Should I show the price for high valued goods on my web site

[ozzie_jim]

So here's the scenario...

You sell a unique high value product or service targeting a specific sector or industry. You have a concern that if you display the price you might put off a customer. So should you leave the price blank and trust that they will call/email?? Or does this just put them off as they wanted to research pricing using the web?

Here's 2 examples:
1. You offer an on-line shopping cart with unique features that you have developed. You know the value of the unique features but you don't want to advertise a price tag of $8000 as you can also get free shopping carts. If they see $8000 they will never call. If they do call you get the chance to establish the value of your unique offer.

2. (my case) You sell an $8000 office coffee machine. It runs forever and will make 300 cups a day and comes with on site support etc. You can also get $2000 machines that are going to break in 3 months and don't have warranty. However I fear showing $8000 will stop customers researching what makes us different.

What do you think???

[Tubby]

"What do you think???"

I think - Put your price on it, with some visible pride if possible. Tempt them to wonder what this machine has that others do not.
(but be nice. . Do not tell them every other coffee machine is crap!)

Mostly people prefer to own the nicest, the best. We compromise because we sometimes believe the best is beyond our means - we do not have enough cash sometimes.

Present a compelling emotional argument. You just know that most people will boast about having the best . . Help them to achieve that. Put your price up front..

[NetMassimo]

If there's no price tag many people will go away at once. Some will call / e-mail you to ask for the price and when they hear it they'll give up the idea so you lose customers and also time in calls / e-mails.

[jabo]

the suggestions from ^^ are great, I mean, take me for example, I would rather browse products with tag prices than to have to search for the price, this would make comparison of products difficult, its just like buying in a market, if there are no price tags, you would have to search for someone to ask about it.

[chrison600]

I have several thoughts:

People gravitate to and crave high priced items because they are perceived as superior. You could use your price to create that kind of draw, but you must immediately qualify it. One of the first questions that will come to your site visitors' minds is, "Why is this thing so expensive?" You need to give them the answer. You could choose a comparison matrix, or a testimonial list, a professional review/award, or the lot.

I agree with Tubby. Do NOT degrade the competition to justify the price difference. Educate the shopper as to why your offering is more expensive and they will use that knowledge when shopping other options. They'll be able to detect the difference. If they still decide to go the cheaper route, they'll know they got an inferior product.

You may consider offering some kind of purchase option that eases the pain of the front-end price. A payment program, financing, a lease option with a service contract or supplies contract, etc. I knew a guy who got a CD printer for free because he contracted for the supplies.

Have fun and good luck,

Chris

[advancedmerchant]

I purchase just about EVERYTHING online. Many of these items, for myself or my company are VERY high ticket items. When I go online, I am looking for three things:

1) Reputable dealer
2) Stock on hand w/expectation of immediate shipment
3) Price

I do not have time to mess around emailing or calling. I am looking at multiple vendors, and want to get the purchase off my "to do" list. If there is no price, you are just out of the market, your whole site is wasted.

[Weedy Lady]

I research - on line - almost everything that does not fall into the category of "everyday normal purchases" and if I come to a web site with no prices I leave. Period.

If someone is going to pay a lot of money for a product, whether it is a coffee machine or an automobile, they need to know the features, warranty, service, AND price up front.

[imvain2]

Originally Posted by Weedy Lady

I research - on line - almost everything that does not fall into the category of "everyday normal purchases" and if I come to a web site with no prices I leave. Period.

If someone is going to pay a lot of money for a product, whether it is a coffee machine or an automobile, they need to know the features, warranty, service, AND price up front.

I agree with everything said above.

And in regards to the Automobile scenerio as pointed out by Weedy Lady. Comparing this to auto purchasing is perfect.

For me, where I live, you can't drive down a business street without finding a new/used car lot. I like to look at the cars on Sunday (no sales people!), and when I come across a lot that doesn't show the pricing, guess what? I move on! I know I can find a similar vehicle somewhere else and they are willing to show me the price.

I'm not saying that people can find a better coffee maker, but that actually doesn't matter. If someone feels that they can find a better one and the other website will tell them the pricing, they are gone!

[jackit_chick]

I would put the price on there. If they have to contact you and THEN hear a high price it may make them think of a scam or something, I'd post it and tell them why they'd want to pay that much. I leave websites with no prices.

[jennywill]

I agree that prices should always be displayed. Put the price on the products and make sure you are targeting the right customers. If they go away just because of the price only chances are they are not a qualified target for your product. Customers looking for an $8000 coffee machine or shopping cart are very different from those searching for $50.00 coffee machines and free shopping carts.

Once you are very sure your targeting is reaching the correct customers you should see improvement in your conversion, however, if you dont see an improvement, then you could try an AB test that serves up equally a page without a price and the exact same page with a price. My bet is the response is greater from the page with the price providing the customer is qualified.

[microtekblue]

Yea its a pain in the arss when the price is not displayed.

I personally will leave if I don't see a price, and sometimes it makes me think, does the guy want to sell the thing or not?!!

Give me a price, I might buy it, don't give me a price, don't expect me to call or email you for it.

[cw1865]

Originally Posted by ozzie_jim

So here's the scenario...

You sell a unique high value product or service targeting a specific sector or industry. You have a concern that if you display the price you might put off a customer. So should you leave the price blank and trust that they will call/email?? Or does this just put them off as they wanted to research pricing using the web?

Here's 2 examples:
1. You offer an on-line shopping cart with unique features that you have developed. You know the value of the unique features but you don't want to advertise a price tag of $8000 as you can also get free shopping carts. If they see $8000 they will never call. If they do call you get the chance to establish the value of your unique offer.

2. (my case) You sell an $8000 office coffee machine. It runs forever and will make 300 cups a day and comes with on site support etc. You can also get $2000 machines that are going to break in 3 months and don't have warranty. However I fear showing $8000 will stop customers researching what makes us different.

What do you think???

Since you are not 'differentiating' based on price, and are 'high' in the market, show the price, since you're going to be 'undersold' anyway - ie. you're not selling based on being cheaper.

By failing to show the price two things are going to happen: 1. a certain percentage of qualified 'leads' will click off simply because you failed to show the price (they never become a lead) and 2. you will get unqualified leads who have no intention of spending that much anyway.

[MrGamm]

Originally Posted by ozzie_jim

So here's the scenario...

You sell a unique high value product or service targeting a specific sector or industry. You have a concern that if you display the price you might put off a customer. So should you leave the price blank and trust that they will call/email?? Or does this just put them off as they wanted to research pricing using the web?

Here's 2 examples:
1. You offer an on-line shopping cart with unique features that you have developed. You know the value of the unique features but you don't want to advertise a price tag of $8000 as you can also get free shopping carts. If they see $8000 they will never call. If they do call you get the chance to establish the value of your unique offer.

2. (my case) You sell an $8000 office coffee machine. It runs forever and will make 300 cups a day and comes with on site support etc. You can also get $2000 machines that are going to break in 3 months and don't have warranty. However I fear showing $8000 will stop customers researching what makes us different.

What do you think???

Personally...

1. Your not selling shopping carts. You're selling solutions and might even need to train your client on how to do better business with your product. Either that or your selling "shopping cart" and you can expect your competition to beat you hands down. It really doesn't matter if someone sees the price of your cart if they have never owned or operated one in the past. They are more than likely to go the free route and piss away a good year or two of their business wondering why everything is so problematic.

Go get the clients... not the walk in customer... jmo...

2. You need a sales team. The internet is a fierce market. I've been hacking and slashing at coffee pots for years. Same goes for free and paid software services. Both have their strong points and their negatives.

For every person selling good product there are 1000 others trying to pawn their crap off onto you. An experienced web business owner knows this. You just need to cater to them specifically. I doubt showing your price would be a benefit to either of you. But if you are proud and confident about your services and prices. Show them. Jmo...

[ronchalice]

Show them the price, but make sure you've done your market research. Are you the only site selling this particular brand and model? If not, and someone else is selling it for $6,995 you need to have a very good reason why they should pay you $8K.
If you are the only player with that brand and model, then put your $8K price point at the end of a list of differentiating features.

[RichAtVNS]

This is an isuue I have had to deal with...

Unless you are a wholesale site and directing potiential retail customers to your distributors sites.... (thats what I do on Arkahdia Arts and the other sites)

There are 3 other reasons you should be showing price:

1) If you do not post the price of the items the perception is that you may have a sliding price which you give different customers different quotes just your based on the perceived value of thier willingness to pay and the depth of their pockets.
Extremely predatory and bad.

2) You may not actually be equipted to sell the product and are just a middle man who has to get the price from some one else when a prospect comes in.

3) Finally you will get alot of false postitives, these are lookie loos who ask alot of questions who disappear only when they find out the price wasting alot of your time.
This can be as high as 20 worthless leads to 1 good one and if your a bad offline closer or having a bad day you will be in alot of trouble.

The final reason is the reason I am putting sample custom projects with pricing for clients to prevent this exact problem...

[webwoman]

I hate it when they do that! If I go to two sites and one has a price and the other is mysterious about it, I go with the one with the price. It always feels a little slimy to me when people leave the price off, like either they are afraid of their competition or they are offering different deals to different people.

Put the price on the stuff and let the profits fall where they may!

[bijan814]

put the price, that way your time and the customers time won't be wasted.

[subsystems]

Definately post the price! People are skeptical from the onset. You MUST build trust rapidly. Can't do that if you are hiding your price. Makes people wonder what else you are hiding.

Beyond price, state things like ordering times, calculate shipping costs for them, any taxes etc...
Be upfront and believe in what you are doing at all levels. The more you make clear before the sale the fewer problems crop up after you accept their money. Just make absolutely sure you deliver on your promises.
If you state allow 3 weeks for delivery. You'd better get it shipped so they will get it in 3 weeks or less. People need to plan things based on your word. I am assuming you may need to purchase the items on an as needed basis. So you will need to charge the customer well in advance of shipping the product. Make it clear when they will get charged so they aren't expecting to be charged just prior to shipping. This single misunderstanding can spoil an order.

[ron angel]

Originally Posted by webwoman

I hate it when they do that! If I go to two sites and one has a price and the other is mysterious about it, I go with the one with the price. It always feels a little slimy to me when people leave the price off, like either they are afraid of their competition or they are offering different deals to different people.

Put the price on the stuff and let the profits fall where they may!

exactly When I sell something I always put full details price and specification of the item this makes returning the item difficult and also if in existence a link to the manufactures website as most of the things I sell are private sales & second hand.
(unless it is a car(auto) then it is pre owned & only used by a little old lady to go to church on sundays... ( some idiot once asked me if it was true, He was too stupid to sell the car to as I could tell he would bring it back!) we have them in the uk as well.

[BluePlanet]

I purchase many things online for my group of corporations and if I click on a site that does not have the price listed, I am gone in an instant. I hate it when I have to fill out a form to get a quotation or have to download and install the entire software package just to find out how much it costs. That sort of thing never gets my business. I want to know right away if the product is in the range of what I am looking to spend. I do not want to waste my time on something that is way above my budget or is not otherwise economically justifiable. I will always find a site that does have the pricing and I can then decide if I want to spend my time learning more about the product. I am not going to waste my time on something that is not economically justifible. Sometimes I buy things that are critcal and will be used for a long time where price is less of an issue. Other times I just need something for a particular project that has a budget, so price is a big factor in making the decision. My view is don't waste my time.

[AlexNewell]

There is a clear trend appearing in the answers to this questions.

I agree with that opinion and you know what it does not matter what we say!

What matters is what your prospects and customers say...

...and the only way to find out is to set up a split test and find out for yourself.

All The Best

Alex

[astro]

There is nothing in this world that cannot be made worse for less money! People are intelligent and realise this, after all any one willing and confident enough to spend 8K on a coffee maker is no office flunky. They are a decerning person.

Show the price everytime. I have this argument with my landlords for holiday accommodation, who do not want to show prices so they can negotiate! Which is stupid really because I won't negotiate and it is me who takes the bookings for them! I personally hate this fear of price, but it is a "Greek thing" This sometimes gives me an ethical problem because I know I can hammer the price at times but choose not to. This I believe seperates me from the big tour operators who will hammer the price down and keep the accommodation full all season. This I believe turns landlords into very busy fools. Their fixed costs go up in line with the daily rental rate drop. Better to be empty a few weeks with increased bottom lines at the end of the year. The same principles apply to you. If you value build your product and services you offer, the hard part of getting over the price fear is smoothed away. Interestingly the landlords that go with my advice and show prices are the ones who are almost fully booked every year. The question is who has the problem with the price, your potential clients or you? If you believe you are the best then where is the problem? Price fix and display.

This serves three purposes.
1. It eliminates time wasters.
2. It qualifies your enquiry for you.
3. Increases closure rate in converting enquiries to sales.

The answer is to display as clearly as possible why your product costs more, in other words value build. If people see they are getting more for their money then they will, if shopping round, ask others do you do this? or do I get that as well? If the answer with your competition is a catagoric NO then people will understand why you cost more. Don't be a busy fool.

One other consideration is "purchaser regret" or if you like "Buyers remorse" after buying any product. We all do it when we have a choice and go for the more expensive option. We ask ourselves "Have we done the right thing, should I cancel my order or return it for a refund?" A small section of your web site devoted to aftersales service and helpful advice will help here, if you are really confident about your product (as I am about mine) make it interactive. This also builds content up and helps with SEO!

/astro

[chandrika]

If no price is shown and you have to mail for the price I think that I am going to have to go thorugh some heavy sales pitch, when I may only want to know the price and make up my own mind.

One company guilty of such a tactic is Rackspace. They do not give any price for their servers and it really bugged me recently because when you call them you get a sales guy and his first question is "What is your budget"

First time I called I naively gave a rough estimate and surprise surprise the price came in just ever so slightly over my budget. I said I could not afford it and suddenly he was able to discount this and that to get it to just my budget.

I decided to test the theory that they charge what they think you can afford, by calling again and telling a lower budget and guess what, lower price.

Aggghh, I did not go with Rackspace because of that, plus when I told the first guy I had decided not to go ahead he was totally furious and I got about five messages on my answer phone and an angry email telling me that he did not believe me that I could not afford his price. Then I got a later email apologising for the angry one and telling me that he could pass me to his supervisor who would be able to further discount the price.

It all got a bit scary!!! LOL

[marksgirls]

I was interested to read the comments on this subject.

I have almost completed my web site. I paint and that is what I'm advertising, my own art. I was wondering about whether to put the prices as this is a little different than selling a commercial product.

My art is not really high priced compared to some but it is one of a kind. Also, if I do state the prices on the page, would it be OK to use Paypal for payment?

Any artists out there with web sites, I would be interested to hear your views on this.

[ron angel]

Originally Posted by marksgirls

I was interested to read the comments on this subject.

I have almost completed my web site. I paint and that is what I'm advertising, my own art. I was wondering about whether to put the prices as this is a little different than selling a commercial product.

My art is not really high priced compared to some but it is one of a kind.

Any artists out there with web sites, I would be interested to hear your views on this.

I have just built a very simple website for an artist she is similar to how you describe yourself. yes all paintings should be priced. This was confirmed by the art school she is associated with, her level of experience is artist in residence.

[marksgirls]

Thank you for that very quick response and for the confirmation.

I am very new at web site design I wonder if you could put the URL of the site you built so I can look at it for comparison and maybe some hints.

[ron angel]

Originally Posted by marksgirls

Thank you for that very quick response and for the confirmation.

I am very new at web site design I wonder if you could put the URL of the site you built so I can look at it for comparison and maybe some hints.

I am not a web designer(I am electrical & computer Eng) & this site was built very quickly and simply for a friend of the family using ms front page for simplicity in updates& layout no flash no advertising.
Marisa Rehana Mann Web Site

[kgun]

Originally Posted by ozzie_jim

Should I show the price for high valued goods on my web site?

Yes. Period.

[linnetwoods]

To me, a sales website should show, as a minimum: Who is doing the selling. Where they are based. What they are selling. Why visitors would want to buy the product(s). How they can make the purchase and how much in total they will have to pay. When they can expect delivery.

In other words, there should be no need whatsoever for your site vistor to contact you and ask, or be told, anything that isn't already established on the website.

If you get asked a question that isn't answered on the website, the answer to that question should be added to the website as soon as you have finished dealing with the customer that asked it, whether by adding it to an existing part of the site, perhaps the FAQ if it doesn't fit on any of the other pages, or by creating a page to handle it.

[astro]

Originally Posted by linnetwoods

In other words, there should be no need whatsoever for your site visitor to contact you and ask, or be told, anything that isn't already established on the website.

Linnet, bad day? loved what you have said on WPW in the past........However this time I totally disagree with you.

1. If you are selling a book or CD or any other item where it is a known quantity, a standard product or even a tin of spam, people know exactly what they are buying. In which case adopt your principles.

Where you have the two ends of the black/white spectrum spaced with a million miles of grey in the middle you have to generate an enquiry to obtain a sale. I cannot think of a single person who would spend $8k on a coffee maker and not want to ask questions first! Would you? Doubt it.

................come to think of it I can think of someone, but only one person!

Even today, with internet savvy people, they like their hands holding when risking more than $100 or so, to be reassured, to know they are talking to a warm and breathing individual, know they are not risking being ripped off. To be comfortable parting with the money. To do this you need an enquiry to process. Fine, put it all up on the site, but remember you are not dealing with computers you are dealing with people. I would lay any odds you care to ask if you gave the same web page to 20 different people most would remember different things if asked about the page 5 minutes later. Many would not have read everything, some would have read precious little and all would still have questions.

Pretty yacht by the way.

/astro

[Aaron Bennett]

Originally Posted by chrison600

I have several thoughts:
I agree with Tubby. Do NOT degrade the competition to justify the price difference. Educate the shopper as to why your offering is more expensive and they will use that knowledge when shopping other options. They'll be able to detect the difference. If they still decide to go the cheaper route, they'll know they got an inferior product.

Very well said...Yes, you need to list the price (Not to beat a dead horse)...But you need to know what those $2K machines do, their basic features and benefits, their warranty or lack thereof. You would not post this information, however, you would make sure the benefits of your product are listed right under the price. The benefits that you would list would be the benefits you KNOW your competitors machines do not offer...If yours grinds the beans, and theres does not, you make sure you highlight that your machine offers that feature, the same thing goes for the service/quality/etc...Keep in mind that you are "exposing the underbelly of the competition lightly". So instead of degrading yourself by sounding defensive, you are actually building up an expectation level with your prospective clients that the will expect to see when they go to the competition. Your customers will have enough information to be dangerous to those competitors, and when they call or research your competitors for the "same quality" items, your competitors will sound like idiots trying to tell your customers why they "don't really need" those options.

Since you are selling a high ticket item (for this kind of industry), I would suggest you add a "contact me for free brochure/video, etc..." If you don't have that already. Since you are dealing most likely with businesses, when you are requested a brochure, make sure you also send copies of endorsments/testimonials from your customers. If you don't have any, just ask, and they will 99% of the time get them to you...

Good luck in your endevours!

[pixma85]

When I shop , If the site doesn't have a price, I quickly close the site and move on. The only way I would contact them is by a referral if they didn't have a price

[Aaron Bennett]

There are certainly times where it is appropriate to not post pricing. But that is often when you have clientelle that are paying for intangible items, custom items, etc...Or, in some rare cases high-ticket items. But even then, if you see a Lamgorghini, you see a price tag...It's not a lot different with any type of item. It all comes down to marketing it appropriately.

Personally though, I think you need to focus on direct marketing campaigns targeted at companies in specific basic trade areas that are doing well (north western markets in the U.S. are experiencing major growth right now, and are spending more - unlike much of the midwest, which is going back to mom and pop spending). You are selling the type of product that really requires you having info that would sell a company on why it makes sense to send out the old, and bring in the new (seriously, how many H.R. managers pop online in a given day, assuming they need a new coffee brewer. If it breaks, they just call there service. The majority of your target market probably don't go online looking for new ones because they never have to look being that so many are run by services.

You need to have a solid web-presence and continue to harvest that, but you also need to be on the phone with these guys - selling)...

Have fun, and good luck...

[colincartwright]

Simple answer really. No one trusts people who 'hide' pricing or any other basic information. Why not on the pricing page, put all the major benefits of the product first with the price at the bottom. Those people who are going to be put off when they see the price online, are still going to be put off when they hear t over the phone.

I simply will not deal with anyone on the web who hides information, it smacks of mistrust, scam, con etc. When I do research on the web, the key thing I mostly want to see is the price. If a seller cannot be honest enough to tell me upfront what they charge, they will never get my business no matter how good they or their product is. Lets face it if you had a bricks and mortar store, you'd be expected to price tag your goods.

[Aaron Bennett]

Well Ozzie, There is certainly one common denominator out of all of this information. I certainly hope you use it to your advantage. Would love to see a post when you have it tweaked the way you want it. After all this information, if used, I am sure you get some really positive feedback.

Keep up the good work!

[ozzie_jim]

Well I suspected that showing the price was the most appropriate thing to do. But I never thought 95% would have that opinion.

It goes without saying that the prices are now displayed on my web site:
HLF Coffee Machines

They will be put onto my new site (in development) as well before launch:
Office coffee machines, accessories and coffee supplies.

THANK YOU ALL. I really appreciate the feedback and the time you have taken to discuss this in detail. You've given a couple of valuable extra pointers on how to describe the value and point of difference that I will put into the new site.

[aidan6969]

I work with a professional speaker and people have asked why he posts his fees on our site. The simple answer is that it pre-qualifies leads. Those who contact him are already aware of how much it will cost to bring him in for workshop or retreat.

Hiding the cost may get you more inquiries, but are they the inquiries you want?

[Dubbya]

Originally Posted by aidan6969

I work with a professional speaker and people have asked why he posts his fees on our site. The simple answer is that it pre-qualifies leads. Those who contact him are already aware of how much it will cost to bring him in for workshop or retreat.

Hiding the cost may get you more inquiries, but are they the inquiries you want?

Very well put.

I'd rather pack 2 orders than waste time on the phone with 200 customers whose inquiries are motivated solely by getting the lowest price.

Trust me, customers who see and appreciate the value in your offerings high level of service will be much easier to please than those willing to haggle over prices.

Show your prices and make sure the customer knows what to expect.

.02

[Feydakin]

I have never called someone that didn't list a price.. I have spent the time to find their competitor that did list a price and buy from them though..

On our jewelry website we have proudly listed items that even though listed, we would NEVER sell online.. We would fly out to hand deliver it to you, but no way would we just sell it online.. Things well over $100k.. We use it as a badge of honor that we have and can deliver at the very top end of the sales spectrum and also lower down with equal effort..

And as Dubbya said, fielding all those phones calls would get real old real fast..

[KolarDesign]

I remember that exercise machine that's now advertized in magazines for $14,000 was originaly advertised without a price. Looks to me like they didn't do well not listing the price.

[sunnyshine]

If I were you, I show the price on the website because many people use internet to search the things they're looking for. So they need to know your item's specification, detail and price. It's easier to go out of your website than to send an enquiry.

If you're confident that your goods are really excellent and have good qualilty. Present/Show them to your customers on the website with picture, video, comments from your old clients! Then your future customer can be sure that your high price is valuable.