BOOK REVIEW

Your Virtual Wizard · #6 (**permalink**) 07-13-2010

Jenn,

You bring up a very good question because so many VA materials are offered at so many different price points that it is difficult to decipher. But I'll take a stab at answering...

I believe that if a well-though out VA Survival Guide will sell at $50, then it is priced 'right'. If Tina finds that she is not selling her book at this price point...she could go either way. Lowering the price might mean more sales but also raising the price could also mean more sales.

Pricing is based on what the market will bear. Pricing is based upon 'perceived value' as well. A new VA might perceive the Survival Guide as a good value and pay $60 for it...

I won't pay $2.50 for a bottled water because I perceive that price to be unreasonable. But I will pay $3.00 for a bottle of cold, green tea if I wanted this. This is because I perceive tea as a much more valuable and enjoyable beverage than plain bottled water.

From the review above, this book offers substantial value.

There are other considerations regarding pricing...yes, much of what was revealed in the book review is offered here on VAF but VAs need to consider what their own time is worth looking around and combining the info for their own needs.

You could pay $50 to have everything in one place...at your fingertips...with a workbook included or you can spend some time downloading forms or searching for terms and reading threads.

If you hourly fee is $50 an hour but it takes you 3 hours to get your contracts together and so on, then the book more than pays for itself. So value depends on how much of your own time you want to invest in starting your business.

Frankly, it is just great to have both free and paid options!

I am often reminded of a common thread that appears here on VAF about rates. What to charge? If the rate is too low, the VA's services could be undervalued; if priced too high then the VA's services could be too great of an expense (for clients' budgets).

So I feel that the answer to fair and reasonable pricing is somewhere in between. This number is controlled by the customer. And what I can afford is not the same as what another VA can afford.

Do I think the book is over-priced for a new VA's budget? Well, I cannot really answer that. It might be or it might not be. It is whatever the market...in this case...new VAs can budget. If Tina is selling her books, then she has found the best price point for her customer.

I certainly don't believe the book should be free, though (in response to the link Tess provided).

Janine