Prices to low?( "If its to cheap it must be bad, right?")Sound sets, Birdhouses and craftshow prices

[abstractcats]

Hey guys, here is pricing/marketing question.
For years, my mum and I, made birdhouse and wreaths and did the local craftshow circuit, and did pretty well, but we found, and it was noted by a few other crafters, that if you sell to low, people will feel(probably a subconsciously, as much as subconsciously)there must be something, not quite good about it. So, does this idea apply to your choice of a sample pack/preset pack?

Also, I do have an issue with focus and consistency, as in I have many ideas, but find that I post things, and then fail to follow through, and focus on fully learning and implementing, which I'm sure has hurt my progress and sale, as a sound designer. I'm working on both issues, quickly.

I'm also thinking, a demo set of presets, for each pack, is a great idea.

So, any ideas about study habbits, focus, etc?

As always, thanks for listening and any input. I do love my KVR family

[Meffy]

Perceived value versus actual value is always tricky, both from the producer's and the consumer's viewpoint.

I do my best to avoid assuming that low cost necessarily indicates low value, but couldn't say for sure how well I'm able to reject the assumption.

Some of the most useful, interesting, beautiful, or otherwise best things I've got didn't cost much (Doru Malaia's samples come to mind). Some of them did but were worth it. I've gotten things cheaply that turned out to be even cheaper than I'd anticipated, and just about everyone's bought something expensive just to discover that they paid for a name, or glitzy packaging, marketing, and so forth.

When it comes to focus, my advice is this: Meffy is the worst possible person to ask about foc- hey, a squirrel! *runs off to chase it*

[abstractcats]

Perceived value versus actual value is always tricky, both from the producer's and the consumer's viewpoint.

I do my best to avoid assuming that low cost necessarily indicates low value, but couldn't say for sure how well I'm able to reject the assumption.

Some of the most useful, interesting, beautiful, or otherwise best things I've got didn't cost much (Doru Malaia's samples come to mind). Some of them did but were worth it. I've gotten things cheaply that turned out to be even cheaper than I'd anticipated, and just about everyone's bought something expensive just to discover that they paid for a name, or glitzy packaging, marketing, and so forth.

When it comes to focus, my advice is this: Meffy is the worst possible person to ask about foc- hey, a squirrel! *runs off to chase it*

A chipping sparrow, you say ? WHERE!?!?

Yeah, I'm thinking the pricing thing, might vary, a good deal.
OH, good to see you, Meffy! I've been away, far to long, my self.

[Meffy]

Thanks, good to see you too.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

the thing is, it can work either way. Since we are in soundware I will deal with experiences there.

There is stuff from indiginus which is killer priced and amazing, and stuff that is expensive (i bought a high priced dune soundset, won't say which one, and i don't like any of the presets), is not always better.

On the other hand, i have often found some really cheap stuff to be dreadful, and the more expensive alternatives to be much better.

it's a very thin line and very hard question to answer IMO. I try VERY hard not to let an ultra low price bother me ( i mean preset banks noticeably under $10), but sometimes it has.. I have to be honest, i voted "sometimes". Because i have had very bad experiences *overall* with cheap preset banks. And this is what this topic is about, right? I can't say the same for plugins, as i to this day have stellar results with free and ultra cheap ones..but with synth presets yes, the cheap ones and ones were there are tons of sounds included (like 512) have been very bad experiences for me and have put me off to an extent from the cheap, UNLESS i know the sound designer's work to be HQ already.

Is it coincidence that the higher priced ones are from reputable very well known sound designers who have always delivered a killer product for me? I don't know. I will buy a vengeance soundbank for a synth i want a soundbank for, without even listening to the demo for example, and they are never cheap. I listen to the demos of stuff i don't know, over and over again before i buy.... the sad thing is, i am often finding that the cheap banks also don't have demos that impress me in any way..

If you release a great product at a low price, it will sell cause it's simply a great product. But I am sure plenty of us have bought in the past BECAUSE it's cheap, and thinking "why not", then gotten no use out of it, and yes in the long run that has made me more cautious.. but certainly not to think it will "automatically be bad cause it's cheap". I hope my post makes sense. I'm in the middle might be one easy way to sum it up.

[Musicisbest]

If you release a great product at a low price, it will sell cause it's simply a great product. But I am sure plenty of us have bought in the past BECAUSE it's cheap, and thinking "why not", then gotten no use out of it, and yes in the long run that has made me more cautious.. but certainly not to think it will "automatically be bad cause it's cheap". I hope my post makes sense. I'm in the middle might be one easy way to sum it up.

In the long run, the quality of the sounds is what it is.
I find that the price so often doesn't effect or represent the quality.
Cheats sounds can be good, expensive sounds can be bad....
It just come down to the quality which is not at all dictated by the price.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

If you release a great product at a low price, it will sell cause it's simply a great product. But I am sure plenty of us have bought in the past BECAUSE it's cheap, and thinking "why not", then gotten no use out of it, and yes in the long run that has made me more cautious.. but certainly not to think it will "automatically be bad cause it's cheap". I hope my post makes sense. I'm in the middle might be one easy way to sum it up.

In the long run, the quality of the sounds is what it is.
I find that the price so often doesn't effect or represent the quality.
Cheats sounds can be good, expensive sounds can be bad....
It just come down to the quality which is not at all dictated by the price.

that's the thing though and what i was trying to articulate. In my own overwhelming personal experience, at buying a BUCKET load of sound banks (i'm a preset whore and happy to admit it), unlike with plugins where cheap and free are often amazing (look at TDR for example), i have found 98% of the cheap banks i have bought to be well, just plain bad. I don't think it's coincidence. Why do arksun, vengeance, bigtone, etc.. always have consistent first rate quality in every way? As in usability, level matching, heck even number of presets (always 64 or 128). The only pleasant exceptions I have experienced so far with cheap banks are some of the xenos (brian lee) ones.

Of course we can only post our own experiences, and why we voted what we did. But ultimately, in the long run, of course you are right.. the quality of the sounds is what it is whether 50 cents or 100 dollars. Cheap can be good, expensive can be bad. But, in the probably 500 banks i have bought over the years, i have found that besides a rare few notable exceptions, with soundbanks it really has been "expensive sounded better than the cheap ones". When i say cheap i mean under $10 as i said. for around 15 or 20 there is plenty of good work out there. Yet my favourite sounds all come from the higher priced banks.. and i have tried to convince myself it is "pay more" placebo, and have gone through the sounds over and over again, but honestly it's just because they are flat out better sounds. You can tell there has been way more time spent on them, and therefore the resulting quality is better.. And the devs seem to understand the music scene and what sounds work in what genres. YMMV of course and you personally might have had the opposite experience
I won't list what i think are bad examples, as i don't want to hurt anyone in this topic, but i am happy to list what i consider the higher priced and exceptional quality sound designers.

[Scotty]

I looked for those weird and cheap samples sets... glitches done on modulars and interesting drones that I can take apart. I won't pay a lot for them but I like the sampler sellers who do that kind of stuff. The libraries don't need to be huge either. 50 to 100 or so one shots will do it.

[Xenos]

... The only pleasant exceptions I have experienced so far with cheap banks are some of the xenos (brian lee) ones.

Thanks, man . Though my releases from 2015 onward are by far better than previous years. Started doing a lot more projects for other soundware vendors, which has been an excellent opportunity to learn new ideas.

[blortblort]

In the past- I've been both pleasantly surprised and HORRIBLY disappointed by both embarrassingly expensive and hideously cheap sample and sound sets.
as mentioned multiple times in the prior replies, there ARE exceptions to all rules out there...

after a while, ya develop a knack to know who's work resonates with you (instant buys...usually a short list ;] )
and who's product demos you may want to listen to/test out and deliberate.

for any new designers who's work is new to me, I DO deliberate very carefully if they do not have either a demo sample set or patch set.
Demo songs are nice, and demo audio of individual patches are even better... but being able to pull down examples of what's in the tin is always a bonus and I'm more likely to pay attention to those offerings.

[Biome_Digital]

I am just thinking out loud here:

I think that low prices does often mean an inferior product, but it isn't always the case. The sad reality is that everyone is trying to get everything for free! Sure, some people buy stuff and recognise value and the concept of rewarding hard work and skill, but many people (especially younger people) have got used to price wars (thanks Tesco!) and illegal download sites.

So, if a product is too expensive for someone and it's available on warez site they will probably download free, conversely, if it is so cheap that it doesn't appear to have any value they might download free anyway because it is nearly worthless!

Don't forget the market and competition as well, prices need to be in context.

From my own experience selling on www.biomedigital.com, putting prices 'soo loow' does not gain massive amounts of sales. I have found that people that want the products buy want they want regardless of the price (as long as it's competitive I guess).

I have even had people question if the site is real or not because of low prices! Thats got to tell you something right there - Too Good to Be True??

Here's one thing I have noticed though, people that spend money usually want MORE for there money so trying to give more content for the same money is a good idea.

Another thing to consider is return customers - Some people will spend £3 and then come back and spend £30. I think it's a trust thing really, building a brand and building trust is more important than pricing!

Food for thought. Would like to hear other peoples experiences!

[Krezie]

This sure is an interesting topic, and I can understand that customers might think that a cheaper soundset more likely could be bad than a more expensive set, or is a sort of B-quality set.

I think good and bad soundsets will be found in all price ranges, and that most experienced customers will have a list of personal favorite labels / sound designers from which they buy with confidence.
Online reputation will be of some importance too.

In my opinion it's a good habit to offer a demopack so customers can try out some sounds, and see if it fits their expectations and musical style, see the patchlist, etc.
That way the customer can make an informed buying decision (...at least somewhat informed...), and decide if the set is worth the buying price for them.

[Lotuzia]

....... I have found that people that want the products buy want they want regardless of the price (as long as it's competitive I guess).

..........

Exactly this.

The second rule (as I see it) : Price should be set so that it covers with sales the time spent to create the soundset. If it's not the case, one cannot expect to stay in business in the long time.

And the third recommendation I'd make is : Make demos with presets in isolation first. This kind of demos can't lie, and it worked well for me. Then make minitracks etc if you're inclined to do so, to compliment the above. I will personnaly never buy a soundset with only a full track demo in a *popular genre*, where the only thing that -barely- interest me is the kind of compressors the guy has used to smash the mix. (even with the promise to become n°1 in the dance charts with the sounds) But well, it's just me.

My 0.002

[Timman]

While I think that cheap prices make me think cheap product, when I see an overpriced product the reaction is worse. I might end up buying a cheap product anyway, but I will never pay for something that I feel it's overpriced.

[abstractcats]

Great input, guys. Thanks!
The poll, shows a 75% No. But what from what I've gathered from the opinions, I'm still thinking, I'd have better results, doing a smaller number and spending more time, developing better sounds, and spending more time on learning sound design.