Sometimes cutting prices can do more harm than good...

[mandy]

But before you run to the stock room to retrieve your pricing gun, consider this:

Even in hard times, not everyone shops price. And when people do shop price they generally don't shop price alone. They still understand worthless junk is a waste of money, no matter how cheap it might be. Especially when times are tough, people want to be sure they get good value for the dollars they spend.

How you price your products and services plays a huge role in how your business will be perceived by others. Before you rush into cutting prices, consider the implications carefully to ensure you don't damage your reputation and your brand. The perception your customers and prospects have of your business can be more powerful than you might think...

full article: http://www.searchengineguide.com/diane-a...ricing.php

[xwpopper]

In addition to this article:
I was also told many years ago, that if you have an medium to low demand product, don't ever run a sale on it, because you will never sell it again at full price. I have learned this the hard way myself, but here are some big examples of pricing blunders.

A high demand product, this time of year is video games, can be sold at a slightly discounted price and not kill your own market. An example is the big sale on Amazon last Christmas for the Wii. They ran a good price and sold thousands, but they still sell thousands year round at the regular price.

An example of a medium demand product that was nearly killed: Airwalk shoes. They had a great following through the 80's-90's and could be found in every single sporting goods store, shoe store, and department store for the "extreme" sports crowd. In the mid 90's revamped their strategy to low cost mainstream shoes. They tried to fluctuate the market price yearly, and failed because they were never in high enough demand. By constantly dropping then raising their prices, they lost many customers and have been a whirlwind of ownership changes since 2000 with the competition from Converse, Adidas, and Vans, who all maintained their prices steadily as medium demand products. 14 years later, they are finally rebuilding their original customer base. That's a long experiment in customer loyalty that very few businesses can afford.

An example of a low-demand product that was killed: The Wonder Cookie. These were huge for a couple years, and sold millions out of salons and nutrition stores in the early 90's. They hit a slow period of sales, and they dropped the price from $2 to $1 to sell excess inventory. Afterward, very few were willing to pay the original $2. They were barely heard from again until the last few years.

Moral: If you have a solid customer base, don't mess with them.

[PowerSeller]

I wish for the ability to list an item on my website, and set it's price to automatically lower itself by $0.01 per day (or more for some items) until sold.  A weekly interval would work too.  Does anyone know how to do that on an osCommerce site?

[sneakymagenta]

I wish for the ability to list an item on my website, and set it's price to automatically lower itself by $0.01 per day (or more for some items) until sold.

Why would you want to do that on a website?

[PowerSeller]

[quote author=sneakymagenta link=topic=18638.msg73146#msg73146 date=1225402459]

I wish for the ability to list an item on my website, and set it's price to automatically lower itself by $0.01 per day (or more for some items) until sold.

Why would you want to do that on a website?
[/quote]

So that I can price an item once and be done with it, knowing that it will most certainly sell when the right buyer comes along and sees it at a price they're happy to pay.  I like to price ambitiously, but want to be able to do that without having to worry that I aimed too high on too many products as constant changes in supply and demand for different items affects their value.  I think that having the ability to set prices to automatically adjust themselves over time would please me very much.

Am I gonna end up in your signature for this?

[amy]

I think that having the ability to set prices to automatically adjust themselves over time would please me very much.

I'm not a big fan of automated pricing tools--automated repricing is the one Fillz feature I've avoided during the 4 1/2 years I've used Fillz.  There are a lot of Amazon sellers selling items at a loss due to their use of automated pricing tools--seller A's repricing tool's rules lower the price below seller B's price and seller B's tool lowers the price below seller C's price and the downward price spiral begins.

I think you'd do better (in terms of profit margins) by takingthe time to manually adjust prices when market conditions warrant.

[PowerSeller]

[quote author=amy link=topic=18638.msg73153#msg73153 date=1225495898]

I think that having the ability to set prices to automatically adjust themselves over time would please me very much.

I'm not a big fan of automated pricing tools--automated repricing is the one Fillz feature I've avoided during the 4 1/2 years I've used Fillz.  There are a lot of Amazon sellers selling items at a loss due to their use of automated pricing tools--seller A's repricing tool's rules lower the price below seller B's price and seller B's tool lowers the price below seller C's price and the downward price spiral begins.

I think you'd do better (in terms of profit margins) by takingthe time to manually adjust prices when market conditions warrant.
[/quote]

Is Fillz something for books only, or is it something that can be used for different products?

Amazon is definitely not a site that I would want to use a repricing tool on.  High fees and too much competition (and I think I've been sidelined now on Amazon because of a damaging and inaccurate neg that I suspect is from a competitor).

I would want an automated pricing tool for my website and for Wagglepop where I have no direct competition on the site and no FVF.  I do quite well in terms of profit margins by manually adjusting prices over time, but it's not feasible to manage several hundred or several thousand listings that way.  Time saved by automating price adjustments could be better spent on listing more products or shipping a greater volume of stuff.

[BellisimaJ.]

I would want an automated pricing tool for my website and for Wagglepop where I have no direct competition on the site and no FVF.  I do quite well in terms of profit margins by manually adjusting prices over time, but it's not feasible to manage several hundred or several thousand listings that way.  Time saved by automating price adjustments could be better spent on listing more products or shipping a greater volume of stuff.

Adjusting prices manually would probably still be a better idea. In retail, adjustments/markdowns(if the ticket itself is changed, which is normally the case in apparel sales) are still taken by hand, piece by piece. It may be time consuming, but is generally worth it. Another option is to offer a discount to be taken at check out on specific categories of goods only.

[bargainbloodhound]

my website

The Palmer Web Marketing blog had a great article last week... 

Preventing Controllable Distractions

* Ads on your website. If you’re currently using ads to supplement your income on a e-commerce site, seriously consider the professionalism and effectiveness of this tactic, as ads offer one more needless distraction.

http://www.palmerwebmarketing.com/blog/o...ion-spans/

[PowerSeller]

[quote author=bargainbloodhound link=topic=18638.msg73169#msg73169 date=1225614930]

my website

The Palmer Web Marketing blog had a great article last week... 

Preventing Controllable Distractions

* Ads on your website. If you’re currently using ads to supplement your income on a e-commerce site, seriously consider the professionalism and effectiveness of this tactic, as ads offer one more needless distraction.

http://www.palmerwebmarketing.com/blog/o...ion-spans/
[/quote]

Yes, I am familiar with your opinion of the ads on my website.  However, removal of the ads would do nothing to provide me with the option to use the pricing strategy that I wish to have the option of using.