Product Princess Journal / Pricing
Your Price Is Telling a Story. Make Sure It’s the Right One.
Before your customer reads your About page, touches the product, or understands the work behind it, the price has already said something.
Pricing is one of the most emotional parts of building a product business.
We tell ourselves it is math.
Cost of goods.
Labour.
Packaging.
Shipping.
Margin.
And yes, all of that matters.
But pricing is not only math.
Pricing is communication.
It tells your customer something about quality.
It tells them where the product belongs.
It tells them who it is for.
It tells them how confident you are in what you made.
And sometimes, without realizing it, your price is telling the wrong story.
Too low can create doubt.
This surprises people.
Entrepreneurs often assume lower automatically means easier to sell.
Sometimes it does.
But sometimes a price that is too low makes people wonder:
Why is it so cheap?
Is it poor quality?
Is this handmade or mass produced?
Will it last?
Is something wrong with it?
I have seen beautiful products priced so cautiously that the number actually works against the brand.
The packaging says premium.
The photography says premium.
The product says premium.
And then the price whispers:
“I’m not really sure I’m worth it.”
That disconnect matters.
Too high without context creates resistance.
The opposite is true too.
You can absolutely charge a premium.
But your customer needs to understand why.
If your product is priced higher because of materials, craftsmanship, design, durability, limited production, customization, service, or experience, those things need to be visible.
A premium price with premium positioning makes sense.
A premium price with ordinary presentation creates friction.
The customer is thinking:
“Why is this $149?”
And if your website, packaging and messaging do not answer that question, the customer will answer it for themselves.
Usually by leaving.
Your price should match the world around the product.
Think about how the product is presented.
The photography.
Packaging.
Website.
Retail environment.
Copy.
Customer service.
Shipping experience.
Even the name.
All of those pieces create an expectation.
Then the price either reinforces that expectation or contradicts it.
If you are building an elevated brand, your price should not feel apologetic.
If you are building an accessible everyday product, the price cannot feel completely disconnected from the category.
The goal is not simply to be expensive or inexpensive.
The goal is alignment.
Stop pricing based only on what you would pay.
This is another place where “your customer is not you” matters.
Your budget is not your customer’s budget.
Your priorities are not automatically theirs.
You may think:
I would never spend $85 on that.
Your customer might happily spend $120 because it solves a problem they care deeply about.
Or you may think:
People will definitely pay $200.
But the market may see the product beside alternatives at $89.
Your opinion matters.
But it cannot be the only input.
Look at:
What customers already buy.
What they compare you to.
What competitors charge.
What makes your product different.
What the full experience communicates.
And what margin your business actually needs to survive.
Price for a business, not just a sale.
One of the most dangerous things you can do is choose a price that gets the sale but cannot support the business.
If there is nothing left after:
Materials.
Labour.
Packaging.
Fees.
Shipping subsidies.
Advertising.
Returns.
Overhead.
Then you did not create a sustainable price.
You created an expensive hobby.
And I say that with love. 😂
You need room in your pricing for the business to breathe.
Room to market.
Room to wholesale.
Room to replace damaged product.
Room to improve packaging.
Room to hire help.
Room to make mistakes.
Room to grow.
A price that only works when absolutely nothing goes wrong is not a good price.
Confidence matters too.
Customers can feel when you are uncomfortable with your own price.
You over-explain it.
Apologize for it.
Discount it immediately.
Add three bonuses before anyone has objected.
Say things like:
“I know it’s kind of expensive, but…”
Stop.
If you have done the work and the value is there, communicate the price clearly.
You are not forcing anyone to buy.
Your job is to make sure the right customer understands what they are getting and why it costs what it costs.
Then let them decide.
Ask yourself what story your price tells.
Look at your product and the price beside it.
Does the number say:
Premium?
Accessible?
Specialized?
Handmade?
Giftable?
Luxury?
Everyday essential?
And is that the same story the rest of your brand is telling?
If not, something needs adjusting.
Maybe it is the price.
Maybe it is the packaging.
Maybe it is the photography.
Maybe it is the product itself.
Maybe it is the messaging.
But do not assume price exists in isolation.
It does not.
The Product Princess takeaway
Pricing is not simply:
What can I charge?
It is:
What is this worth to the right customer?
What does the market expect?
What does my brand communicate?
And what does my business need in order to grow?
When those things line up, price stops feeling like a random number.
It becomes part of the brand.
So before you lower your price because sales feel slow or raise it because someone told you to “charge your worth” look at the whole picture.
Because your price is already telling your customer a story.
Make sure it is the story you actually want them to hear. 👑