Priceless: The Hidden Psychology of Value - Softcover

Poundstone, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1851687823 ISBN 13: 9781851687824

Publisher: Oneworld Publications, 2010

Synopsis

Why do text messages cost money while e-mails are free? How does Apple persuade people to pay for music instead of downloading it for nothing? In Priceless, bestselling author William Poundstone reveals how we perceive value and why businesses set the prices we pay. Rooted in the emerging field of behavioural decision theory, Poundstone reveals the secrets that multinationals - including Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Nokia and Mercedes - are willing to pay millions for from so-called price consultants. Revealing how conventional economics gets it all wrong, this is a stunning expose of how irrational we all are and how global businesses are taking advantage.

About this title

Review:

"Pricing is a richer subject than you might imagine. The smile that creeps onto your face when a shameless marketing gambit reminds you of something you read in Poundstone's book? Priceless." -- Business Week

"An instructive and entertaining romp, which will leave you amused, smarter, and wondering about what money and prices really mean." -- Daniel Kahneman, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University, and Nobel Laureate in Economics

"A powerful argument that should be a wake-up call to everyone who still subscribes to the old model of economics." -- Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational and James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational and James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University

"If you can get this book for under $100, grab it! After you read it, you will better understand why the price you paid felt like a bargain." --Max H. Bazerman, Straus Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School Max H. Bazerman, Straus Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

"Poundstone has managed to write a book that is fun to read and yet well-researched and substantive. Without a minute of suffering the reader gets to know nearly all the key contributors to the science of decision making. Recommended for anyone who has to make decisions." -- Richard H. Thaler, author of Nudge: Improving Decisions on Health, Wealth and Happiness

"Poundstone is your savvy, witty guide to saving the pound in your purse." -- The Times

"All about the hidden psychology of value, it is a truly eye-opening account of how the pricing of products affects how we think of them."
-- The Big Issue

"An instructive and entertaining romp, which will leave you amused, smarter, and wondering about what money and prices really mean." --Daniel Kahneman, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University, and Nobel Laureate in Economics

"A powerful argument that should be a wake-up call to everyone who still subscribes to the old model of economics." --Dan Ariely, Author of Predictably Irrational and James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University

"If you can get this book for under $100, grab it! After you read it, you will better understand why the price you paid felt like a bargain." --Max H. Bazerman, Straus Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Book Description:

The first book to reveal how everday pricing strategies manipulate us

Why do text messages cost money while emails are free? Why do cereal packets keep getting smaller? Why do department stores have a few extortionate goods that no one will buy? Why do so many prices end in 9?

About this edition

• Publisher: Oneworld Publications
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1851687823
• ISBN 13: 9781851687824
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304