Ask HN: How should pricing work for my app?

5 points by Banekin 15 years ago | 6 comments

Hi,

I posted before on HN about this, but at the moment I'm working on a series of sound toys for Android. Each one is 'organic' in its design, and resembles more an organism that produces sound than an instrument.

Initially I was planning on pricing them at $1 each, but maybe this is too steep for something that isn't a game, or has value that increases measurably over time. Should I package several of them into one app and sell it for $1? I've read somewhere that if people are given too much choice they have a hard time making a decision, so would it be best to package the organisms into one app? Also, is it an evil marketing trick to set a price when there is buzz around a product and say it only exists for a 'limited time'?

maushu 15 years ago |

Sell them both ways, apart and in a bundle. Keep the price of the bundle lower than the sum of all parts and somehow link to the parts from the bundle. This will show the user that hes getting a good deal.

Banekin 15 years ago | |

I like this idea, I'll be doing this. Also are prices like $1, or $2 better than $.99 and $1.99, or does it not matter?

robflynn 15 years ago | | |

I do not know any solid answers from research for this questions. Half the things you read say that '.99' makes some people interpret the price as being lower than it really is while the other half of research says that people interpret as being an underhanded tactic.

Personally, I prefer flat dollar prices. I'm much happier with $25.00/mo as opposed to $24.95 or $24.99/mo. I read them all as "$25" anyway and I prefer nice round numbers.

ymmv.

maushu 15 years ago | | |

Like robflynn said, this depends on each person, it can be positive or negative.

In my case I would go with a flat price ($1 or $2) or perhaps a flat price with a little more like $1.20 or $2.40. This seems like it isn't a random price.

sagacity 15 years ago |

> if people are given too much choice they have a hard time making a decision

Human psychology 1.0 :-)

YMMV, but 'too many choices' can be a strong deterrent to impulse buying which, imho, is your best friend, given the kind of apps you have.

HTH

nicklovescode 15 years ago |

Maybe sell the less quality ones for 10c a piece, but the really cool ones for a buck. That's my vote.