My office is directly above a Borders book store. I recently went down to buy a book. As I walked out and looked at these identical prices side by side it hit me. For the first time in a long time, I had paid full price for a book.
This got me thinking about convenience, which seems to play a big role in pricing. Examples like the brick and mortar full price sales are pretty easy to come by–ever bought a beer at a professional sporting event? Convenience obviously goes beyond location. We hire accountants not only for their expertise, but to save us time. Ditto the landscaping company for those of us who have a lawn and don’t mow it ourselves.
Netflix makes a big deal about having no late fees. That’s one type of convenience, but I think many of their customers are equally jazzed by receiving DVDs in the mail. Then again, Hollywood and Blockbuster are still around because sometimes we don’t want to think ahead to what we’ll want to watch a couple days from now.
It’s strange that so much on the Internet is free given convenience is such a large selling point for online services. It’s safe to say that Wrigley Field charges as much as possible for refreshments. Why do so many on the Internet leave money on the table?
Don’t tell them that!