Should I display prices on website?

Absolutely yes, do display it. When was the last time you made a web
purchase after first having to click all around to find basic info,
such as the price?

For instance, studies have shown that the elapsed time span is only
something like 3 seconds before a consumer will get annoyed with a
website that won’t load, and navigate elsewhere.

Lorraine

I have been having a really difficult time trying to decide if it
is better to put prices on my web site, or to ask to be e-mailed
for price and availability. Has anyone tried both, and did one or
the other? lead to more sales?? (I have no other sales venue). 

I would say DEFINITELY put the prices on.

I do not but that is because I sell wholesale only so I cannot put
the prices for the public to see. I am sure that if I could put the
prices on the site though I would make a few more sales. This even if
I still did not do retail.

People do not like to take extra effort. Put the prices on the site
unless there is a major reason not to.

John Dyer

I tell clients that their website has to make it as easy as possible
for people to buy, You have only a matter of 3 - 7 seconds to catch
someone’s attention when they click on your site. Without pricing it
will be too much work for them to determine whether you might have
something that they want.

Another problem that makes them less likely to buy is “sold” marked
on a piece. I think it’s a good idea to keep the sold items on your
website, especially if you do custom work. Move the sold items to a
Gallery page where you can talk a but about your design, your
materials and such. People will see what you have made and what you
have actually sold. If they spend much time on your site they may
find something that they might like or a variation on one of your
pieces. The Gallery adds some credibility to your work.

Pat Gebes

Yes, publish prices. Unless it was a custom design. It seems kind of
indiscreet to make a higher end custom piece for someone and then
publish it with a price for all the world to see.

So what I do is have examples of pieces that are available for sale
priced to give some perspective and then I have a “secret” price
list with thumbnails that is linked to an unlabeled button. That way
when I have an inquiry I can tell the customer where to get the
prices without openly blabbing to whoever got the piece or their nosy
friends, assuming it is a gift that I should treat the price as sort
of, but not absolutely, confidential.

Stephen Walker

I disagree, for a couple reasons. Number one, this one dollar under
the real price thing that retailers have always done irritates me.
It’s like they’re playing a game, to get you to subconsciously think
it’s not actually $600, it’s $500 and change. It also looks random to
me. I price things at oddball numbers, such as $432, to make it look
more like I carefully considered precisely what the price should be.
Another game, perhaps, but it works. For me, anyways.

Michael

I once bought a beautiful piece of Jemez pottery for a friend of
mine in Japan. When I had an opportunity to speak with her on the
phone I asked about the pottery and she mentioned she’d put a
houseplant in it. I had to swallow my retort for two reasons.

  1. It was hers and she can do anything she wants with it.

  2. I never explained exactly what the provenance of the pottery was
    and the worth of it.

Mike DeBurgh, GJG
Henderson, NV

Personally, if there is no pricing, I move on, and probably never
visit again. 

I have to admit to being the same. I prefer to have the relevant
available as easily as possible. Shopping is not a sport
for me.

The last time I was stationed overseas in the Marines I had to sell a
car. I parked it in the spot where cars were parked for sale. Instead
of putting in the traditional sign with large FOR SALE letters and a
tiny place for all other I made a sign with the price in
huge letters and my phone number. As the price changed, I X’d it out,
but left it posted near the new price so people could see it was
being marked down. It worked. I sold it within a week.

Mike DeBurgh, GJG
Henderson, NV

I would say DEFINITELY put the prices on. I do not but that is
because I sell wholesale only so I cannot put the prices for the
public to see. 

That’s easily remedied. Your legitimate customers should be
registered on the site, and the pricing can be made available only
to registered viewers.

Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ

I’m reluctant to get into this one again as the last time unleashed
so much passion in all directions - but then, what’s life without a
bit of fire and brimstone?

One of the BIG objections to displaying prices the last time I was
part of this discussion had to do with the poor esthetics of price
tags in a retail display - I’ll get back to that in a moment. This
time we’re talking about websites.

One of the posts raised the issue of constant price changes in
precious metals. If an object has already been made then you set
your price according to what you paid for the material used in that
object at the time you bought the material. Has the world price gone
up? Tough luck. It’s “old stock”. At least your competition can’t
make similar items cheaper than what you’ve already made. If you are
looking for future orders for objects not yet made, then all you
have to do is say “price subject to market price fluctuations” or
something like that. Even restaurants often indicate that sort of
policy - especially with fish because the price of fish can change so
radically. i.e. “Catch of the day - Market price” But I don’t think
it is even legal in many places to raise a price for already-
purchased old stock just because it would cost more to replace the
material with new stock. (Although it’d take uncommonly diligent
snooping to actually detect such a crime) You have to wait for the
new more expensive material to actually enter into production and
then raise the price of finished objects. Incidentally, if metal
prices fall, you might have to reduce your prices on already-made
objects because your competition can now make and market an
equivalent item more cheaply (all other things being equal) That’s
another piece of tough luck. But then, business people do love to
play up the glamour of “risk”. What’s capitalism without a little
risk?

Back to esthetics of price tags - some of you found price tags
offensive and ugly in a display - or gave that as a reason for not
displaying prices in a retail situation. Yesterday I was in a shop
where every item of jewelry had a price tag attached and dangling in
clear sight. Think what you will about the esthetics. However, every
single price tag was carefully turned face down so that one was
obligated to ask for the price of each and every item which might be
of interest. That, in particular, is a practice I continue to find
offensive and clearly illustrates there is something else going on
which I freely admit I don’t understand - but it always turns me off
immediately.

Again, in a previous string I was told that requiring customers to
ask for prices affords an occasion to begin the interaction between
salesperson and potential customer. Really? How about “Good morning?
May I help you?” or something similar. It works in almost every other
business.

Marty in Victoria BC where every man and woman has his (or her)
price, just like anywhere.

Well, IMHO you’ve got about 30 seconds on a website to make an
impression on a potential customer. Displaying prices is vital and if
you don’t more than likely your customers will move on to the next
website that displays prices.

And along with that 30 seconds don’t waste my time with a fancy
intro that takes time to load and execute. Of course take my words
with however many grains of salt as you wish because I haven’t sold
much directly off my website and it clearly needs attention. I’m just
speaking as what I consider your average guy out there on that dag
nab interweb…

Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
rockymountainwonders.com

This is an interesting topic. I do not display prices on my website
for two reasons. The first reason is that they can change quite
frequently, as previously mentioned. The second reason is that I am
mostly involved in wholesale and have found that different stores
have different mark-ups. One solution to this would be to show all
the prices at a 3 times mark-up, but then I feel that pushes away
the customers who live in the two times mark-up town because there is
a huge difference between the two, for example, $500 vs. $750…hmm.
I feel that “being on the safe side” could push away customers in
those 3 crucial seconds, is this a mistake?

Brooke
www.bellebrooke.net

Example, don't have $605.00 for ANYTHING. $599. Price under major
numbers. 

David, you make an excellent point that leads to a subdiscussion. For
a one-of-a-kind handmade item, a price like $605 seems like either
the result of an anally rigid pricing formula, or the result of
simply pulling it out of your ass. It always makes me wonder. But,
what about $599? This just seems too contrived, too mainstream
marketing, to fit with that one-of-a-kind piece. Is $595 or $575 any
better? I don’t know, but it feels more right to me. Then I suppose
that even sophisticated people get sucked in by the $599 psychology.
“But honey, it was only $500!”

Allan

But I don't think it is even legal in many places to raise a price
for already- purchased old stock just because it would cost more to
replace the material with new stock 

It’s legal, but you have to tell the IRS (if you’re in the US) which
method you’re using, and you have to consistently apply it to
everything. Look up LIFO and FIFO accounting.

Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ

My daddy had a saying about this " If the price isn’t on it then you
can’t afford it"

Hello,

(disclaimer: no personal attacks or insults meant, I swear. It’s
just something that bothers me and I wanted to comment on)

While I would agree that $605 pricetag does seem a little like it is
overly precise, and maybe not a great idea. I really would like to
question the idea that a price tag such as $599 would be perceived
as “only $500.” Maybe I’m just a skeptical individual, but that
pricing system not only hasn’t worked on me like that since I was
ten, but I personally find it outright insulting. I see it as the
store trying to “trick” me, because they think I’m not smart enough
to read the whole price and perform simple rounding.

Then again when I see a price of $100 or $99 I think $110 for either
of them, because I add taxes in too. But I would much rather pay
that extra dollar and have the price be $100 than $99. Also, as the
seller you’re ahead by an extra dollar too; not much, but every penny
counts, right?

Mark Wells

marty i did not find one tiny fault with your post.in fact i agree
1000%…when sellers hide or do not list there price im ready to go
look at others items.to me they are trying to sell a item and when
they try to get me to jump thru loops and hurdles it pisses me
off…its like when a real estate or owner i approch and ask them what
are you asking for your property…they say what are you offereing…i
say bs to that ill not play that game…to me anytime a person makes
me ask what they want they lost my sale.i got the $ they don;t so
they can keep it for there collection as far as im concern.and in
this poor economy and getting worse they will be the bigger
loosers.wholesale thats a whole different zoo…ill never ever do
that…

michele

My daddy had a saying about this " If the price isn't on it then
you can't afford it" 

I am always shocked that people have poverty consciousness and teach
it to other people. It seems like such a fear based concept. We are
always buying things we cannot afford, it just requires the
appropriate justification. Sometimes it is necessities like when
something you need is beyond repair and it is perceived as a
necessity, sometimes it is a $4 cup of coffee.

What is interesting is that what I have learned having a retail
jewelry business for 25 years is that women will not hesitate to
spend money on everyone else in their family, but not on themselves.

The truth is, if you do not ask the price you have no knowledge on
which to base your decision.

I never consider whether or not I can afford what I want. If I
determine I really want/need something, I just have to find out how
to manifest the money. People can be very resourceful when there is
a strong enough desire. At least, I have been. I do not see the point
in spending as much time as we do on this earth and accepting
beliefs based on depriving ourselves of what enriches our lives.
Something that is standard practice at gem shows is that the price
for gems is on the bottom of the gem container, sometimes it is in
code that you cannot decipher and you have to ask the price. So what
do you do? The price is on it, you just can’t tell what is is and you
have to ask… I have made a lot of good buys by asking what the price
is. I probably got a good deal because other people believed that if
they have to ask they could not afford it.

If you go to Tucson for the gem show, you might want to get over
that concept, or you will not get good deals.

In this business, ask and negotiate. I have had great success more
often than not by saying, " I do not want to beat you down in price,
can you do any better".

Money is a resource that you have to be conscientious in how you use
it to get the best value for what you spend. Money is a tool used to
achieve a goal.

Richard Hart G.G.
Denver, Co.

Example, don't have $605.00 for ANYTHING. $599. Price under major
numbers. 

Allan expresses some of my sentimates. Who believes the sellers
round down? If the exact anal honest price comes to $577.68 then why
not put on a tag of $599?

As a consumer I see the ‘99’ policy as the seller relying only on
big numbers and rounding UP to ‘just under’ the nearest big number.
‘99’ Is pandemic from $149,900 sports cars to $1.99 trinkets.

Why are the ‘BIG SAVINGS’ touted in whole dollars?..“YOU SAVE
$100”; never $99.

The ‘percent-off’ policy is another eye-opener. Percent-off what?
Some impossible number that exists only in the eye of the gullible
and in too many cases exists on the thin edge of the law.

The ‘99’ and ‘percent-off’ policies are bringing us to the bazaar
haggling mentality…seller asks triple the true value; buyer offers
a quarter. Haggle until the true value is reached.

Why not cut the crap and use the actual number for starters and
refuse to budge? Aahh…because the hagglers know that haggling is
good!

Alastair…skeptical consumer and optomistic seller!

It's legal, but you have to tell the IRS (if you're in the US).... 

Gas stations do it all the time. Up one day down the next- maybe
even up and down all in the same day. The IRS could care less what
you sell it for. If you like you may raise and lower your price on a
daily basis (not recommended if you want to maintain an honest
reputation). I can say its $50 one day, 100 the next, and $10 the
next, with no legal ramification in regards to IRS. Its my business,
and I can price anyway I want. Might want to watch out for
accusations of discrimination violations tho. All the IRS wants to
know is income and expenses- and be able to prove them. Its not that
bad here-yet, not sure how long tho, with our brilliant people in
Washinton DC attempting to pass regulations running every facet of
our lives. When the government can tell me what I can charge, thats
when I will call it quits and let Hope and Change start buying my
groceries.

EdR

...I don't think it is even legal in many places to raise a price
for already purchased old stock just because it would cost more to
replace the material with new stock....you have to wait for the
new more expensive material to actually enter into production and
then raise the price of finished objects....if metal prices fall,
you might have to reduce your price on already-made objects.... 

This quote does not describe the law in the USA where it is legal to
put any price on your jewelry and change the price any time you
like. It might be a method of competitive pricing or it might be a
misunderstanding of accounting for the material cost of inventory,
which is mainly of interest to the taxing authority.

In accounting terminology, FIFO stands for First In, First Out,
which means that you account for the material cost by using the
price you paid for the oldest material you have in stock. Another
method, LIFO (which stands for Last In, First Out), means that you
account for your material cost using the price you paid for the
newest material you have in stock. After you use the same quantity
of material you purchased at the most recent price, then you use the
cost of the material purchased before your most recent purchase, and
so on, eventually using every price you paid as you use-up all the
material.

While these methods are equal in the long term, a company must pick
one method of reporting and the IRS would rarely allow a company to
switch methods because it will affect taxes in the short term.