Robust pricing with refunds

A-Tier
Journal: RAND Journal of Economics
Year: 2020
Volume: 51
Issue: 4
Pages: 1014-1036

Authors (2)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Before purchase, a buyer of an experience good learns about the product's fit using various information sources, including some of which the seller may be unaware of. The buyer, however, can conclusively learn the fit only after purchasing and trying out the product. We show that the seller can use a simple mechanism to take best advantage of the buyer's post‐purchase learning to maximize his guaranteed‐profit. We show that this mechanism combines a generous refund, which performs well when the buyer is relatively informed, with non‐refundable random discounts, which work well when the buyer is relatively uninformed.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:randje:v:51:y:2020:i:4:p:1014-1036
Journal Field
Industrial Organization
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-02-02