Essay · ~20 min read

Camels and Rubber Duckies

Joel Spolsky · Joel on Software Free Intermediate

Spolsky's classic essay explains why willingness to pay for the identical product varies wildly by customer, using the image of a camel trader who will pay far more for the same rope than someone buying a rubber duck. It is the clearest argument you will find for why a single list price is the wrong question to start with when you have no comparable to copy. Read it before your first pricing conversation, not after.

  • Different buyers will pay wildly different amounts for the identical product, so one price undercharges someone.
  • Segmenting by how much value a customer gets beats picking a single number that feels fair.
  • Founders systematically underestimate how high some customers will go if you never ask.
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The question it answers

  1. How do I price my product when I am selling it myself and have no comparable competitors?

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