ASKING PRICE AND PRICE DISCOUNTS: THE STRATEGY OF SELLING AN ASSET UNDER PRICE UNCERTAINTY

(Originally published in Theory and Decision (2007) 62:281-301 (c) Springer) - We consider fixed and asking price strategies in the con- text of selling an asset with Bernoullian updating of the seller’s subjective probability of sale at a given price. The determination of optimal fixed, asking and endogenous reservation prices is discussed under risk-neutral- ity and expected utility maximisation. With risk-neutrality, the optimal asking price exceeds the optimal fixed price when the expected gain is a strictly concave function. The seller’s choice between the fixed and the asking price strategies depends on several factors: the expected cost of haggling, price competition and the seller’s attitude towards risk.