---
id: "action-strike-through-pricing"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ Anchor value—even if you don’t charge yet."]
tags: ["pricing-tactics", "ui-ux"]
related: ["concept-value-anchoring", "entity-adobe"]
action: "Display the original price with a strike-through when waiving or discounting fees."
outcome: "Establishes a non-zero reference price and signals substantial value to the consumer."
speakers: ["Saloni Firasta-Vastani"]
sources: ["commercial"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-commercial"
originDay: 5
articleStem: "hbr-ext-23-risks-of-free"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/06/the-risks-of-offering-free-goods-and-services"
sourceTitle: "The Risks of Offering “Free” Goods and Services"
---
# Implement strike-through pricing for waived fees

**Action:** When offering a discount or waiving a fee entirely, **visually display the original price with a strike-through** (e.g., *"normally $59.00/month, now $19.99/month"* or *"normally $10, now $0"*). This ensures the customer perceives the transaction as a **deal** and anchors the product's true monetary value in their mind.

This is the primary tactic for [[concept-value-anchoring]] and is exemplified by [[entity-adobe-d5]].

**Outcome:** Establishes a non-zero reference price and signals substantial value to the consumer.

**Caveat:** works only atop a **credible value proposition** — a struck-through price on a weak product reads as pricing theater and *increases* skepticism.