Priceless

Prada stores carry a few obscenely expensive items in order to boost sales for everything else (which look like bargains in comparison). People used to download music for free, then Steve Jobs convinced them to pay. How? By charging 99 cents. That price has a hypnotic effect: the profit margin of the 99 Cents Only store is twice that of Wal-Mart. Why do text messages cost money...

Prada stores carry a few obscenely expensive items in order to boost sales for everything else (which look like bargains in comparison). People used to download music for free, then Steve Jobs convinced them to pay. How? By charging 99 cents. That price has a hypnotic effect: the profit margin of the 99 Cents Only store is twice that of Wal-Mart. Why do text messages cost money, while e-mails are free? Why do jars of peanut butter keep getting smaller in order to keep the price the “same”? The answer is simple: prices are a collective hallucination. In Priceless , the bestselling author William Poundstone reveals the hidden psychology of value. In psychological experiments, people are unable to estimate “fair” prices accurately and are strongly influenced by the unconscious, irrational, and politically incorrect. It hasn’t taken long for marketers to apply these findings. “Price consultants” advise retailers on how to convince consumers to pay more for less, and negotiation coaches offer similar advice for businesspeople cutting deals. The new psychology of price dictates the design of price tags, menus, rebates, “sale” ads, cell phone plans, supermarket aisles, real estate offers, wage packages, tort demands, and corporate buyouts. Prices are the most pervasive hidden persuaders of all. Rooted in the emerging field of behavioral decision theory, Priceless should prove indispensable to anyone who negotiates.

点击链接进入中文版：

无价:洞悉大众心理玩转价格游戏

威廉·庞德斯通 美国 作家、怀疑论者。 曾在麻省理工学院学习物理学，现定居于洛杉矶； 长期为《纽约时报》、《经济学家》等知名报刊以及美国一些电视台撰稿，是《哈帕斯》杂志和《纽约时报》书评专栏的长期撰稿人； 迄今已出版著作十余部，主要著作有《财富公式：玩转拉斯 维加斯和华尔街的故事》（2008年，万卷出版公司）《操纵选票：为什么电子计票器不公平》《如何移动富士山》《卡尔·萨根》《囚徒的抉择》《推理迷宫》等以及《大秘密》、《更大秘密》、《最大秘密》系列。其中《循环的宇宙》、《推理的迷宫》曾获普利策奖提名。