The first book to reveal how everday pricing strategies manipulate us

Why do text messages cost money while emails are free? Why do cereal packets keep getting smaller? Why do department stores have a few extortionate goods that no one will buy? Why do so many prices end in 9?

In Priceless, bestselling author William Poundstone reveals the hidden psychology of value and explores how we react to the most pervasive persuader of all: price. Charting the burgeoning growth of price-consultants who advise retailers from Nike to Nokia, Poundstone shows how behavioural decision theory has revolutionised the pricing strategies of major corporations.
Informed by fascinating behavioural experiments and packed with real-life examples, Priceless explains why prices are so important, and the tricks that companies use to sell their goods. It will prove indispensable to
anyone who buys, sells, or negotiates.Why do text messages cost money while e-mails are free? How does Apple persuade people to pay for music instead of downloading it for nothing? In Priceless, bestselling author William Poundstone reveals how we perceive value and why businesses set the prices we pay. Rooted in the emerging field of behavioural decision theory, Poundstone reveals the secrets that multinationals - including Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Nokia and Mercedes - are willing to pay millions for from so-called price consultants. Revealing how conventional economics gets it all wrong, this is a stunning expose of how irrational we all are and how global businesses are taking advantage.

"[The book's] remarkably engaging prose style kept me glued to the page. Fascinating and fun, and I definitely think you should buy it. 5/5" - BBC Focus

"[The book's] remarkably engaging prose style kept me glued to the page. Fascinating and fun, and I definitely think you should buy it. 5/5" - BBC Focus

"Pricing is a richer subject than you might imagine. The smile that creeps onto your face when a shameless marketing gambit reminds you of something you read in Poundstone's book? Priceless. - Business Week

"Bright analysis of the psychology of pricing … readable and revealing." - Kirkus Reviews

"Switched-on consumers may think that they are wise to the marketing strategies thrown at them, but they should think again. Poundstone is your savvy, witty guide to saving the pound in your purse." - The Times

"Switched-on consumers may think that they are wise to the marketing strategies thrown at them, but they should think again. Poundstone is your savvy, witty guide to saving the pound in your purse." - The Times

"Pricing is a richer subject than you might imagine. The smile that creeps onto your face when a shameless marketing gambit reminds you of something you read in Poundstone's book? Priceless. - Business Week

"All about the hidden psychology of value, it is a truly eye-opening account of how the pricing of products affects how we think of them." - The Big Issue