Latest / The Pricing Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Price Anchoring, Bundling, and Conversion Pricing / How a Single High-Priced Bundle Makes Your Main Offer Feel Like a Deal
Transcript
- Lucas: So Luna, you know how we've talked a lot about the decoy effect — adding a deliberately unattractive option to make the middle choice look better. But there's a variation that I think is even sneakier, and it's the high-priced bundle that nobody actually buys. Luna: Oh, like the $200 wine glass that makes the $40 one seem cheap? We've touched on that, but this is different, right? Lucas: Exactly. The classic decoy is priced close to the target so it steals share. The high-priced bundle is priced way above everything else, and its job isn't to attract buyers at all. It's to make your main offer look like a bargain by comparison. Luna: So it's not about selling the bundle, it's about making the middle option feel like the smart choice. Lucas: Right. And I've got a great example from the software world. A few years back, a project management tool I was consulting for had three tiers. The basic plan was $19 a month, the pro plan was $49, and then they had this enterprise bundle at $299 a month that included everything — unlimited projects, priority support, advanced analytics, the works. Luna: And who was supposed to buy the $299 plan? It sounds like a lot for a small team. Lucas: That's the thing — nobody really was. It was there to serve as a reference point. When they ran a test where the $299 plan was hidden, conversion on the pro plan dropped by about 18 percent. When they put it back, the pro plan suddenly looked like a steal. It was a 600 percent price gap, and that made the $49 plan feel almost reasonable. Luna: So the bundle is essentially a psychological anchor that makes your main offer look mid-tier by comparison. Lucas: Yeah, and it's not just software. Think about gym memberships. You've got the basic membership at $30 a month, the premium at $60, and then there's this all-access VIP membership with personal training sessions and spa access at $150 a month. Nobody signs up for that, but it makes the $60 option feel like the sensible choice. Luna: I've seen that with a local gym here, actually. They had a $200 a month 'lifetime' membership that was supposed to be a founding member special, but it was clearly a decoy to get people to sign up for the $80 annual plan. Lucas: And that's the beauty of it — the bundle doesn't need to be directly comparable. It just needs to be in the same category, with a price that's high enough to shift the reference frame. Luna: But there's a risk, right? If the bundle is too expensive, it might just seem absurd and not even register as a comparison point. Lucas: That's a real risk. If the gap is too wide, customers might discount the anchor entirely. There's some research that suggests the anchor needs to be within a plausible range — maybe two to three times the price of your target option, not ten times. Otherwise, the brain goes, 'well, that's just for enterprise whales,' and it doesn't affect the decision at all. Luna: So you want it to be aspirational but not ridiculous. Like a $299 bundle when your main offer is $99, not a $1,000 bundle. Lucas: Exactly. And I've also seen cases where the high-priced bundle actually does sell, but to a small segment of power users who genuinely want everything. So it's not always pure decoy — sometimes it's a real product, just priced to make the middle look better. Luna: I read about a meal delivery service that had a 'premium chef's table' bundle at $120 per week, while their standard plan was $60. The premium bundle included rare ingredients and chef video calls. And they sold a few, but the real win was that the $60 plan became the top seller compared to a $40 basic plan. Lucas: That's a perfect example of the anchoring effect. The $120 bundle didn't just make the $60 plan look good — it made the $40 plan look like you're missing out on the experience. Luna: So what's the key to making this work? Is it just about the right price gap, or is there more to it? Lucas: The key is to make the bundle's value obvious. If the high-priced bundle doesn't have a clear 'wow' factor, it just looks like a rip-off. But if it includes features that your target customers would love — even if they'd never pay for them — it creates a sense of 'well, that's a great deal for someone, but I'm smart to go with this.' Luna: So it's about creating a perceived value, not just a high number. And I guess that's where ethical marketing comes in. You don't want to trick people into paying more than they want to. Lucas: Right, there's a fine line. But if the bundle is a real product with real value, and you're transparent about what's included, it's not deceptive. You're using psychology to guide people toward a choice that actually fits their needs. The problem is when the bundle is so overpriced that it's clearly fake, and customers feel manipulated once they catch on. Luna: Speaking of catching on, have you seen any cases where this backfired publicly? Lucas: Yeah, there was a SaaS company that had a $99 per month 'deluxe' plan that was just the $49 plan with extra support and a few add-ons. Customers quickly realized they could get the same features by piecing together the lower tiers, and they started calling it out on review sites. The company eventually had to restructure their pricing because they lost trust. Luna: So the bundle has to offer something genuinely valuable, not just a price anchor. Otherwise, it's a one-time trick. Lucas: Exactly. And that's actually the part I find most interesting — the psychology only works if the bundle is credible. It's a judgment call: you need to price it high enough to anchor, but not so high that it's dismissed. Luna: I'm thinking about our own audience here. If someone's listening and they run a small business, how would they go about testing this? What's the first step? Lucas: I'd say start by looking at your current pricing tiers. If you don't have a high-end option, create one that covers a premium segment of your market — even if you only expect a few takers. Then run a simple A/B test: show half your visitors the original tiers, and the other half the new bundle. Monitor not just conversion rate, but also the mix of plans chosen. Luna: And measure average revenue per user, because sometimes the bundle can actually increase sales of the lower tier, which might not be what you want if the margin is lower. Lucas: Right, that's a great point. You need to make sure the bundle is anchoring people to your most profitable tier, not just the middle one. Sometimes the middle tier is the one with the best margin, but sometimes it's the basic plan. So you have to know your numbers. Luna: And I suppose you also need to think about the customer's perspective. If they feel like you're trying to trick them, that's a long-term loss. Lucas: Yeah, trust is the real currency. I'm all for using price anchoring in a way that helps customers feel good about their purchase. If the bundle is priced honestly and the middle option is genuinely better value, then you're doing them a favor by making it easy to choose. Luna: It's like that thing you mentioned earlier about the project management tool. The $299 plan was legitimately valuable for enterprise teams, so it wasn't just a fake decoy. Lucas: And that's the difference between a sustainable pricing strategy and a gimmick. You want the high-priced bundle to be a real offering that some customers will happily buy, even if its main job is to shift the reference frame. Luna: So, if we're talking about what the listener can take away today, it's not just 'add a high price and watch sales rise.' It's about understanding the psychology and using it responsibly. Lucas: Exactly. And honestly, if today's episode has given you a new angle on your own pricing, that's exactly the kind of thing that keeps us going. If it did, and you feel like grabbing us a coffee, there's a link on our website — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small way to support the show and keep it ad-free. Luna: Yeah, we really appreciate that. And even if you don't, the fact that you're here listening is enough. But if it sparked something, that link is there. Lucas: So, to circle back to the practical side — I'd love to see more businesses test the high-priced bundle, not just as a decoy, but as a genuine product tier. When it's done right, it can actually improve the customer experience by making the decision easier. Luna: And I think that's the final takeaway: the high-priced bundle isn't about getting people to spend more than they want. It's about guiding them to the option that's the best fit, and making that choice feel confident. Lucas: Well said. So next time you see a $299 bundle next to a $49 plan, you'll know exactly what's going on — and maybe you'll use it in your own pricing. Luna: I'm already thinking about how I can apply this to my freelance services. I might just create a premium package that I know won't sell, just to make my mid-tier look better. Lucas: Just make sure it's not too obviously a decoy. If you price it at $10,000 for a basic package, people will see right through it. But $2,500 for a comprehensive package with extra features? That might just work. Luna: Good point. So the key is to make it plausible and valuable, not just expensive. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the art of pricing — it's not manipulation, it's communication. You're telling a story about value, and the high-priced bundle is the contrast that makes your main story pop. Luna: I think we've got a solid takeaway for our listeners today. Thanks for joining us, and we'll catch you in the next episode.