Comments on: Psychological Pricing

By: Jen Osborn

Jen Osborn — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:46:59 +0000

Lisa, thank you so much for starting this blog and sharing your thoughts {especially on time management and pricing}. I have to laugh, because for some reason I always want to price my art with a 7, but never knew why or that it drives sales. Now, I’m going to have to look into this more and experiment with different price endings. Must be the scientist in me wanting to experiment and track data :)

I hope you are having a wonderful time in Africa, my mother did the same trip years ago and loved it! I look forward to hearing from you when you get home!
xox
jen

By: Lisa Call

Lisa Call — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:54:21 +0000

Kristy – I’ve read that also – there are a lot of theories on where it started but I think noone knows for sure.

Zachary – go for it (although the studies show that odd numbers have more of an impact)

Tim – absolutely – the more we can learn from other industries the more creative we can be in marketing our work. A good friend of mine is a real estate agent and I love talking to her about marketing – I always learn so much.

Robin – love the idea of pricing with your 523 in it. Good point about reproductions vs originals.

By: Robin Maria Pedrero

Robin Maria Pedrero — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:48:45 +0000

I have played with these studies too Lisa. Especially when I had a store front studio gallery. The prints always sold better at a figure with .99 in the storefront. For me the unique original one of a kind pieces deserve their own solid price but a reproduction, mass produced product with my art or books can be the .99 or I get playful and use my gallery in the pricing using 523 somehow.

By: Another Great Idea | Contemporary Textile Art

Another Great Idea | Contemporary Textile Art — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:11:36 +0000

[...] with my thoughts on pricing, but this time over on my MakeBigArt blog. You can read my latest post, psychological pricing, there [...]

By: Tim ONeill

Tim ONeill — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:57:59 +0000

Lisa,

Nice post. Having spent the last 18 months studying internet marketing and investing in coaching from that business arena I can say they are the bestmarketer’s in the world. Better than real estate and insurance and investment folks even. Studying the marketing techniques of industries other than our own is the best way to move ahead and stand apart from the crowd. For those interested in the Psychology of persuasion you will find Robert Cialdini’s book of that title extremely valuable.

By: Zachary Brown

Zachary Brown — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:58:02 +0000

I’m going to try out the number 4. My next painting will cost 454.00 and my next work on paper will cost 74.00

By: Kirsty Hall

Kirsty Hall — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:36:02 +0000

I don’t know if it’s true but I remember reading once that the 99p convention was to make it harder for employees to steal from the till! Because they had to give a penny in change, they were forced to really ring it up rather than just pretending to and pocketing the money.

By: Lisa Call

Lisa Call — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:25:15 +0000

Daniel – thanks for sharing your thoughts. That is an interesting thing to ponder – when does marketing turn from “getting the word out” to “manipulating the buyer”. I think for everyone the answer is different.

In today’s email I got the following note from the universe:

“It’s quite a small thing, Lisa, to begin wondering which beliefs of yours
are limiting, which thoughts shut out others, and which philosophies need
updating, but OMG, it makes for the BIGGEST life changes!”

I’m all for transparency and even wrote a blog post the other day about it on my art blog: Following My Path. But I’m also all for making a living from my art and if studying and learning from marketing and sales professionals can help me then it seems short sighted to not understand the psychology of sales and to pick and choose the methods that fit into my philosophy.

I think the use of prices that end in 9 is a very well known tactic and it’s been proven to work over and over again. Is it manipulation any more than choosing popular colors/themes/styles when creating art – or is it just good business practice? I think we all need to answer that for ourselves.

Sue – yes the studies show that $29.99 is different than $30 and can make a noticeable difference in sales. Surprising really but it does work.

And yes – I am super busy but I’m working on a sustainable business model and studying this stuff is a huge help in building my art career.

Robin – I think the same thing – “do they really think that 9 or 7 is going to trick me – I can round up” – but apparently it works and it works well. I’ll let you all know if I do the ACEO test!

By: Robin Koehler

Robin Koehler — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:32:30 +0000

Lisa,
Very interesting about the number 7. I knew about 9 and how it has been used. I find it very strange when I have heard people say an item priced at $6.99 is $6 since that is exactly what they want you to think. I always round up in my head.
In pricing my art, I use even numbers for simplicity vs. mental marketing. Your ACEO experiment would be fun to follow.
Thank you for this blog. Robin

By: sueokieffe

sueokieffe — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:53:55 +0000

this is a fascinating read, lisa. ive never really thought about psychological pricing. i think working with round numbers is just easier. even when I created calendars, i used round numbers. i mean, is $29.99 really that different from $30?

how do you ever get any art done with all your writing and working? bravo to you. yet im glad you are doing this to share your vast knowledge. thank you.