Prices are not a unilateral expression of what someone wants; they are about what someone thinks he can get. That’s necessarily a guesstimate. There is abundant evidence that such guesses can be manipulated.
207
Priceless:
Alcohol narrows an already limited scope of attention, a phenomenon that’s been dubbed alcohol myopia. This places yet tighter bounds on rationality.
221
Priceless:
Quoting a price to a potential client is a gamble. It can never be known exactly how much work will be involved, how demanding a client will be, what can go wrong with the job, and what the relevant chances are.
222
Priceless:
…consumers pay too much attention to prices and not enough to the buying power that those prices represent. The signifier becomes more important than the signified.
226
Priceless:
…choices are remarkably fluid. Loss aversion is a powerful motivator. People will pay more to avoid risk and will also pay more for mere words than downplay risk.
231
Priceless:
In market societies, money is a medium of social dominance, a way for alpha males to impress potential mates by ritually emasculating rivals. It is no coincidence that a man who pays too high a price ‘gets screwed.’
249
Priceless:
By considering how your judgment may be wrong, you might come up with an overlooked reason and change your mind.
270
Priceless:
When a dealer, vendor, agent, or employer quotes you a figure, take a deep breath, and don’t make any commitments until you’ve had a chance to think of reasons why that price might be unreasonable.
