Pay-what-you-want, or PWYW, also called the value-for-value model, is a pricing business model in which buyers pay whatever amount they choose for a good or service, sometimes including zero, with a seller optionally setting a minimum floor price or suggesting a price as guidance. Some pay-what-you-want models fix the price before the purchase, while others defer price-setting until after the buyer has experienced the good or service, similar to tipping, and the model is considered a buyer-centered form of participative pricing.
Facts
Core MechanismA pricing strategy in which buyers pay whatever amount they choose for a good or service, sometimes including zero, with a seller-set floor price or suggested price offered only as guidance. 1 Origin YearEarliest documented commercial use found in the cited source (Keith Green's 1980 album). Informal pay-what-you-want practice, such as tipping and busking, predates this with no fixed origin date; the source itself says PWYW has long existed on the margins of the economy. Connections
Associated With
Pay-what-you-want pricing, letting the buyer set the price including zero, is studied within marketing practice as a strategy that trades short-term revenue for goodwill and voluntary generosity.
Panera Cares pay-what-you-can cafe program ran 2010-2019, since closed; the historical instance is the attested fact.
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Pay What You Want
WikipediaHistory and commercial uses section, Keith Green 1980 album
Contemporary Christian music artist Keith Green implemented a PWYW structure for his 1980 album So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt.
Opening definition paragraph
Pay what you want (or PWYW, also referred to as value-for-value model) is a pricing strategy where buyers pay their desired amount for a given commodity.
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