[lywald]

I'll bite: this is immoral, isn't it? To charge more than what you think it's worth. Because that's taking money you don't think you deserve. Anyway, this whole community seems oblivious to morals... I can almost feel the nihilism through the internet.

[colinshark]

No, because there is no single ideal price for anything. The ideal price varies between customers.

Real world: Customer A thinks the $14 pizza is overpriced. No sale. Customer B thinks the $14 pizza is delicious and worth it. Would pay up to $20 if forced. Pays $14 and enjoys $6 in surplus value.

Ideal world: Customer A thinks the $14 pizza is worth about $6. Buys it for $6 (Arriving at the deal is the tricky part). Customer B thinks the $20 pizza is worth about $20. Buys it for $20 (Arriving at the deal is the tricky part).

Now both customers are happy with their pizzas, and the pizza maker made $26 in revenue instead of $14.

There is no "true" price for anything. It's not morally wrong for the cheap customer to pay $1 in a PWYW deal, and it's not morally wrong for the seller to enjoy it when someone pays $100 in the same deal.

[egypturnash]

The pizza maker made $26 minus whatever it costs to produce the pizza in time and materials. If the pizza cost $7 to make then the pizza maker makes $14 in profit versus $7. Also they lost a buck on that $6 pizza.

Further complexities: maybe it's a slow day and those employees were idle, and the raw materials were going to go bad without being used anyway - so if the $6 customer is buying it as cost the pizza maker may still be winning. Especially if they sold some fountain drinks to that customer, which are almost pure profit.

If you want a sustainable business, you need to cover your materials cost. Arguably paying less than the materials/shipping cost for something is morally wrong, especially if you know damn well this thing costs more than that to make and ship.

[pinchyfingers]

How do you know what anything is worth? If something will make me $100, but you think it is only worth $10, then what is it worth? $10 or $100?

Finding the price that the market will bare is precisely how you determine a product's monetary value.

Side note: if you want to see a entrepreneurial community without morals, I could point you to some places that would make you reconsider your opinion of HN.

[a-priori]

It's not a moral question because it's the buyer who determines what something is worth, not the seller. The seller just sets the price. If the buyer thinks something is worth more than the price, then they'll buy it. Otherwise they'll walk away. The seller isn't taking their money, the buyer is either giving it or not.