Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

vivek sharma — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:09:55 GMT

You know what I find funnier? That the so called "exclusive" products will want to be in featured in a 2 rupee paper. There is something wrong in the kingdom of Denmark. Like, I agree with you that a paper should sell at Rs.10 and not Rs.2 for at least two reasons. a) Your buyer is really your reader b) the power between editorial and advertising is even and balanced (it is a hope). I will pay Rs.10 everyday for the Mint you put out because I value the news and views package you offer. And Lounge is my luxury of the week. So the lowest point in my Mint reading experience was your faux ‘luxury issue', the one you refer to here. I had to suspend belief to come to terms with the fact that someone wanting to peddle a Rs.27,000 bikini will choose to target potential customers who are price sensitive about spending an additional Rs. 1 for their newspaper. If those products are so exclusive, I should not know about them through a two rupee newspaper. Anyway, that Saturday felt like a Femina in drag. One typically hears the rationale that a business newspaper reader in general and Mint in particular will be 'upscale' and 'crème de la crème' (I am neither) and all that, but I don't get it. When I saw that particular issue, my first question was "wonder what % of Mint readers are a) women b) buyers of such stuff." I remember clearly reading the feedback from one of your readers, Rashmi Bansal in the following issue that actually echoed my sentiment. She questioned that luxury logic and I felt Priya defended the indefendable. Here is my idea of luxury: Wishful ability to call my Vodafone call centre at Rs.6 per minute (instead of free). To not have to press through six stages of interface and then reach an endless ringing tone. If they picked up my fone within 3 rings and took responsibility to solve my problem when I stated it (like a concierge) instead of playacting defenders of fortress Vodafone, I have my luxury. It should not be about price on request, but meet my request at any price. (and I’ll pay for it).

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

Raju Narisetti — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:38:45 GMT

Mangal--Couple of thoughts. It is not that difficult to get prices, especially for the kind of stuff we are talking about--as you can see from Lounge example of Mint I cited. So if readers and their information needs are the primary focus, not what brands and PR folks want, then going that extra step is worth it. About 99% of the time, these features that I was writing about aren't really about "best" of anything. If that were the case, it would imply the newspaper actually doing some kind of testing/comparison. Often it is just a reporter calling a few PR people/brands, asking for pictures and slapping them on to a page--usually because sections and features like that then generate ads as well. Raju

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

Mangal Dalal — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 07:50:51 GMT

Raju... While I agree with the point made, perhaps one should also consider the ethical question here about quality. If brand X happens to be the best manufacturer of item Y that you are featuring, would you ignore brand X just because it wasn't willing to give you a price for that item? Assuming the answer is yes, is it not Mint or any other publication's duty to write about the best mannufacturers of Y - regardless of price? While you may state that Brand X gets free publicity, that is a side-effect of the endeavour of Mint to get the Best manufacturers of Y.... I'm not sure how often this scenario comes up, and I would think it wouldn't be common. Just bringing up the question for your thoughts.

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

Harish Rao — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:09:04 GMT

Raju - Agree. This is despicable on two counts. Snobbery as well as Price asymmetry opportunism. Am glad that Mint does not encourage this rotten practice.

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

Shiv Kumar — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:11:13 GMT

Yes. Anup is the best. And I wish him all the best.

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

Raju Narisetti — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:58:29 GMT

Jayati--I agree. So lets concede that the premise behind these features is to sell or say help readers buy. Then might as well give all the information and not make readers go an extra step. One thought could be that those readers who can afford a Valentino clasp don't get too hung up on price. Fair enough but why not have reader-centric content than retailer/brand centric approaches for someone who could, maybe, consider buying it. The larger issue is we ought to be serving readers since they are the ones buying/reading our papers.

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

jayati — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:23:49 GMT

Raju, funny, I always thought the 'price on request' tag put off/warned most people that it was super-premium. And that those who wanted to buy such stuff would anyway know where to find it. Not always, but usually. Also, there always seems to be this confusion in newspapers about how many details can be published in these columns - wouldn't giving their phone numbers, e-mail ID, web site, etc be more free publicity?

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

Raju Narisetti — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:14:50 GMT

NitPicker--lazy (professionally and intellectually) and quick (meeting deadlines and turning around stories fast) is the story of many journalists that I have encountered. Incidentally, if nitpicking is more than a web hobby, you might fit in well on the Mint editing desk. If interested, the person to contact is harjeet.a@livemint.com. Thanks. Raju

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

Salauddeen — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 03:08:58 GMT

"newspapers are the ones doing the brands a--free--favor" --- are you being stupid? The journal gets to fill up its empty white-space!!! And the price on request is a standard ploy to let suckers pay whatever they think the goods are worth! Smart people ask for discounts.

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

Harish — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:20:23 GMT

"Price on request" is akin to the Page 3 people that appear quite regularly. Is that journalism or paid-for-content?

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

NitPicker — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:27:17 GMT

Last para "...lazy and quick way..." Not sure if this doesn't muddle your construction as something could not possibly be both lazy and quick. Also the usage of "free favor" in the second last para seems quaint. I have only ever seen this usage in Bible/scriptures as in "God's free favor".I thought a favor was generally free (even when a return is implicit,it is not expected at the time when the favor is being done).

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

yb — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:22:03 GMT

It's likely that the prices are not disclosed because the sellers want to price the item based on the number of inquiries they get.

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

veeresh — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:59:20 GMT

Well, it could be like all those expensive properties in Mumbai, currently not finding buyers. Which means, listed price is like, say, 100000/oo per square foot, but for real price, which may be around 25000/oo per square foot, please call for price on request. Or maybe also like the newspapers lying around for free at airports - they are free, but hey, if you need to know the price, call up and will be told on request. Sirji, the world comes around. Why blame poor Hi-Blitz alone? And Kingfisher. I mean, 6 flights gets you a free round trip to London, on request. too!!

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

Raju Narisetti — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:48:39 GMT

Sandeep--that is another can of worms altogether in Indian journalism. For argument sake, let us give them the benefit of doubt since they are presented to readers as journalism and not as paid-for content.

re: Price on request? Well, why don't you request it?

Sandeep Parekh — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:43:42 GMT

Raju, aren't you assuming that these are not ads?

Sandeep