I came across this example of price bracketing and thought it was inspired. Going beyond the good/better/best approach, they added a novel tactic to get the outcome they want.

Here’s the subscription page for Dollar Shave Club.

The center option is clearly bracketed between the super cheap version and the crazy advanced version. I normally wouldn’t consider a 4 blade razor… but it’s in the middle!

A closer look shows their tactic for nudging people thinking about the entry level option to the 4x blade: shipping costs.

If there’s a universal truth in e-commerce it’s that people hate to pay for shipping. Especially when the shipping is more than the product itself. Dollar Shave Club asks you to fill in a shipping address in a separate step before giving you the cost too, which reinforces the idea that it’s a separate cost from the product. As far as I could tell, the cost for shipping the cheap blade is a flat $2 regardless of the U.S. address.

So $1 razor plus $2 shipping equals 3 bucks. Even though the combined $3 price is less than the other options, the thought of two thirds of the payment going to shipping each month will rankle consumers, further motivating them to order the middle, more reasonable product.

Smart!