The Same Amount, Different Stories
Chapter 1
The price on the page is $240.
It is the fee for a short series of art workshops. Three women look at the same listing over lunch.
“That's quite reasonable,” Elena says.
“It's expensive,” Margot replies.
Tess looks again. “For one afternoon?”
They are reacting to the same number, but not yet to the same offer.
Elena has looked at several workshops and expects to spend more than this for a series. Margot set aside $100 for the activity she wanted to try. Tess thinks the listing covers a single session. Each response has a context, but the price alone doesn't tell us what it is.
Elena reads the next line aloud. The fee covers six sessions, and the materials described in the listing are included.
“Oh,” Tess says. “I missed the dates.”
Margot still considers it expensive for the plan she had in mind. Elena still thinks it compares favorably with the other courses she has seen. Tess is now considering a different offer from the one she first understood.
A number and an assessment
“The listed fee is $240” is a statement we can check against the page. “That's expensive” is an assessment. It may be entirely reasonable, but it leaves the basis of comparison unstated.
Expensive compared with another class? Compared with the amount someone intended to spend? Compared with how much they expect to use or enjoy it? Compared with what they paid several years ago?
Margot can make hers clear: “I had $100 in mind for trying this. The series costs more than I intended to spend.” Elena can make hers clear, too: “The other six-session series I looked at had higher listed fees.”