On pricing

About a year or so ago, a loving husband purchased the Mer Betta Pasithea for his wife without checking whether it was transferable. So, the product went to his inventory. His wife contacted me and wanted me to send a copy to her for free, since her husband, being a big and burly guy, could not wear it.

I explained that, firstly, my store policy said that if it's copyable, it's non-refundable. Secondly, big and burly men *have* worn my tails, including the Pasithea. Instead, I offered to send her the Pasithea at a deeply discounted price. Even after what I thought was a very generous offer, she still complained that my tails are very expensive.

I was too tired to be witty at the time, but I wish I had told her that it was none of my business if a husband loved his wife so much that he would buy the most exquisite product available in the market for her, regardless of the price. He could have chosen to buy her a cheap tail elsewhere; it wasn't my fault that he chose to come to my store.

Pricing is very difficult. My marketing professor in business school even said so. Pricing is a compromise between merchant and customer. If the customer doesn't see value in what they paid money for, they will stop buying. If the merchant doesn't see a return on their time/money investment, they will stop selling. Mer Betta tails are priced in the same range as -- or even lower than -- ballgowns with similar quality of workmanship. And since Mer Betta tails are still selling well at the current price range, then I think it's safe for me to assume that people are getting their money's worth. Hopefully, more than their money's worth.

A few people who need a mermaid tail just for costume parties have complained about paying this price for something they would wear only once. But people who are mermaids most of the time don't complain about paying the same price for a ballgown they would wear only once for an OOC party. How often a user wears a product is not necessarily a factor in deciding the price of that product; just take a look at the price of wedding gowns both in real life and in Second Life.

I could make cheap tails with lower quality, but I refuse to do so for the same reason I refuse to do freebie tails: It dilutes the Mer Betta brand. Would you expect Porsche to create a cheap family sedan that competes with Kia or Honda? No, their brand is associated with luxury and high quality.

I want the Mer Betta brand to be the Porsche of mermaid tails. I want my customers to be *envied* when they wear their Mer Betta tails. Therefore, every tail I release under the Mer Betta brand will be the best I can make at my skill level at that point.

Mer Betta is not for everyone, just as Porsche is not for everyone. Mer Betta is for people with discerning taste and style and sophistication. Yes, it comes at a higher price. But you'd be willing to pay more for a Porsche, wouldn't you?