# Willingness To Pay

> Determine what customers will actually pay using structured pricing research frameworks. Covers Van Westendorp, Gabor-Granger, competitive anchoring, and practical approaches for teams without formal research budgets. Use when setting initial pricing, considering a price increase, or entering a new segment.

- Skill: `dragoon0x/willingness-to-pay` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add dragoon0x/willingness-to-pay`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/dragoon0x/willingness-to-pay/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: dragoon0x (https://skillmd.com/u/dragoon0x)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/dragoon0x/willingness-to-pay

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# Willingness to Pay

Determine what customers will actually pay, not what you hope they'll pay.

## How to use

- `/willingness-to-pay` Apply pricing research constraints to this conversation.
- `/willingness-to-pay <product>` Estimate willingness to pay for the described product.

## Constraints

### Van Westendorp Method
Four questions to ask target customers:
1. At what price would this be so cheap you'd question the quality?
2. At what price is this a bargain?
3. At what price is this getting expensive but you'd still consider it?
4. At what price is this too expensive — you'd never buy it?
- Plot cumulative distributions. The intersections define your acceptable price range.
- BEST FOR: consumer products, simple SaaS, products with comparable reference points
- BREAKS DOWN FOR: complex B2B, negotiated pricing, products with no comparable

### Gabor-Granger Method
- Show a price, ask if they'd buy. Adjust up or down by 20-30%.
- Repeat across a sample to build a demand curve.
- Reveals the exact price-to-demand relationship.
- Key decision: volume (lower price, more customers) or margin (higher price, fewer customers)

### Practical Approach (No Formal Research)
- Competitive anchoring: list 5-10 products your target already pays for. Your price MUST feel reasonable in that context.
- Customer conversation mining: always ask "What are you currently paying to solve this problem?" Include money, time, and workarounds.
- The 10x rule: product SHOULD deliver at least 10x the value of its price. If you can't articulate 10x, you have a value problem.
- Price testing: A/B test on your website or offer different prices through different channels

### Segment-Based Pricing
- Different segments have different willingness to pay. Map each segment's pain level, alternatives, budget, and WTP range.
- MUST price differently for different segments when value perception differs significantly
- NEVER assume one price works for all segments

### Anti-Patterns
- Underpricing out of fear: if nobody pushes back on price, you're leaving money on the table
- Cost-plus pricing: adding margin to costs ignores what the customer values
- Competitor matching without considering whether your value proposition is different
- One price forever: prices SHOULD evolve as product improves and you learn more
- Ignoring price elasticity: a 20% increase with 5% churn is a massive revenue win. Do the math.