The human mind makes a leap each time it is shown a product or service that is expensive.
It puts a high value on that object. Whomp.
Watch: when you hear about a $124 hamburger, what is your brain’s first reaction? Is it something like, “Ok, there must be something special about that cow patty.”
And there is. A market won’t allow an item to exist if it doesn’t have strong value for it’s high cost.
The upside is that this allows you to sell your stuff at a premium.
The formula works the other way, too. Slice-and-dice your prices and you could de-value what your offer.
Hi! I'm BenJamin Prater. You caught me. I'm obsessed with helping businesses give their customers an extraordinary (and authentic) experience with their website. 
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Great post as usual, Ben. It’s far better to have high prices and strong marketing than to make lazy sales based on low prices.
More responsive repeat customers, less support issues…
Have you read anything by Dan Kennedy? His thoughts: your prices should be so high that you LOSE 20% of your potential business. Interesting way to look at it.
That depends on the goal and the method really. I can definitely see a few scenarios where lazy sales and volume would be the way to go. Once you start “getting” marketing at a deeper, basic level all you have to do from there on is set your goals and be creative. Hopefully I’ll get to launching my blog soon enough and I’ll have plenty of this concept there… Marketing is a passion.
Okay, I get the principle, but where do you find someone to buy a $125 hamburger. Man, it would have to do my taxes for me before I ate it!
@Dana, the person willing to pay $124 for a burger like this isn’t paying because he’s fanatical about great burgers. He buys it so he can brag to everyone within ear shot that he can afford to pay such a ridiculous amount. It’s merely a status thing and nothing else.
@Robert, you mention Dan Kennedy and pricing. If you haven’t already, read his latest book No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent. It’s packed with great insight into your question.
Benjamin, thanks for writing such an interesting blog.
Warmly,
Derek
http://www.fakeresume.com
I must say that, when I saw the subject of the e-mail that sent me here, I did not react at all in the way you say people react to high prices. I thought it was going to be a post about inflation. It is a point well taken though that we think of price as an indicator of quality.
My dad knew this when he took me shopping for a guitar 40 years ago, and to overcome it, he had the salesman show me 5 instruments with the prices hidden. It did shock him a little when I picked out the two most expensive ones, but at least he knew we would be paying for quality I could actually discern.
@Dane: After you eat the burger, you still have a 3 legged cow in the back room to do your taxes. You don’t eat an animal that smart all at once!
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