Pricing on your website: Carts without prices

Posted on February 1, 2007 by Dave J.

I want to jump back into the public pricing issue.

Suppose you can’t display your pricing? What you should do is address this issue up front, so the user knows what is going on and is not ‘tearing their hair out’, as Jakob Nielsen alleges.

Part of the solution is giving the visitor a clear path to getting the prices. Toll-free numbers in H1-tags and contact/guestbook pages are so 1999, as effective as they have proven to be.

One of my active commenters and fellow blogger, SEO Ruby, has posted one solution that her company ecreativeworks has provided:

RFQ Carts: Giving industrial companies an alternative to Ecommerce: “An RFQ cart will give the power to the buyer to simply drop the product into a cart with contact information and tell the business exactly what they would like.”

Makes sense…give the user a familiar shopping cart that fulfills my suggestion of a clear path to prices. Thanks for sharing, ‘Ruby’.

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  • Anonymous

    Giving the buyer an RFQ shopping cart is not as good as just motivating the buyer to call initially with what the specifications are. Why? Because the buyer still doesn’t get a feel for general or specific pricing, he’s not 100% sure the seller has exactly what he needs, and may not want to put all that information in writing on the internet. Some sellers who can not fill the need for any reason, may take that info and pass it on to a friendly competitor in order to get similar return favors. Although this could happen with verbal info, it is not like having all the details in writing.

    FYI, Dave, SEO Ruby is probably a long time MN ThomasNet contractor by the name of Bret Olseth (or associated with him), so you will see many favorable to ThomasNet posts like the 1/23/07 one on IndustrialSearchEngineMarketing.com.

  • Anonymous

    Giving the buyer an RFQ shopping cart is not as good as just motivating the buyer to call initially with what the specifications are. Why? Because the buyer still doesn’t get a feel for general or specific pricing, he’s not 100% sure the seller has exactly what he needs, and may not want to put all that information in writing on the internet. Some sellers who can not fill the need for any reason, may take that info and pass it on to a friendly competitor in order to get similar return favors. Although this could happen with verbal info, it is not like having all the details in writing.FYI, Dave, SEO Ruby is probably a long time MN ThomasNet contractor by the name of Bret Olseth (or associated with him), so you will see many favorable to ThomasNet posts like the 1/23/07 one on IndustrialSearchEngineMarketing.com.

  • Dave J.

    Hi Anon–

    You make a good point…getting the prospect to volunteer information when they don’t know or trust you is a risk with this approach. If you provide them enough info upfront to make them want to contact you (by RFQ-cart or phone), you’ve done your job.

    I’ll let Ruby reply, but she is not Bret.

  • Dave J.

    Hi Anon–You make a good point…getting the prospect to volunteer information when they don’t know or trust you is a risk with this approach. If you provide them enough info upfront to make them want to contact you (by RFQ-cart or phone), you’ve done your job.I’ll let Ruby reply, but she is not Bret.

  • seo ruby

    No, I’m not Bret; however, if you go to my blog, we make it clear that we are part of the SEO group at Ecreativeworks – not a ThomasNet Contractor.

    My post on 1/23 was very relevant as it was a new forum out. I wasn’t aware of the GlobalSpec forum and said as much in a response to comments:

    “Well, I must say that I haven’t been exposed to GlobalSpec’s forums… Many of my clients in the industrial realm put most of their directory funds towards Thomas, only a handful put any funds into GlobalSpec, so I hear the news about Thomas much more frequently.

    I did check out the GlobalSpec forums, and I think it might take a little getting used to, but looks like it’s been established for awhile.

    Thanks for your feedback! “

    I have no issues with other directories as you can see we mention GlobalSpec on this page of our blog: http://www.industrialsearchenginemarketing.com/blog/industrial-resource-directory/

    The first comment in response to my new forum post was by someone at GlobalSpec, so obviously I’m not trying to skew everything towards ThomasNet as I don’t have any reason to.

    Hope this clears things up. Thanks!

  • seo ruby

    No, I’m not Bret; however, if you go to my blog, we make it clear that we are part of the SEO group at Ecreativeworks – not a ThomasNet Contractor. My post on 1/23 was very relevant as it was a new forum out. I wasn’t aware of the GlobalSpec forum and said as much in a response to comments: “Well, I must say that I haven’t been exposed to GlobalSpec’s forums… Many of my clients in the industrial realm put most of their directory funds towards Thomas, only a handful put any funds into GlobalSpec, so I hear the news about Thomas much more frequently.I did check out the GlobalSpec forums, and I think it might take a little getting used to, but looks like it’s been established for awhile.Thanks for your feedback! “I have no issues with other directories as you can see we mention GlobalSpec on this page of our blog: http://www.industrialsearchenginemarketing.com/blog/industrial-resource-directory/The first comment in response to my new forum post was by someone at GlobalSpec, so obviously I’m not trying to skew everything towards ThomasNet as I don’t have any reason to. Hope this clears things up. Thanks!

  • Anonymous

    Ecreativeworks and the blog’s address listed in the domain whois is “Ecreativeworks
    Host Master
    13220 County Road 6
    Suite 100
    Plymouth, MN 55441″

    That is Bret Olsef’s exact old address listed for ThomasNet. If Mr. Olsef is no longer with ThomasNet, he probably still has accounts that he got when he was with them as a ThomasNet contractor. He, or his associates, certainly wouldn’t want to say anything bad about ThomasNet, as that is how they probably got many of their Ecreativeworks accounts to begin with.

    I agree with you, Dave, about providing “them enough info upfront to make them want to contact you”, but it is just as important to supply them with the most important information they want. In many cases that is pricing along with quality and service for a total value package.

  • Anonymous

    Ecreativeworks and the blog’s address listed in the domain whois is “Ecreativeworks Host Master 13220 County Road 6 Suite 100 Plymouth, MN 55441″That is Bret Olsef’s exact old address listed for ThomasNet. If Mr. Olsef is no longer with ThomasNet, he probably still has accounts that he got when he was with them as a ThomasNet contractor. He, or his associates, certainly wouldn’t want to say anything bad about ThomasNet, as that is how they probably got many of their Ecreativeworks accounts to begin with. I agree with you, Dave, about providing “them enough info upfront to make them want to contact you”, but it is just as important to supply them with the most important information they want. In many cases that is pricing along with quality and service for a total value package.

  • Anonymous

    Oh, I forgot to mention that Ecreativeworks.com has ThomasNet as its #1 inbound link out of 90 on Alexa’s “Sites Linking in” list at “Explore This Site”:
    http://www.alexa.com/data/ds/linksin?q=link:ecreativeworks.com/&url=ecreativeworks.com

    I went through all 90 and nowhere is an inbound link from GlobalSpec, IQS, or MacRaes’Blue Book to be found. Many inbound links look like they are probably Bret’s current or former ThomasNet accounts that he placed there when he improved their site.

  • Anonymous

    Oh, I forgot to mention that Ecreativeworks.com has ThomasNet as its #1 inbound link out of 90 on Alexa’s “Sites Linking in” list at “Explore This Site”:http://www.alexa.com/data/ds/linksin?q=link:ecreativeworks.com/&url;=ecreativeworks.comI went through all 90 and nowhere is an inbound link from GlobalSpec, IQS, or MacRaes’Blue Book to be found. Many inbound links look like they are probably Bret’s current or former ThomasNet accounts that he placed there when he improved their site.

  • Anonymous

    I don’t know why SEO Ruby doesn’t want to admit that she or he is affiliated with Bret Olseth who now, or used to, promote ThomasNet, but here is a Zoom Info listing for Bret that says “To Bret Olseth, owner of ecreativeworks for his continuing support…”
    http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Olseth_Bret_550499998.aspx

  • Anonymous

    I don’t know why SEO Ruby doesn’t want to admit that she or he is affiliated with Bret Olseth who now, or used to, promote ThomasNet, but here is a Zoom Info listing for Bret that says “To Bret Olseth, owner of ecreativeworks for his continuing support…”http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Olseth_Bret_550499998.aspx

  • Dave J.

    Anonymous–

    Enough already. She may have ducked the question about who she is and who her boss is exactly, but what of it? I don’t see any shilling going on, and their company’s past history with Thomas doesn’t make any comments about Thomas automatically propaganda. I could make a comment about anonymous negative comments, but I am sure you see that one coming. You’ve made you had your say and made your point. Done.

  • Dave J.

    Anonymous–Enough already. She may have ducked the question about who she is and who her boss is exactly, but what of it? I don’t see any shilling going on, and their company’s past history with Thomas doesn’t make any comments about Thomas automatically propaganda. I could make a comment about anonymous negative comments, but I am sure you see that one coming. You’ve made you had your say and made your point. Done.

  • Anonymous

    Dave, with all due respect for you and your blog that I have long contributed to in positive ways, I was just trying to prevent deception of any kind on your blog, even when it has no blatently obvious motivation.

    I wish I didn’t have to do annonymous comments. I have a good reason for it that has nothing to do with you. Sorry I can’t explain better.

    I didn’t think that “point/counter point” debate comments are totally negative. In fact, I agreed with you about supplying enough info, but qualified it by saying that pricing info may be the most important info the buyer wants (depending on his budget). I will cease and desist.

  • Anonymous

    Dave, with all due respect for you and your blog that I have long contributed to in positive ways, I was just trying to prevent deception of any kind on your blog, even when it has no blatently obvious motivation.I wish I didn’t have to do annonymous comments. I have a good reason for it that has nothing to do with you. Sorry I can’t explain better. I didn’t think that “point/counter point” debate comments are totally negative. In fact, I agreed with you about supplying enough info, but qualified it by saying that pricing info may be the most important info the buyer wants (depending on his budget). I will cease and desist.