Jason Stoddard
Sponsor: Schiit Audio
In economic theory there is pricing concept called "charge what the market will bear”, meaning set prices based on what customers are willing to pay, not based on costs. The reason that already insane prices keep getting more inflated is very simple: Enough customers are willing to pay to make it worthwhile for the manufacturers. (The fact that many of these customers are literally dying off is a different matter and something those same vendors seemingly pay no attention to.) Solution: Say 'when' and seek out vendors that make great gear at reasonable prices. I sometimes get depressed visiting one Bentley-like room after another at various audio shows, but then I visit companies like audioengine, Schiit, and Elac (plus Zu for their awesome music) and I feel happy again.
Okay, time to get a bit snippy (not with you, but with the suit-wearing theorists who have never made a product in their life.)
Hell with theory, here's a fact: charge such that your products have by far the highest value, and you won't waste money on research, advertising, A/B testing, customer coddling, psychoanalysis, fancy packaging, product variants, line extensions, channel support, retail management, optimal rate of return, neural algorithms, and all the nonsense you need to support "charge what the market will bear," plus your company won't go kerploof when (not if) a competitor providing stunning value undercuts you.
Or, in other words, deliver value that nobody else can touch, and you'll always do fine.
Stay updated on Schiit Audio at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
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