Pride and patronage - pay-what-you-want pricing at a charitable bookstore

Christina Gravert

Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), 2017, vol. 67, issue C, 1-7

Abstract: ‘‘Pay-what-you-want” pricing has proven successful in some settings while failing to be profitable in others. I conduct a field experiment at a charitable bookstore to investigate what role the relationship between the customer and the seller could play in a pay-what-you-want price scheme. When subtly reminded of their participation in the store’s membership program, members paid significantly more per book than without a reminder, while this reminder had no effect on non-members. Further, I find evidence that prices are sensitive to quantity chosen and evidence that is in line with a decay in prices over repeated purchases.

Keywords: Field experiment; Pay-what-you-want; Charitable contributions; Self-image (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:soceco:v:67:y:2017:i:c:p:1-7

DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2017.01.009

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