Prices on your website: show them or not?

People in the Netherlands compare

Anyone looking for a roofer, a physiotherapist or a photographer usually opens several sites side by side. In research by Multiscope, 76% of Dutch online shoppers said comparing prices was important.

If a visitor finds no price at all on your site, they don't compare you. They skip you. Or they assume you're expensive and would rather not say.

Still, you don't always have to name a fixed price. There are four ways, and one of them almost always fits.

Four ways to talk about price

1. A fixed price. For a haircut, a car inspection or a two-hour photo shoot. It doesn't get clearer than that.
2. A from-price. "From €450." Works when the price depends on choices, but there is a real basic version.
3. A range or example. "A 6 m² bathroom usually costs between €12,000 and €18,000." Ideal when every project is different.
4. Explain what determines the price. If you really can't say anything, explain what it depends on: size, materials, access. With a button to ask for a tailored price.

"Price on request" without explanation is the fifth option. It works worst.

The first number counts

People judge a price by the first number they see. Psychologists call it anchoring, and it's one of the best-researched effects from the work of Kahneman and Tversky.

Use it honestly. First say what a job like this usually costs, then your price. Or put the value of the outcome next to it. With packages, an order from basic to extensive works well, with the package most customers choose in the middle.

Keep it to at most three packages. And only add a "most popular" label if it's true. A package that exists only to make another one look cheap isn't fair to your customer.

What the ACM asks of your prices

In its guidelines for selling online, the ACM (the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets) spells out exactly what is and isn't allowed. The main points:

• Consumer prices include VAT (btw) and all mandatory costs. From the first moment you mention them, including a from-price.
• A from-price must really exist. It's the price of a configuration a customer can actually buy, with all mandatory costs included.
• Don't hide costs behind an info icon or show them only at the last step.
• A was-now price must be honest. For products, the was price is the lowest price of the past 30 days. In June 2024 the ACM fined five webshops a combined €621,000 for sham discounts.

Business prices excluding VAT are allowed, as long as you say so clearly.

"Free" and "no obligation"

Two words that many sites use too easily.

Free is only allowed if it truly costs nothing: no money, no data, no purchase afterwards. According to the ACM, a "free inspection" that's only free if the customer then places an order is not free.

No obligation is only allowed if the customer really isn't committed to anything.

Also, don't put these words in your big heading, but in the line under the button. That's where they remove exactly the doubt the button raises:

Free and without obligation. You'll get a proposal within one working day.

No strings attached. You'll have it within a working day.

Say when the customer pays, too

An underrated piece of price information: how and when payment happens. "Payment on completion" or "invoice, 14 days" takes away a lot of tension. Especially for a customer who's nervous about transferring money to a business they don't know yet.

In short

• Always give something: a price, a from-price, a range or what determines the price.
• Give a reference first, then your price.
• For consumers, including VAT and all mandatory costs.
• Only use "free" and "no obligation" when it's literally true.

Not sure how to show your prices? When we design your website, we think it through with you from day one.