customer in some way - the
> easier it would be to succeed this way. If
> there are many others selling something
> similar to what you have, but they're
> selling it cheaper, then it's probably
> harder to survive....

> If I were you, I would set a
> "high" price, but then also make
> sure that when people buy it, they feel that
> they are getting value. Add more products or
> extra service to what you offer to ensure
> that....

> Well, there's my two cents.... I'm
> interested in knowing what others think
> about this topic too. (Feel free to disagree
> with me.)

> - Dien Rice

> P.S. Like many others here, I've learned
> from Bill Myers. He seems to be a big
> believer in the "high price, low
> volume" type of model...

> One thing he seems to do is that the higher
> the price is which he charges for a product,
> the better the service is which the customer
> gets as part of the "package".

> For example, he's selling some expensive
> software nowadays - Membergate. It was
> $30,000 (I'm not sure if it's still the same
> price). But for their money, in addition to
> the software, a company also got
> installation, and training for their staff
> on how to use it, plus one year of free
> support (if I remember right).

> So, while companies did pay quite a price
> for the software, in reality they also got a
> lot in return. These companies felt that the
> software plus these extra additions was well
> worth the $30,000 they paid. The goal is to
> have happy customers, and make a profit too.