Tag: second degree price discrimination

Schitt’s Creek — Christmas Demand & Price Discrimination

The Roses are trying to buy a last-minute Christmas tree, but they’ve come to realize their options are limited. The shop owner knows demand has recently been higher because there aren’t a lot of trees available in the store. Raymond finds that the prices are higher than he was expecting and decides to leave.

The shop owner takes a few creative approaches to selling trees, including bundling air fresheners with purchase and offering a discount if people buy two trees. Price discrimination is a popular tool to increase output for a firm and sell products to people across the demand curve.

Thanks to James Tierney for the submission:

0

Life in Pieces — Discounts & Sunk Costs

 

Tim tries to host a guys night and things don’t seem to be going his way. Beyond the awkwardness of just the two of them, the big pay per view fight lasts only a couple of seconds. While the two did get to watch the fight, which had a knockout, it wasn’t quite worth the hundred dollars they paid. Tim notes that he may be able to turn it off and get his money back. With a lot of experience goods, it’s not necessarily the actual outcome of the action that people care about. Tim and Matt did see a fight, so why is he so focused on getting his money back?

A second quick econ line occurs later when they sit down for dinner. Even though Tim isn’t eating any tacos, he notes that the cook is cheaper since he expects Matt to eat 25 or 26 tacos. This form of bulk discounting represents second degree price discrimination. With this pricing mechanism, the hope is to induce customers to purchase more than they would have (law of demand) even though making an additional taco doesn’t have the added cost of another cook.

0

The Toys That Made Us — Two Part Tariffs for Barbie

 

When designing the pricing model of Barbies, Mattel looked to Gillette’s pricing model for razors and razorblades, which is a form of second degree price discrimination that utilizes two part tariffs as a way of maximizing profit from group buyers. The doll (or razors) are sold at very low prices, but the accessories (or razor blades) are the main drivers of profit for the firm. This model allows the company to sell a lot of base products at near marginal cost, but then charge high prices for the accessories, which are a critical component of the overall product.

0

Always Sunny — Surrogacy Savings

Dee offers her womb to become a surrogate for a couple. In order to try and get a higher payoff, she offers  to have more children at a discount for the couple. She notes that savings really kicks in if the couple were to have multiple children at one time. She even offers to be an octo-mom. This could also serve as a fun example of second degree price discrimination.

0

Up ↑