I am not a person of experience with teapots. However the fact that prices can vary in time is not the reason for ZAG not listing them for some teapots. Websites are not printed catalogues, prices can be listed and also vary. As someone somewhat versed in commercial strategy (though not in retail), I would hazard a few guesses.TeaTotaling wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 12:38 pmanyone else with the experience...what are some factors which could influence the cost of teapots? Initially, I was curious why there was no price listed on ZAG for some, and now it makes sense that it can vary. I’m interested to know why.
Prices that are hidden from mere mortals' eyes can convey a sense of exclusivity and reduce the buyer's tendency to negotiate (that "if you need to ask how much, then you are not rich enough" feeling high-end retailers know how to exploit to their advantage).
The level of interest may not be that easy to gauge when first listing the pot. Increasing the price because there are several inquiries on a pot looks greedy, and progressively dropping the price on unsold inventory looks weak. It is always best when negotiating to come out as less greedy than you really are, and more confident than you really are.
I guess there is often negotiation involved (just a guess), and not displaying prices could give them the leeway they need to hold several negotiations in parallel with various strategies.
It might be that the price will change depending on who is asking.
Whatever the reason(s), I assume ZAG is quite good at extracting the maximum amount of money from each pot while selling enough pots to maximize their overall profit, and that the hidden prices are part of the way they achieve that.