英汉双语国际贸易实务文摘

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2） Skimming pricing
There are marketing circumstances where it is possible to take advantage of the readinessof some buyers to them. This strategy is designed to gain a premium from those buyers whowant to take advantage of the readiness of a market. After a time, when the premium seg-ment is saturated, the firm gradually reduces prices to draw in the more price sensitive seg-ments of the market. Typically a price skimming strategy works well where there are signifi-cant entry barriers such as patents, high development costs, raw material advantages some-times accrue to the firm setting a high initial price; this strategy leaves room for a price re-duction if a miscalculation has been made; it is always easier to reduce price than to raise itonce a product has been established on the market. A high price may also create an impres-sion of a superior product in the minds of consumers.
The skimming price strategy is most effective over the long run, therefore, when thefirm has a monopoly on the basic ingredients in the product or is the sole owner of the patenton the technology involved. For example, Skimming price strategy was used effectively inthe case of Polaroid instant film. Polaroid has a monopoly on its film technology, with patentprotection. In the absence of competition, the Polaroid Company enjoyed a very high pricefor its camera for a long time, With the entry of Kodak into instant film technology, theprice of Polaroid's cameras has dropped significantly.
3） Early cash recovery pricing
Companies sometimes do not believe that the market for their product will exist for along period, or they experience a shortage of cash, or survival may be the overriding objectivefacing them. In such circumstances they tend to set a price which will bring in cash at an ear-lier stage rather than in the longer term. Market conditions dictate whether the price shouldbe high or low. The firm can maximize immediate cash flow through a high price strategy be-cause of the presence of a low demand elasticity and constant unit cost of production and dis-tribution, and through a low price strategy because of the presence of a high demand elastici-ty and declining unit cost. The choice of strategy depends on the firm's objectives and itsview of market condition.