# service-pricing

Adopt this skill: https://proskills.md/skills/other/checkout-page-ecommerce-skills-parked-service-pricing

Page: https://proskills.md/skills/other/checkout-page-ecommerce-skills-parked-service-pricing
This document is the public skill bundle for that page. It contains SKILL.md and every helper file the catalog carries. No login is required.

## File: parked/service-pricing/SKILL.md
size: 6166
sha: 50954fbd74b3c040259c889b572584d6eafc15f4
upstream: https://github.com/checkout-page/ecommerce-skills/blob/main/parked/service-pricing/SKILL.md

```text
---
name: service-pricing
description: Use when pricing or quoting a service — coaching, consulting, freelance or agency work, client projects, retainers — e.g. "should I charge hourly or a flat fee", "how do I quote this project", "$3,400 or $3,417.50", "the client keeps haggling", "should I show my costs", "how do I price packages and add-ons".
---

# Service pricing

Set the number, the structure, and the presentation of a service price so it signals expertise and holds up in negotiation. Services are judged on quality before price, buyers overestimate how much time they'll use, and the digits of a quote change how the other side counters.

## When to use

- Choosing hourly vs flat/project fee vs retainer
- Writing a quote or proposal, especially one that will be negotiated
- Pricing packages, add-ons, and extras
- Deciding what to show on the pricing or about page (costs, team size, guarantees)

## When not to use

- Generic digit rules for products → `pricing`
- Wording a discount → `discounts`
- Finding the price level people will pay → `price-research`

## Inputs

Collect, or state your assumption:

- The service, typical scope, and expected hours or units
- Current hourly rate, if any; margin
- Who the buyer is: individual, business owner, or a professional buyer (procurement, purchasing manager)
- Whether the quote will be negotiated
- Whether the service is high-tech (software development, AI, engineering) or not
- How well-known the provider is

## Procedure

1. **Rounded by default.** Most services are bought on quality and trust, so the listed price should be rounded ($150/session, $2,000/month). Rounded prices feel right when the decision is about quality or feelings, and they make the choice easier. Just-below prices ($1,999) signal a low-price appeal; use them only for a promotion.
2. **Flat fee over hourly, priced above the hourly equivalent.** Quote a project or package fee that covers what most clients want ("logo, three concepts, unlimited revisions, final files") and charge more than the expected hourly total: a $6,000 fixed fee was preferred over $50/h for an expected 100 h ($5,000). Buyers overestimate their usage, dislike watching a meter run, and pay to cap the risk. Keep hourly only as a low-commitment entry for first-time clients.
3. **Precise numbers when the quote will be negotiated.** A precise opening quote ($3,450 rather than $3,500) anchors the counteroffer into smaller steps, so you get fewer but higher offers. With an **expert buyer** (procurement, purchasing managers) stop at moderate precision — $3,450, not $3,417.50 — or justify a highly precise figure with a cost breakdown; high precision without justification backfires with experts.
4. **Show your costs.** Show a per-project cost breakdown (your time, subcontractors, software, tools, overhead). The measured result — sales 22% higher, holding to a 55% margin — is from a physical product (a $115 wallet with a cost infographic); applying it to service proposals is a transfer, not a tested result. Group categories once there are more than ~8. This is the opposite of hiding the hourly math: show the structure, not the meter.
5. **Simple add-ons and components.** Rounded add-on prices with the same ending as the base ($2,000 project, $300 extra concept, not $287.50), one price per unit ($100 per extra page), no separate admin or service fee. Complex component pricing makes people assume you're the expensive option.
6. **Say you're small — unless the service is high-tech.** For low-tech services (design, coaching, writing, consulting) a small team reads as more motivated and higher quality; say so. For high-tech services, counter the size penalty by showing what you invest in R&D and tooling. A large low-tech firm should show employee passion instead.
7. **Extraordinary guarantee if you're unknown.** A guarantee far beyond the category norm (a year of free fixes, a full refund if the concept isn't approved) signals quality to buyers who know the service but not you.
8. **Discounts.** If you must discount, stay at or under 40% and apply the amount-vs-percent rule (project price ≥ 100 → amount off). Details in `discounts`.

## Output

| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Structure | Flat project fee (hourly retained only as a trial option) |
| Quote | $3,450 — moderately precise, buyer is procurement |
| Included scope | 3 concepts, unlimited revisions, final files, usage rights |
| Add-ons | $300 per extra concept; $500 brand guide (rounded, same ending) |
| Shown on the proposal | Cost breakdown in ≤ 8 lines; "we're a two-person studio"; guarantee |
| Rejected | $3,400 (gives away nothing in negotiation), $3,399 (low-price signal), $3,417.50 (too precise for an expert buyer), hourly (meter effect, invites hour-cutting) |
| Why | one line per choice, citing the rule |

## Common mistakes

- Quoting a round $3,400 to a negotiating buyer "because it sounds confident" — a precise figure gets smaller, higher counteroffers.
- Using maximum precision ($3,417.50) with a procurement manager — moderate precision, or justify it with the breakdown.
- Hiding costs to protect margin — a cost breakdown raised sales, and the effect holds to 55% margin.
- Pricing the flat fee to match the hourly total — clients pay a premium to cap their spend.
- Bolting on a service fee or odd per-unit rates — simple components raise willingness to pay.
- Hiding that you're a small studio — for low-tech services it raises perceived quality.

## Quick reference

| Situation | Do |
|---|---|
| Listed price | Rounded |
| Hourly vs flat | Flat fee, above the hourly equivalent; hourly only as an entry option |
| Quote will be negotiated | Precise number |
| Expert buyer | Moderate precision, or justify with a breakdown |
| Trust page / proposal | Cost breakdown, ≤ 8 categories |
| Add-ons | Rounded, same ending, no service fee |
| Low-tech service | Say you're small |
| High-tech service | Show R&D investment |
| Unknown provider | Extraordinary guarantee |
| Discount | ≤ 40%, amount off when price ≥ 100 |

Evidence and effect sizes: see [reference.md](reference.md).
```

## File: parked/service-pricing/reference.md
size: 7183
sha: ab6d7ab39878b3ac4fe32fb59b5afed40fb80cc2
upstream: https://github.com/checkout-page/ecommerce-skills/blob/main/parked/service-pricing/reference.md

```text
# Evidence: service-pricing

Peer-reviewed findings behind the `service-pricing` procedure. Effects are as reported in the studies, in the context they were measured. Most also appear in the generic `pricing`, `store-audit`, and `discounts` skills; they are repeated here so this skill stands alone.

## Rounded prices when quality or feelings drive the decision

**Rule.** For services, where the buyer is judging expertise rather than hunting for the lowest price, use rounded prices ($150, $2,000). Reserve just-below endings ($1,999) for promotions.
**Effect.** Rounded prices raised evaluations when the purchase was driven by feelings or quality; just-below endings were read as a low-price signal.
**Why.** People think and talk in round numbers, so a rounded price is processed fluently and "feels right"; a .99 ending cues bargain hunting.
**Source.** Wadhwa, M., & Zhang, K. (2015). This number just feels right: The impact of roundedness of price numbers on product evaluations. *Journal of Consumer Research*. https://doi.org/10.1086/678484 · Schindler, R. M. (2006). The 99 price ending as a signal of a low-price appeal. *Journal of Retailing*. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2005.11.001

## Flat fees beat hourly rates, even at a premium

**Rule.** Offer a flat project or package fee that covers what most clients want, priced above the expected hourly total. Keep hourly only as a low-commitment entry.
**Effect.** A $6,000 fixed price was more attractive than $50/h for an expected 100 h ($5,000). Purchasing professionals showed the same flat-rate preference.
**Why.** Buyers overestimate their usage, want certainty about the total, and dislike watching costs climb (the taximeter effect); a flat fee also removes the suspicion of padded hours.
**Source.** Kienzler, M., Kowalkowski, C., & Kindström, D. (2021). Purchasing professionals and the flat rate bias: Effects of price premiums, past usage, and relational ties on price plan choice. *Journal of Business Research*. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.024

## Precise opening quotes get higher counteroffers

**Rule.** When a quote will be negotiated down, open with a precise number ($3,450) rather than a round one ($3,500).
**Effect.** Precise asking prices led to fewer but higher offers; counteroffers moved in smaller steps.
**Why.** A precise figure looks calculated for a reason, so the other side negotiates in the same fine increments and treats the number as more legitimate.
**Source.** Backus, M., Blake, T., & Tadelis, S. (2019). On the empirical content of cheap-talk signaling: An application to bargaining. *Journal of Political Economy*. https://doi.org/10.1086/701699

## Too much precision backfires with expert buyers

**Rule.** With procurement or purchasing managers, use moderate precision ($3,450) or justify a highly precise figure ($3,417.50) with a cost breakdown.
**Effect.** Highly precise anchors reduced outcomes when the counterpart was an expert; moderate precision did not.
**Why.** Experts read unjustified precision as a tactic rather than a calculation.
**Source.** Loschelder, D. D., Friese, M., Schaerer, M., & Galinsky, A. D. (2016). The too-much-precision effect: When and why precise anchors backfire with experts. *Psychological Science*. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616666074

## Show your costs

**Rule.** Break down what goes into the price (time, subcontractors, tools, overhead), by category; group once there are more than ~8 categories.
**Effect.** Sales were 22% higher for a $115 wallet shown with a cost infographic; the effect held with margins as high as 55%.
**Why.** Disclosing costs is read as honesty, which raises trust and liking; people already expect you to make a profit.
**Source.** Mohan, B., Buell, R. W., & John, L. K. (2020). Lifting the veil: The benefits of cost transparency. *Marketing Science*. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2019.1200

## Simple price components raise willingness to pay

**Rule.** Rounded add-on prices, the same ending across components, no separate service or admin fee, easy side-by-side comparison.
**Effect.** People were willing to pay more for simply structured prices than for cheaper but complex ones.
**Why.** Faced with complex prices, buyers skip the arithmetic and assume the offer is expensive; if they do calculate, they resent the effort and suspect it was deliberate.
**Source.** Homburg, C., Totzek, D., & Krämer, M. (2014). How price complexity takes its toll: The neglected role of a simplicity bias and fairness in price evaluations. *Journal of Business Research*. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.05.049

## Say you're small — unless the service is high-tech

**Rule.** Low-tech services: state that you are a small team. High-tech services: emphasize R&D and tooling. Large low-tech firms: show employee passion.
**Effect.** Products from small companies were judged higher quality, except for high-tech products, where larger companies were assumed to invest more in R&D.
**Why.** Buyers infer motivated, hands-on staff at small companies; for high-tech work they infer quality from resources.
**Source.** Woolley, K., Kupor, D., & Liu, P. J. (2022). Does company size shape product quality inferences? Larger companies make better high-tech products, but smaller companies make better low-tech products. *Journal of Marketing Research*. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222437221124857

## Extraordinary guarantees signal quality for unknown providers

**Rule.** Offer a guarantee far beyond the category norm when buyers know the service but not you.
**Effect.** A 10-year warranty on a hoodie made people 34.8% more likely to buy; strongest for buyers unfamiliar with the brand but familiar with the category.
**Why.** An unusually strong promise is a costly signal that only a confident provider would make.
**Source.** Study on extraordinary warranties as a quality signal for weakly familiar brands (2022). Overcoming the challenge of low familiarity: Can a weakly familiar brand signal quality with exceptionally strong warranty? *Journal of Business Research*. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.11.078

## Don't discount more than 40%

**Rule.** Above 40% reads as a quality warning; 60%+ tends to reduce sales, especially for unknown providers.
**Effect.** In daily-deal markets, deep discounts reduced sales.
**Why.** Price is read as a quality signal when the buyer cannot judge the work before purchase — which is the normal case for services.
**Source.** Cao, Z., Hui, K.-L., & Xu, H. (2018). When discounts hurt sales: The case of daily-deal markets. *Information Systems Research*. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2017.0772

## Amount off when the price is 100 or more

**Rule.** For a project fee of 100 or more, show the discount as an amount ("$300 off"), not a percentage.
**Effect.** For a 480-peso item, "120 pesos off" made people 16.3% more willing to buy than "25% off".
**Why.** People react to the size of the printed number.
**Source.** González, E. M., Esteva, E., Roggeveen, A. L., & Grewal, D. (2016). Amount off versus percentage off — when does it matter? *Journal of Business Research*. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.08.014
```

## File: README.md
upstream: https://github.com/checkout-page/ecommerce-skills/blob/main/README.md

````text
# Ecommerce Skills for AI Agents

A collection of AI agent skills for ecommerce pricing, discounts, checkout, and product pages. Built for store owners, founders, and marketers who want their AI agent to give advice that comes from research instead of guesswork. Works with Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, and any agent that supports the [Agent Skills spec](https://agentskills.io).

Built by [Checkout Page](https://checkoutpage.com), checkout pages for digital products, event tickets, and subscriptions.

**Found a rule that is wrong or out of date?** [Open an issue](https://github.com/checkout-page/ecommerce-skills/issues) with the DOI.

## What are Skills?

Skills are markdown files that give AI agents specialized knowledge for specific tasks. When you add these to your project, your agent recognizes when you are working on a price, a discount, or a product page and applies the rule that fits.

Most rules here come from a peer-reviewed study. The agent tells you what to do, the condition it applies under, and the paper behind it.

## Example

Ask: "We sell a $90 speaker and want to take $30 off. How do we show it?"

| | Answer |
|---|---|
| Without the skill | "$30 off" with a strikethrough price |
| With `discounts` | ~~$90.00~~ **$60.00**, "was 50% higher". $30 is 33% of the full price but 50% of the sale price, and people react to the bigger number. |

## Available Skills

### By goal

Start here if you have a number you want to move. Each skill returns a ranked list of changes.

| Skill | Ask it to… |
|---|---|
| [increase-conversion](skills/increase-conversion/) | Rank what would get more visitors to buy |
| [increase-aov](skills/increase-aov/) | Rank what would raise spend per order |
| [increase-repeat-purchases](skills/increase-repeat-purchases/) | Rank what would bring customers back for a second order |
| [raise-prices](skills/raise-prices/) | Rank what has to change for a higher price to hold |

### By task

| Skill | Ask it to… |
|---|---|
| [pricing](skills/pricing/) | Choose a price: rounded or .99, flat rates, add-ons, where to show it |
| [discounts](skills/discounts/) | Word and size a discount or coupon: $ or %, "was X% higher", when a discount is too deep |
| [promotions](skills/promotions/) | Design a promotion that isn't a price cut: gifts, bundles, pre-orders, deadlines |
| [price-research](skills/price-research/) | Find the most profitable price with a customer survey (includes a calculator) |
| [product-page](skills/product-page/) | Audit a product page: social proof, sold-out options, quantity buttons, price placement |
| [checkout-ux](skills/checkout-ux/) | Audit cart and checkout: guest checkout, fields, wallets, totals, coupon fields, errors |
| [product-copy](skills/product-copy/) | Write or rewrite product descriptions |
| [product-visuals](skills/product-visuals/) | Brief product photos and video |
| [store-audit](skills/store-audit/) | Review store-wide choices: channels, layout, design style, trust signals |
| [post-purchase](skills/post-purchase/) | Set up shipping, returns, loyalty, and cart-abandonment emails |
| [reviews](skills/reviews/) | Get more reviews and respond to them |
| [referrals](skills/referrals/) | Design a referral program: rewards and share messages |

### By product type

| Skill | Ask it to… |
|---|---|
| [digital-product-pricing](skills/digital-product-pricing/) | Price and launch ebooks, courses, templates, and downloads |
| [subscription-pricing](skills/subscription-pricing/) | Structure plans, tiers, upgrade paths, and member perks |
| [event-pricing](skills/event-pricing/) | Price and promote tickets, classes, workshops, and bookings |

## Installation

### Option 1: CLI Install (Recommended)

Use [npx skills](https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills) to install the skills:

```bash
# Install all skills
npx skills add checkout-page/ecommerce-skills

# Install specific skills
npx skills add checkout-page/ecommerce-skills --skill pricing discounts

# List available skills
npx skills add checkout-page/ecommerce-skills --list
```

### Option 2: Claude Code Plugin

```
/plugin marketplace add checkout-page/ecommerce-skills
/plugin install ecommerce-skills@ecommerce-skills
```

Skills show up as `/ecommerce-skills:pricing`, `/ecommerce-skills:discounts`, and so on.

### Option 3: Clone and Copy

Clone the repo and copy or symlink the skill folders you want into `.claude/skills/` (per project) or `~/.claude/skills/` (per user).

```bash
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && ln -s "$(pwd)/skills/"* ~/.claude/skills/
```

## Usage

Once installed, ask your agent for help:

```
"Should this price end in .99 or .00?"
→ Uses the pricing skill

"We want to run a sale next week. How deep should the discount be?"
→ Uses the discounts skill

"Audit my product page and rank what would lift conversion"
→ Uses the increase-conversion and product-page skills
```

## The evidence

Each skill has two files: `SKILL.md` tells the agent what to do, and `reference.md` lists the rule, the measured effect, and the citation.

- Of 132 rules, 101 cite a paper by DOI. Every DOI is checked against Crossref.
- 6 point to a rule in another skill that has the citation.
- 25 have no primary paper. They are marked † in the skill and "practitioner tip" in the reference file, so you know which to trust less.

Effect sizes are what one study measured, in that study's context. They tell you the direction and the rough size, not what you will get. Test in your own store.

## Accept payments on your site

These skills help your agent decide what to charge and how to show it. To take the payment, connect the [Checkout Page MCP](https://checkoutpage.com/mcp) to Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, or ChatGPT. Ask your agent to sell tickets, memberships, products, or donations, and it creates the checkout and adds it to your page. Payments go straight to your own Stripe account. The MCP is included on every Checkout Page plan, including Free.

## License

MIT. See [LICENSE](LICENSE).
````