Price

Pricing

M : Our goods are low-priced. Permanently low pricing means we charge low prices all the time.

W : You mean cheap: your goods are poor quality. Our goods are high-priced, but we give customer service. And a lot of our goods are mid-priced : not cheap and not expensive.

M : Your goods are expensive. Customers don’t need service.

W : You must be selling some goods at cost(what you pay for them) or at a loss(even less).

M : Yes. We have loss leaders - cheap items to attract customers in. But it’s all below the ‘official’ list price or recommended retail price. We have a policy of discounting, selling at a discount to the list price.

W : (If he goes on undercutting us, we can’t stay in business.)

Words

low-price adj. also low-priced adj.

cheap in relation to the other things of the same kind

a series of new machines, ranging from top-of-the-line notebook computers to low-priced models

mid-price adj. also mid-priced adj.

neither very expensive nor very cheap in relation to similar things

mid-priced hotels

high-price adj. also high-priced adj.

high-powered, high-priced cars such as Porsches and BMWs

price /praɪs/ ★★★ S1 W1 n.

[countable, uncountable] the amount of money you have to pay for something

The price of fuel keeps going up.

price ★★☆ vt.

to decide the price of something that is for sale

a reasonably priced apartment

cheap /tʃiːp/ ★★★ S1 W2 adj.

not at all expensive, or lower in price than you expected OPP expensive

cheap rail fares

expensive /ɪkˈspensɪv/ ★★★ S1 W2 adj.

costing a lot of money OPP cheap

the most expensive restaurant in town

at cost

at a price of what pay for that

at a loss

at a less price than what pay for that.

loss leader n.

[countable] a product that is sold at a very low price in order to attract customers into a shop

Just think of it as a loss leader and keep your fingers crossed.

list price n.

[countable] a price that is suggeste for a product by the people who make it

Available from the end of last month, the kit will have a list price of £150, the company says.

recommended retail price(= RRP) BrE

[countable] a price that the proucer or wholesaler(=a seller that sells to businesses rather than to the public) of a product suggests that it should be sold for in shops

discount /ˈdɪskaʊnt/ ★★☆ S3 W3 n.

[countable] a reduction in the usual price of something

Members get a 15% discount

discount /dɪsˈkaʊnt $ ˈdɪskaʊnt/ ★☆☆ vt.

to reuce the price of something

Games were discounted to as little as $5.

to regard something as unlikely to be true or important

Experts discounted the accuracy of the polls.

undercut /ˌʌndəˈkʌt $ -ər-/ vt.

to sell goos or a service at a lower price than another company SYN undersell

Online bookstores can undercut retailers by up to 30%

to make something weaker or less effective SYN undermine

Is a lack of self-confidence undercutting your performance at work?

		Word combinations with ‘price’
	boom	a good period for sellers, when prices are rising quickly
	controls	government efforts to limit price increases
	cut	a reduction in price
price	hike	an increase in price
	war	when competing companies reduce prices in response to each other
	leader	a company that is first to reduce or increase prices
	tag	label attached to goods, showing the price; also means ‘price’

Words

in response to each other

as the responses, make something happen or a situation in result.

Upmarket and downmarket

Products, for example skis, exist in differnet models. SOme are basic, some more sophisiticated. The cheapest skis are low-end or bottom-end. The most expensive ones are high-end or top-end products, designed for experienced users (or people with a lot of money!). The cheapest entry-level skis are for beginners who have never bought skis before. Those in between are mid-range. If you buy sophisticated skis to replace basic ones, you trade up and move upmarket. If you buy cheaper skis after buying more expensive ones, you trade down and move downmarket.

Downmarket can show disapproval. If a publisher takes a newspaper downmarket, they make it more popular, but less cultural, to increase sales.

Words

model /ˈmɒdl $ ˈmɑːdl/ ★★★ S2 W1 n.\

[countable] a particular type of design of a vehicle or machine

Renault are introducing three new models at the show.

[countable] a small copy of a building, vehicle, machine etc, especially one that can be put together from separate parts

They showed us a model of the building.

[countable] someone whose job is to show clothes, hairstyles etc by wearing them at fashion shows or for photographs

a top fashion model

basic /ˈbeɪsɪk/ ★★★ S2 W1 adj.

at the simplest or least developed level

the basic skills of programmin

forming the most important or most necessary part of something

the basic principles of chemistry

sophisticated /səˈfɪstɪkeɪtɪd/ ★★☆ adj.

a sophisticated machine, system, method etc is very well designed and very advanced, and often works in a complicated way

sophisticated software

a highly sophisticated weapons system

having a lot of experience of life, and good judgment about socially important things such as art, fashion etc

a sophisticated, witty American

Clarissa’s hair was swept up into a sophisticated style.

low-end adj. SYN bottom-end

[usually before noun] realting to products or services that are less expensive and of lower quality than other proucts of the same type OPP high-end

high-end adj. SYN top-end

[usually before noun] realting to products or services that are more expensive and of better quality than other products of the same type

high-end computer memory chip

mid-range adj.

mid-range products and services are not the most expensive or the cheapest

trade up phv.

to replace something you own with something better, or buy a better type of thing than before

It also encourages existing home owners to trade up to larger accommodation.

trade down phv.

to replace something you own with something cheaper, or buy a cheaper type of thing than before

Many of their customers are trading down to ccheaper cigarettes.

upmarket /ˌʌpˈmɑːkɪt◂ $ -ɑːr-/ adj. adv. OPP downmarket

BrE designed for or used by people who have a lot of money SYN ArE upscale

downmarket /ˌdaʊnˈmɑːkɪt◂ $ -ɑːr-/ adj.

BrE downmarket goods or services are cheap and not of very good quality SYN ArEdownscale

Mass markets and niches

Mass market describes goods that sell in large quantities and the people who buy them. For example, family cares are a mass market product. A niche or niche market is a small group of buyers with special needs, which may be profitable to sell to. For example, sports cars are a niche in the car industry.

Words

mass market

[singular] a market for a product that is bought, or meant to be bought, by a lot of people

We sell these clothes to the mass market in department stores and to high earners in boutiques.

niche /niːʃ, nɪtʃ $ nɪtʃ, niːʃ/ ★☆☆ n.

[singular] an opportunity to sell a product or service to a particular group of people who have similar needs, interests etc

He spotted a niche in the market.

[countable] if you find your niche, you find a job or activity that is very suitable for you

Amanda soon found her niche at the club.

niche market n.

[singular] a market for a product or service, perhaps an expensive or unusuall one, that does not have many buyers, but that may make good profits for companies that sell it

This small pharmaceuticals company has targeted specialty cancer treatments as its niche market.

It is the end of this time. : )