Editor Slashes Book Price to Prove Point

In discussing with a well-known agent the optimum price for a digital copy of The History of the World in Tweets, I contended that a couple bucks would do, and was advised to make it $1.99. I argued that my minions, unlike average people, are not so simple-minded as to fall for that old ploy, making the price a penny less than a whole dollar multiple because $1.99 sounds like a lot less than $2.00. (About a dollar less.) Heck I just went to Amazon and found a book priced at $111.98. Do they really think someone who would have balked at a $112.00 price tag on a book is gonna say, "$111.98? What a bargain."?

The agent said companies wouldn't use this ploy if it didn't work, and I said, "Yeah? Let's try a little experiment. I'll price the book at $2.06 for three days and then I'll price it at $1.99 for three days and I'll bet you $5000 that it doesn't sell any better when I drop the price."

The agent said, "$5000 is too much to bet on something so trivial."

I said, "Okay, lets make it $4999.99," and we shook on it.

So, I've now lowered the price to $1.99. I realize this makes those of you who already paid $2.06 feel like chumps, but obviously if I'd told you in advance that the price would be slashed in three days, you would have waited, and the experiment's data would have been corrupted.

Anyway, ignore everything you just read, and focus on this: Evil Editor's new book, The History of the World in Tweets is available for $1.99.

Just click BOOK STORE in the sidebar.