I’ve been wearing eyeglasses for about 25 years and need new glasses again :-( . Over the past 12 years or so, my average cost has been about $360 per pair of prescription glasses, (averaged from seven pairs purchased from five different stores).
If I had chosen name-brand designer frames, the cost would have been higher; if I had selected the free frames, the cost would’ve been lower. (My sister used to work for the largest eyeglass retail chain in the country. She said their free frames cost less than $2 each.)
Some eyeglass stores (aka “optical stores” or “vision stores”) frequently have a two-for-one sale. So if a pair of glasses cost me, on average, about $360, then a two-for-one sale should mean that I can get two pairs for about $360, right?
Wrong:
1) I chose two pairs of glasses with my usual middle-of-the-road frames. The clerk tallied up the price: $1,826.00. (What?!?)
2) Then he factored in the two-for-one sale which meant the cheaper pair was now “free.” Total price was now $966.00.
3) After asking if I had insurance (no, I didn’t), he said that since I’m a good customer, he’d give me free anti-reflection coatings and an extra discount on the lenses.
4) The final price for the two pairs of glasses came to $756.00, or $378.00 per pair, which, surprise surprise, was the same as my previous average one-pair cost.
A quick check at another nearby optical store showed that its normal price for one pair of glasses with similar frames was $399.00.
So what happened to the supposed two-for-one discount? Why didn’t I get two pairs for the price of one?
Truthful Prices
When you price your photography services, the prices have to be real. If you purposely price high with the expectation that you’ll let the client talk you down, then your prices will have no credibility. Your clients will always expect a discount and they may expect a bigger discount the next time.
Most clients do not want to negotiate or haggle. They don’t have the time or interest. The customer just wants to know the real price without any games. Artificially high prices will also scare away many customers.
Remember that the customer is not the enemy. Customers are your business partner: they keep you in business. Help them buy from you. Make it easy for them to do business with you. Silly discount offers or any other type of number-juggling are not necessary. Your customers might wear glasses but they aren’t blind.
Your prices and your photography act as filters. Your prices can filter out the customers you don’t need and your photography can filter in the customers you want.
