Open Source Alternative - The honor system
How much is [product or service of your choice goes here] worth? The answer to this question depends on many things. Who is doing the asking? What are the circumstances? What are the alternatives? And the list goes on and on. If fact, there is an entire discipline built around the art and science of pricing. Whether that’s for consumer goods, computer software or services, the methods are approximately the same. At least at a high level.
There was an interesting pricing article in the January 4 issue of the Boston Globe, Profiting from the Honor System. (Note: You have to scroll down to the second article on this page.) In this case, the pricing experiment was done in Germany at a restaurant, a movie theatre and a delicatessen. The basic theme of the experiment is ‘pay what you want’. Every customer had to pay something.
(read more)
There was an interesting pricing article in the January 4 issue of the Boston Globe, Profiting from the Honor System. (Note: You have to scroll down to the second article on this page.) In this case, the pricing experiment was done in Germany at a restaurant, a movie theatre and a delicatessen. The basic theme of the experiment is ‘pay what you want’. Every customer had to pay something.
(read more)
It turned out that very few people paid very low prices. Drinks sold at the delicatessen for slightly more than normal, and dinners at the restaurant were slightly lower than normal. However, the restaurant sold so many more buffet lunches that the owner of the restaurant decided to retain that model even after the experiment ended.
This experiment isn’t really new. As a fan of singer/songwriter folk music, I am aware of many artists who have tried this model for their albums. As mentioned in the article, Radiohead released an album online and allowed people to pay what they wanted to pay. The band reported that they sold more than 2 million copies of the album and that it was profitable. On the other hand, other estimates claim that 3 in 5 paid nothing for it.
So what would happen if IBM changed the pricing model for Domino/Notes to the honor system. To avoid the 3 in 5 paying nothing situation, they could require that you have to pay something, but only what you think it’s worth. Prices paid would vary wildly, but that should be expected. I know I’m willing to pay a lot more for a cold bottle of water at the county fair held in August than I am at the grocery store during my weekly shopping.
I know the idea is pretty far fetched when it comes to Domino/Notes, but it is kind of fun to think about.
This experiment isn’t really new. As a fan of singer/songwriter folk music, I am aware of many artists who have tried this model for their albums. As mentioned in the article, Radiohead released an album online and allowed people to pay what they wanted to pay. The band reported that they sold more than 2 million copies of the album and that it was profitable. On the other hand, other estimates claim that 3 in 5 paid nothing for it.
So what would happen if IBM changed the pricing model for Domino/Notes to the honor system. To avoid the 3 in 5 paying nothing situation, they could require that you have to pay something, but only what you think it’s worth. Prices paid would vary wildly, but that should be expected. I know I’m willing to pay a lot more for a cold bottle of water at the county fair held in August than I am at the grocery store during my weekly shopping.
I know the idea is pretty far fetched when it comes to Domino/Notes, but it is kind of fun to think about.
Category Lotus Notes IBM
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Comments
Posted by Nigel Cheshire At 02:12:08 PM On 01/07/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Scott Johnsen At 06:39:52 AM On 01/08/2009 | - Website - |