Yes, your scenarios do happen in the real world and it is a reason for some companies to use the 'call for pricing' approach but...
There are some companies that simply want a piece of the market share. They understand that if they highball everyone who calls to get the maximum amount of cash out of every customer, they'll eventually lose out to competition (OS, smaller companies, etc.) So why do they use 'call for pricing'? So that they can talk with you and help you choose what you need. If they can get you the ________ you want, at a lower cost than you expected, they'll have your loyalty. Not every company is run by crooks... and not every salesman is from a used car lot... Cheers, Kevin -----Original Message----- From: Mark A Kruger [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: August 10, 2005 9:12 AM To: CF-Talk Subject: RE: Looking for very simple CMS Dave, Ok - here's my take.... I'm sorry to disagree with you - but the goal of "call for pricing" is not usually to shield customers from your pricing for their own good. It is to get someone - some person (some salesperson usually) to talk with you and make a pitch. I think there is definitely a moral dimension to it in some cases. I'm NOT making a comment specifically about commonSpot or any other product - and I do not know your connection with that product, but consider this scenario. Customer "A" calls in with a question about the product. He indicates he's the IT director of a large company and they are looking to replace their current CMS (let's say red dot) with a new one because they are not happy with the product - no mention of it's costliness. The CMS provider being savvy knows that Red Dot's pricing model is per seat with an installed enterprise license of 70k. So he or she bids in that neighborhood with per seat pricing. They maximize the profit margin by targeting the current price point (even though they may typically sell the product at a much lower cost - say 40,000). Customer "B" calls in and they are a small to medium size business with a portal site that has grown unwieldy. They are looking to implement CMS for the first time and they need a product, training, ongoing support etc. The sales person senses that budget is an issue so they target a price that is much lower than for customer "A" even though the actual product offering may be strikingly similar. Because of the complexity of the product AND the obscurity in pricing, customer "A" will never know they overpaid. In my view (and granted I may be the only one) this is not even handed enough to qualify as "ok" or "right" - sorry. Perhaps my standard is too high, but I think it's deceptive and wrong. I don't mind companies who offer discounts or make deals if they are above board about it, but they should not obscure the price of for market product just to give themselves "wiggle room". The complexity of the product IS a factor in pricing, but there's no reason not to post a base price sheet for levels and/or modules with the caveat that some modules and services incur additional cost. Yes, your customers may get "confused" by your pricing scheme - at which point you could try simplifying it (there's a thought) or explaining it. It's not an intractable problem - just a difficult one. And the idea of "shielding your customers from your pricing scheme" because they might get confused is high handed. It reminds me of that Phil Hartman routine with the caveman - "I'm just a simple caveman. I don't understand your big words like 'license' and 'module'...." You are right that it is common practice for complex product offerings to NOT post their prices, but there are certainly very complex product offerings that DO post their prices (as anyone who has tried to navigate the complexity of Microsoft licensing can attest). Mark A. Kruger, CFG, MCSE www.cfwebtools.com www.necfug.com http://mkruger.cfwebtools.com -----Original Message----- From: Dave Watts [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For the record, this is not how CommonSpot pricing works. They do have fixed prices for their products. However, different clients tend to need different products and different numbers of licenses, so it would be difficult for Paperthin to post prices on their site and have people make sense of them. Unfortunately, the fact is that complex products tend to have complex pricing schemes. As for moral reprehensibility, that's silly. There is no moral dimension to pricing. The goal of any seller is to maximize profit, and if flexible pricing schemes make that happen, that's the logical way to sell. Dave Watts, CTO, Fig Leaf Software http://www.figleaf.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Logware (www.logware.us): a new and convenient web-based time tracking application. Start tracking and documenting hours spent on a project or with a client with Logware today. 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