Pay what you can (PWYC) is a
non-profit or
for-profit business model which does not depend on set prices for its goods, but instead asks customers to pay what they feel the product or service is worth to them.
It is often used as a promotional tactic, but can also be the regular method of doing business. It is a variation on the
gift economy
A gift economy or gift culture is a system of exchange where valuables are not sold, but rather given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. Social norms and customs govern giving a gift in a gift culture; although there ...
and cross-subsidization, in that it depends on
reciprocity
Reciprocity may refer to:
Law and trade
* Reciprocity (Canadian politics), free trade with the United States of America
** Reciprocal trade agreement, entered into in order to reduce (or eliminate) tariffs, quotas and other trade restrictions on ...
and trust to succeed.
"
Pay what you want" is sometimes used synonymously, but "pay what you can" is often more oriented to charity or socially oriented uses, based more on ''ability'' to pay, while "pay what you want" is often more broadly oriented to perceived value in combination with willingness and ability to pay.
Motivation
Giving buyers the ability and freedom to decide what they are willing to pay for can be very successful, this eliminates the issues of conservative pricing. Buyers are attracted to the fact they are not obligated to pay a certain price for a product, this eliminates all issues of an item becoming overpriced in the consumer's eyes, the customer can then make their own judgment on what the product is actually worth.
Advantages
* Entices members of the public to engage with the business or organization (potential future customers).
* Attracts a large number of potential customers from friends and families of current customers (word of mouth).
* Great way of free market research and immediate feedback for the business or organization. For example, if a private book shop was selling its own published books and the customer valued it at £10 ($15) rather than say £4 ($6.15) and was willing to pay that, this would display positive feedback for the company. The organisation could then use this information for personal statistics and data.
* No barriers to entry, allowing customers to try the product or service for nothing.
* Differentiates the business from other competitors - a unique selling point.
Examples
* A Place at the Table
*
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
*
Grace Ndiritu - COVERSLUT© fashion project
*
FC United of Manchester's Season Ticket policy
*
Freeware Applications
*
Humble Bundle
* ''
In Rainbows'' – An album by Radiohead
*
Lentil as Anything
Lentil As Anything Inc. (Lentil) was a group of pay as you feel, not for profit vegetarian and vegan Australian restaurants founded by Shanaka Fernando. Restaurants were located in Melbourne and Sydney and operated on a similar model to pay wh ...
*
One World Cafe
One World Everybody Eats (OWEE) was a nonprofit community kitchen and is a foundation based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Its motto was "a hand up, not a hand out." The community kitchen concept is a restaurant based on a gift economy, allowing p ...
* Panera Cares community cafés
*
Paste Magazine
*
Pink Peacock
Pink Peacock (Yiddish: , ) is a café and infoshop in the Govanhill area of Glasgow. Described by its founders as "the only queer Yiddish anarchist vegan pay-what-you-can café in the world" and "anti-Zionist", it opened physically in 2021 aft ...
café
*
SAME Cafe
The SAME Cafe is a nonprofit community cafe located at 2023 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, Colorado, United States. Brad and Libby Birky invested $30,000 to open the restaurant on October 20, 2006, inspired by their background in community service and ...
A Little Cabin in the Alps
See also
*
Pay what you want
*
Price discrimination
*
Sliding scale fees
Sliding scale fees are variable prices for products, services, or taxes based on a customer's ability to pay. Such fees are thereby reduced for those who have lower incomes, or alternatively, less money to spare after their personal expenses, regar ...
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
Time (magazine)* https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2011/aug/17/pay-what-you-can-theatre
* https://www.arcolatheatre.com/visit/tickets-and-discounts
* https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33609867
* https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30715162
* http://www.agilepwyc.org/
* http://www.infoq.com/news/2010/08/agile-training-gift
Business models