Almost a teenager and drawing from an initial experience at the daycare during Mass, I agreed one Sunday to lend a hand to my best friend on the church square. The task was to sell as many chocolate cakes as possible to benefit the "Le Petit Prince" association. You've understood, this time it wasn't about getting paid, but rather an intriguing sales challenge.

The question we faced was: how to sell the maximum number of cakes and raise the most money in under an hour? Since the cakes, already prepared, had cost only a few euros, profitability wasn't the concern. The challenge was in setting the price.

After a few minutes of contemplation, we decided NOT to set a fixed price. Indeed, our reasoning was that with the charitable nature of our sale, we'd make more profit by letting each customer decide their own price, potentially including a donation.

The idea was an outstanding success. 20, and even 50 euro notes filled our small cash box. 50 euros for a slice, 40 euros for two. Mission accomplished.

It would have been unthinkable to offer a slice for more than 5 euros. Yet, that ended up being the spontaneous MINIMUM price the "market" set.

Well, almost...

A classmate, the son of my English teacher, was surprised to learn about our pricing approach. With a sly smile, he offered us 0.01 euro - a cent, the smallest amount imaginable. We had to accept, albeit rolling our eyes. Even though he brought down our average earnings, I remain convinced that we had chosen the best pricing strategy. And we made one more person happy...

Agathe Laurent Richard

Almost a teenager and drawing from an initial experience at the daycare during Mass, I agreed one Sunday to lend a hand to my best friend on the church square. The task was to sell as many chocolate cakes as possible to benefit the "Le Petit Prince" association. You've understood, this time it wasn't about getting paid, but rather an intriguing sales challenge.

The question we faced was: how to sell the maximum number of cakes and raise the most money in under an hour? Since the cakes, already prepared, had cost only a few euros, profitability wasn't the concern. The challenge was in setting the price.

After a few minutes of contemplation, we decided NOT to set a fixed price. Indeed, our reasoning was that with the charitable nature of our sale, we'd make more profit by letting each customer decide their own price, potentially including a donation.

The idea was an outstanding success. 20, and even 50 euro notes filled our small cash box. 50 euros for a slice, 40 euros for two. Mission accomplished.

It would have been unthinkable to offer a slice for more than 5 euros. Yet, that ended up being the spontaneous MINIMUM price the "market" set.

Well, almost...

A classmate, the son of my English teacher, was surprised to learn about our pricing approach. With a sly smile, he offered us 0.01 euro - a cent, the smallest amount imaginable. We had to accept, albeit rolling our eyes. Even though he brought down our average earnings, I remain convinced that we had chosen the best pricing strategy. And we made one more person happy...

Agathe Laurent Richard