4 builders who never spoke to each other

Set the comparison before you show the number

Buyers arrive with a reference price whether you supply one or not, so name the alternatives yourself and pick the ones that flatter you: the tools your product replaces, the device it stands in for, the buyer's own daily rate against the hours it saves. Establish what this kind of thing costs first, then the number reads as the small one. Where the instinctive comparison makes you look expensive, spell out on the page why the work costs what it costs.

The method

1. 01

   Set the visitor's expectation of what this kind of thing costs before you show them your number.

2. 02

   Use that comparison to anchor the buyer on a larger number, so your own price reads as the small one.

3. 03

   Construct the comparison yourself so the alternatives listed alongside you are the ones that flatter your offer.

4. 04

   Exhibit your premium product alongside things that cost far more, so your price reads as small by comparison.

5. 05

   If your price looks high next to whatever buyers instinctively compare it with, spell out on the page why the work costs what it costs, because the unexplained comparison is what loses the sale.

What it returned

• $99

  Basecamp does this ahead of showing its $99 per month price

• $99

  Basecamp's $99 monthly fee is framed against the cost of the tools it replaces

• Rolls Royce prefers yacht and aircraft shows, where a car costing hundreds of thousands looks like an impulse buy

• A dog groomer traced lost customers to one unanswered question: why a haircut for the dog costs more than the owner's own.

Sources

• Hindsight Bias - Why We Buy 🧠Katelyn Bourgoin · customercamp.co · Service providers Give a reason why people should buy · undated
• Nine marketing examples that tap into cognitive biasesHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Nine marketing examples that tap into cognitive biases · undated
• How Basecamp makes $99/month feel cheapHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · undated
• How I Made $19,000 on the App Store While Learning to CodeNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · 2011-11-15
• Stop Over-thinking AI Subscriptions | Peter SteinbergerPeter Steinberger · steipete.me · The Contractor Math · 2025-06-02
• SaaS lessons shared on the Framework podcast - Fathom AnalyticsPaul Jarvis · usefathom.com · Fathom Analytics, the business model · 2020-07-20
• The Long Road to Passive Income Part 2: Getting from $100 to $1000 in Monthly RevenueCory Zue · coryzue.com · From $300/month to $600/month: Raising Prices · 2017-12-07