Why $7 or $17 and no in between?

by AnneE
17 replies
It seems to be commonly accepted to sell WSO's and many other online offerings in numbers ending in $7. Has anyone ever actually tested this? Or did one of the more successful people just say that $7, $17, $27.... were excellent prices. And everyone took their word on it.

In the world outside of internet marketing, people seem to pick all kinds of prices.

I have a product that $17 seems high for and $7, a bit low. So.... I was just wondering, what about good old $10? That's really what I see the value as, $9 or $10.

So can anyone explain to me the magic of the '7'? And why it is only internet marketers who follow this creed?
#$17
  • Profile picture of the author Jared Alberghini
    7 is a 'lucky number' that triggers a 'warm and fuzzy feeling' that yes, has been proven (online anyways...) get's better results...

    that's why you see everything online ending in 7...

    (that's just my opinion based on what I have read on the subject, I'm not saying it's the best way to go...)

    - Jared
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  • Profile picture of the author Jared Alberghini
    It might also be the same reason you don't see the floor #13 in any tall buildings when you are on the elevator...

    ( the people on the #14'th floor must know they are actually on the 13'th... )

    - Jared
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  • Profile picture of the author ste25
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    • Profile picture of the author imaddict
      Originally Posted by ste25 View Post

      Because marketers are sheep and copy one another. Theres no reason why you cant make just as many sales selling something at $8 or $9 or $10 or $11 etc..

      The number 7 means nothing at all.
      Well put... I've tested 27 vs. 29.95 - 37 vs. 39.95 - 47 vs. 49.95 (etc. etc. etc.) on a bunch of different products and guess what?

      NO DIFFERENCE.

      The 7's theory is a bunch of crap (as is most of the stuff the "guru's" would have you believe).
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  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    I like $11.77 myself as a price point... it's sort of
    on the level with buying a book on Amazon and
    having it shipped to your house.
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  • Shawn Casey has tested this, this is why he is
    known for being the master at the $7.00 deal
    when he sells digital products.

    Frank Gorka
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  • Profile picture of the author Louis Raven
    x7 numbers are horrible and I'll never go back to odds.

    Also, don't sell everything at either 7 or 17. That's rediculous. You need to test and test your price until you hit the nail on the head.

    Sometimes you'll get more sales with a higher price.

    Do you think a $7 eBook will change your life? What about a $700 eBook? Automatically you think the higher price eBook would right? Exactly.

    If you spend months creating a product, how much time do you think you'll save the buyer? make sure you get paid for your time and never go with a standard default price. If people want it they'll buy at price that they see fit, not what other eBook sellers are charging.

    Just my honest opinion. Not fact.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheRichJerksNet
    I love alot of the responses on this thread.. many are sooo very true.. You should sell your product for what you feel it is worth.

    Now there are many of us that sell a product way below what the value should be but many of us are not so gifted that we have a list of 50,000+ and have 5 JV Partners waiting to just slam a new product out there.

    Great example: WordPress Secured (my own product) v1 sold very well as I sold over 200 copies from $27.97 - $67.97. Now yes I used the "7" thing and I have no idea why .lol Point is it sold well.

    Now I have version 2 and in my hands the product may be worth $5,000 or so but in the hands of some of these top marketers the product is worth $Millions$.. Thats no joke either, its a very high quality product and with the power of JV's and list amounting several hundred thousands and with hundreds of thousands having a wordpress blog a top marketer could make a killing.

    The point is though.. Sell for what you feel comfortable with, not what someone else tells you to sell for. If you think its value if $10 then maybe you should sell for $12.95.

    James
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Lundergan
    I like $11.77. It rolls through the mind so effortlessly, I almost think it's free...that is, until the payment hits my credit card
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Hancox
    Certain people have tested it and have claimed to have more sales at a $x7 price point, but you should NEVER rely solely on other people's tests, and do your own, for YOUR market and YOUR customers.

    If you test and find there's no difference in sales between $47 and $49, why not go with $49?

    There do tend to be psychological points at $10, $100, $1000 etc, where we see a product as more expensive because of the extra digit, which is why many retailers drop a cent or a dollar, ie. $9.99 or $9.

    I suspect marketers pick $x7 because it's neither $10, nor is it $9 or $9.99 - in other words, they're trying to be different.

    But the bottom line is, if you have enough volume of sales to do so, you should split test different price points, and see if it really makes a difference.

    Personally, I'd suggest if you have a low volume of sales, you don't worry too much about whether it's better to price at $7, $8, $9, $9.99 or whatever, and get people to focus more on the VALUE FOR MONEY.
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  • Profile picture of the author AnneE
    Wow, thanks for all the answers. I will say I never thought that perhaps a $7 price would be closer to $5 in someone's mind than $10. I don't think I really do that mental conversion, myself. I did wonder if it wasn't the sheep factor. So a couple people said they like $11.77. Interesting, that's one I hadn't considered.

    I Googled 'Shawn Casey testing' and number 2 on the list was this thread on Warrior Forum. Wow, doesn't take long for Google to lap up the stuff on here. Well, thanks again for the input on the pricing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Charann Miller
    The only way to really know for sure is to do your own testing. I've seen some WSO selling for $5, $9, $10 and seem to sell quite nicely. Nothing is really set in stone and you should charge what you feel your product is worth.
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  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    I think that's a pretty weak article Bruce but your point is
    well-taken. Seven is a two-syllable word while nine and
    five are 1 syllable words... which is my guess why they are
    used in infomercials - they "slide by" easier.

    In the context of reading... well remember Ted Nicholas
    sold a lot of books with space ads. He was looking to stop
    people with headlines and he certainly tested different numbers
    and got some conclusions from his results - In his business.

    Walmart ends a lot of their prices with .97 - and I would
    expect they have more opportunity to test than any direct
    marketing company does.

    Every "fractional" pricing sends a message that consumers
    interpret in their mind:
    "bargain"
    "cheap quality"
    "prestigious" (prices like $10,000.oo)
    "looks like they haven't raised the price recently" (.98 and .99)
    "This must be on sale!" (.98 and .99)

    Most of what I've read about it hasn't argued about the .x7
    thing much. In any case - $17 says "we aren't sticking you
    for $19.99" -

    There is a lot to how you position what you are selling.

    I've seen a lot of people try to launch info-products
    that are clearly no more inspired than a cheap grocery-line
    paperback - and ask $47.oo for something with less value
    than a real hardcover book on the same subject - and at
    twice the price!

    People KNOW there is no cost to deliver an ebook so playing
    the $19.95 game might be a turn-off. The real trick is
    to pick the price you want and PROVE the value or test
    price points until you find the one that gives you the best
    ROI. I think you can make a lot more money proving value
    at a higher price point with info-products but both
    strategies work.

    Dan Kennedy makes a book-length argument for doubling
    your prices (or more) by selling most of your stuff to the
    people with the money in "No B.S. Marketing To The Affluent" -
    and if you've looked at the prices on Kennedy's recent
    products - well, he's taking his own advice.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gerrit
    Great posts!

    My first rule is to compare prices in the niche... let your competition do all the testing.

    I do this with spying on the most successful PPC advertisers over a period of time. I then get a great deal of information on what price points they've tested etc. After a while you see what prices works best, regardless of $7 or $17 or $19.95 issues.

    Not saying you can't test your own price points!

    I'm more concerned about my "offer" to the market, overdelivering at least 10 times, and asking a reasonable price then. For an eager buyer sold on your product, the difference between $17 and $19.95 is neglible.

    Or you could survey your existing customers on what they feel would be a good price point (make a few beta copies available).

    After a few hundred responses you've heard it from the horses' mouth.

    Gerrit
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