I noticed something odd about this coupon from Toojay's Original Gourmet Deli. Can you guess what I'm going to say? I added a red rectangle as a hint.

Coupons are often intended to lure relatively

Episode link: https://taprun.com/articles/toojay-coupon-discount-pricing

Nearly every business has a petty cash drawer that contains a small amount of money to be used for low-value purchases. Have you ever wondered why?

In a way, it's strange that businesses have a two-tiered system for handling monetary transactions. For most purchases, items go up the chain of command. Bosses, analysts and auditors have to

Episode link: https://taprun.com/articles/petty-cash-and-pricing-strategy

Following up on my post about placing a price tag on a human life, I thought I'd upset even more people with a relatively straightforward question:

Are there some products that should not have a price?

Remember, I'm next asking what can't have a price - there are ways to value just about

Episode link: https://taprun.com/articles/should-every-item-have-a-price

As I look around Boca Raton, Florida, I see many folks driving fuel-efficient hybrids. The economist in me wonders why all of those drivers of high-efficiency cars hate the planet so much. Wouldn't it be better if we could force companies to produce less fuel-efficient vehicles?

Many environmentalists would say the idea is crazy. Many

Episode link: https://taprun.com/articles/environmentalism-and-pricing-jevons-paradox

Sometimes, as I walk around Boca Raton, people come up to me and ask me "Who is your favorite pricing economist?".

They typically expect me to name a famous economist like Adam Smith or Milton Friedman. They're all shocked when I tell them that the person who understood pricing best was the actor Bruce Lee.

There is no example of his

Episode link: https://taprun.com/articles/bruce-lee-expert-pricing-economist

I've already written about trying to price your services. But let me ask you a related question. How much are you worth? That is to say, what price should the country put on your life?

Non-economists would be aghast at that question, but its answer is central to the very way that the

Episode link: https://taprun.com/articles/price-of-a-human-life

Sometimes my reputation as a software engineer preceeds me. Other times, people simply see me with a computer and try to hire me on the spot.

I was recently approached by a businessman for a simple project in Boca Raton, Florida. It involved writing some custom software to spider through a website, download millions of records and organize

Episode link: https://taprun.com/articles/when-is-the-price-too-high-to-accept

Criminal enterprises are fantastic laboratories for the field of economics. When participants are willing to throw off the shackles of laws and/or morality, they can try all sorts of things to maximize their income streams.

Though a staunch law abider myself, I am fascinated by folks who commit one crime in particular: racketeering. Despite

Episode link: https://taprun.com/articles/profit-maximization-with-software-engineering-certifications

Yesterday was election day in America. I cast my votes in federal, state and local races, but frankly, no issue caused me more headaches than a ballot initiative in Palm Beach County (home of Boca Raton). It wasn't because I felt extremely passionate about the issue, but because it dealt with my favorite topic: pricing.

Here's the basic

Episode link: https://taprun.com/articles/pricing-an-unknown-product

What's the one item that almost everyone sells but no one understands how to price? Their time.

I was talking to a recent graduate a few days ago. He was salaried and working at a new job. As it turns out, he received straight salary, but was awarded no paid time off. Any hour he missed led to deductions from his paycheck.

Immediately I

Episode link: https://taprun.com/articles/thinking-of-salaries-as-pricing