Good build quality at that price point....

[Perd Hapley]

What is the difference between "build quality," and just good, old-fashioned "quality"?

Is a "price" different from a "price point"?

Or are these just more obnoxious phrases invented to make people sound cool in business meetings? 

[RoadKingLarry]

Most of it is MBA speak for "screw the consumer as hard as we can and try to make them think they are still getting something worth buying".

"Price point" is what gives us the 2.5# bag for the same price we used to buy the 3# bag for a year ago.

[HankB]

"Quality" in some cases means reliability and longevity. "Build quality" implies a bit of care beyond the bare essentials. For example, any number of companies produce "quality" pistols in that they function reliably and will last a long time; on the other hand, pistols like a Sig P210 or the 1911s made by Les Baer or Ed Brown are typically going to be smoother, more accurate, and have better triggers than something generic. In cars, a vehicle with higher "build quality" may ride better, seams may line up better, and it won't have as many squeaks and rattles as a cheaper car . . . but odds are, it won't get you to the corner any faster.

"Price point" means what can be offered at a given price to meet the needs of purchasers who WON'T pay more; for example, there are consumers who simply WILL NOT pay more than $500 for a handgun; at that price point, no manufacturer is going to offer the features or build quality of Baer, Brown, etc.

As for shrinking packages that RKL mentioned . . . that's just a sneaky way of concealing price increases. (Some years back, Consumer Reports mentioned this phenomenon in respect to paper towel rolls; IIRC, Bounty said it was to "prevent" price increases, but CR accurately opined that it was to hide them.)

[Perd Hapley]

"Quality" in some cases means reliability and longevity. "Build quality" implies a bit of care beyond the bare essentials. For example, any number of companies produce "quality" pistols in that they function reliably and will last a long time; on the other hand, pistols like a Sig P210 or the 1911s made by Les Baer or Ed Brown are typically going to be smoother, more accurate, and have better triggers than something generic. In cars, a vehicle with higher "build quality" may ride better, seams may line up better, and it won't have as many squeaks and rattles as a cheaper car . . . but odds are, it won't get you to the corner any faster.

"Price point" means what can be offered at a given price to meet the needs of purchasers who WON'T pay more; for example, there are consumers who simply WILL NOT pay more than $500 for a handgun; at that price point, no manufacturer is going to offer the features or build quality of Baer, Brown, etc.

Yeah, but I can take "build" and "point" out, without changing the meaning.

"There are consumers who simply WILL NOT pay more than $500 for a handgun; at that price, no manufacturer is going to offer the features or quality of Baer, Brown, etc."

[Scout26]

There was a study done several years ago.  I can't remember what the product was (Hot Dogs maybe, I disremember), but they had averaged selling X per week at $.99 a pack.   They raised the price to $1.09 and they then only sold about 1/3X per week.  Once they lowered the price they went back to selling X.

And yes, the product size reduction is a way to hit price points.  Sadly the US .gov doesn't "see" it when they do their inflation calcs.  That and they exclude fuel costs and then keep changing the items in the "market basket of goods" and lo and behold, "Thar ain't no inflatin' goin' on here."  However, for those of us in the real world the cost of everything has gone up immensely.

[bedlamite]

Yeah, but I can take "build" and "point" out, without changing the meaning.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/obfuscation

[Hawkmoon]

What is the difference between "build quality," and just good, old-fashioned "quality"?

Is a "price" different from a "price point"?

Or are these just more obnoxious phrases invented to make people sound cool in business meetings? 

I'm not sure about the "build quality" part, but "price point" more or less equates to "market segment," not to actual price. In other words, if you start up a business to sell widgets, do want to be selling widgets at $10 each, $50 each, or $100 each? Let's say you go middle-of-the-road and aim for a $50 "price point." You may be able to bring your widgets to market for $48.99, or you may feel you can't go lower than $51.25, but the average for all your competitors is around $50 so that's your price point -- whether or not you actually hit it.

[Hawkmoon]

Most of it is MBA speak for "screw the consumer as hard as we can and try to make them think they are still getting something worth buying".

"Price point" is what gives us the 2.5# bag for the same price we used to buy the 3# bag for a year ago.

^^^ Perzackly

[Scout26]

Actually, price points are more consumer driven the MBA driven.  Most products don't have a large "brand loyalty".  All you have to do is watch people in a supermarket.  Most people don't look at the $ per ounce price, but at the product price.  You could have two of the exact same product, one $.99 for 12 ounces and the other $1.09 for 16 ounces and the $.99 will outsell the $1.09 everyday of the week.  Most people only see total cost, not cost per unit.

[just Warren]

Obviously you do not understand synergistic leveraging of conceptualized contexts vis-a-vis consumerist preferencing quotients.   

[lee n. field]

Obviously you do not understand synergistic leveraging of conceptualized contexts vis-a-vis consumerist preferencing quotients.   

"kill it with fire"

[Hawkmoon]

Actually, price points are more consumer driven the MBA driven.  Most products don't have a large "brand loyalty".  All you have to do is watch people in a supermarket.  Most people don't look at the $ per ounce price, but at the product price.  You could have two of the exact same product, one $.99 for 12 ounces and the other $1.09 for 16 ounces and the $.99 will outsell the $1.09 everyday of the week.  Most people only see total cost, not cost per unit.

Well, I'm all about unit price, and I have no idea what anyone else looks at.

As to brand loyalty, I buy a different brand of orange juice every week. As long as it's squeezed rather than reconstituted from concentrate, I buy whatever brand is on sale this week.

[lupinus]

I drive my wife crazy. I look at the unit price, she just looks at the price.

"But it's 2 dollars more!" "Yeah, and twice the size..."

[Fitz]

It's all about promoting synergy

Like a boss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NisCkxU544c

[drewtam]

Price point - I've always thought of that as synonymous with price range. Looking at air mattress pumps last night, they are all $10 to $20 with different features. Pretty much the same price point. Then there was the $60 models, I would consider that to be a much higher price point.


Build quality - again, my assumption when I hear that phrase, quality of the components and assembly. It could be an asinine engineering solution or bad concept, but the manufacturing team executed it well. Conversely, I've seen great design ideas go down the toilet because of bad manufacturing / execution.

[cordex]

Not sure why this is an issue.

Yes, you could say "Good quality for the price" and maintain most of the meaning, however:
1. As others have noted, price point can have a different specific meaning than simply price.
2. There is nothing inherently wrong with using different words or additional words to form a thought.  Sometimes the additional description will expand on the meaning, other times it is just another way of saying something.
3. Is it possible some authors are paid by the word and learning to work extra words into the articles might make financial sense?

Or are these just more obnoxious phrases invented to make people sound cool in business meetings?

Shouldn't you have said: "Are these more phrases to make people sound cool in meetings?"

[Perd Hapley]

Or, "...utilized to make people sound cool..."?

[cordex]

Or, "...utilized to make people sound cool..."?

Whoa, whoa, whoa ... what are you, some sort of corporate troll?

[lee n. field]

Price point is about buyer psychology.  I can sell a computer far more easily, if I can keep the price under $500.  I'd far rather for their sakes and mine to sell them an Dell Optiplex 3010 for a hundred bucks more, but the fact is I have sold a ton more Dell Vostro 270s that I can keep under $500.

"Build quality" is what you sacrifice to achieve the "price point".   Unless you're sacrificing something else -- less toilet paper or tuna per unit.  Is "good enough" good enough?  Maybe.