Book Review: Price of Everything

I think one of the things I have gone through life not understanding is how prices are established.

A few months ago I finished reading Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It) (amazon affiliate link) which helped me with understanding a bit better how some things are priced and how sometimes our own minds trick us into over spending. A few weeks ago I decided to buy and read The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do. I really think it was a good complement for the first read. In my opinion Priceless was a bit more technical and practical and The Price of Everything allowed me to understand the theoretical part of the establishing value.

Here I share with you my summary by some chapters on a great book I recommend you to read The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do:

• When Prices Fail
  • Price of orange juice has predicted the weather in florida
  • Disadvantages of a college graduate entering the workforce during a recession.
  • The correlation people not trusting the government the same way they distrust bankers.
• Immigrants
  • How immigrants value the well being of family members over many things.
  • Most immigrants work on the books don’t get full benefits back and still they are treated without respect.
  • Illegal immigrants are tolerated by the political system because their cheap labor.
• Price of Free
  • Be very careful with hidden prices they can be high.
• Price of Happiness
  • Bhutan’s government has a great measurement of Gross National Happiness
    • Four Pillars of GNH:
      • Good Governance
      • Cultural Values
      • Natural Enviroment
      • Sustainable Development
  • Great Analogy with Telenovelas on how one really crossed over many cultures.
  • Happiness can be bought with other currencies such as:
    • love
    • time
  • Definition of what is fair Pay! I have a huge issue when someone comments on how well someone else is getting paid.
• The reason the Speed limit of 55mph was imposed and how it related to reducing costs.
• Price of things
  • How subjective the value of the product is.
  • Cost cutting strategies without moving price by removing items and being creative.
  • We often put a lower price in our lives!
  • The price of one item has to complement well with others items in the eco system
  • Rebates and coupons allow to sell to:
    • Poorer – Coupon Clippers
    • Rich – who care less
• Price of Culture
  • The most corrupt countries are those which voters are cheapest.
  • Little to do with virtue and much to do with strategy.
  • Culture sets our personal cost-benefit analysis.
  • Price alignment with protecting animal rights.
  • Great analogy on how it is legal for Soldier to lose his life for his country  but a Kidney sale is illegal because it benefits solely another individual.
• Price of Faith
  • Defines most religions as being composed a set of transactions in which believers assess the costs of the faith against its benefits.

What other great books can help me with understanding pricing of everything that surrounds us?

photo credit: Kieran Lynam