Essay · ~5 min read

How to price something

Jason Fried · Signal v. Noise (37signals) Free Beginner

Fried's answer is deliberately unromantic: pick a number, put it in front of real people, and let the market correct you instead of trying to compute the right price on paper. For a founder with no comparable product to benchmark against, this permission to just decide and adjust is more useful than any formula. Short enough to read in five minutes before you write down your first price.

  • There is no formula that replaces putting a real number in front of a real buyer.
  • Treat your first price as a hypothesis you will revise, not a commitment you are stuck with.
  • Overthinking the exact number delays the only test that matters: will someone actually pay it.
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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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