---
id: "quote-free-reference-price"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶2"]
tags: ["pricing-psychology", "monetization"]
related: ["concept-reference-price-trap", "claim-free-internalization"]
speaker: "Saloni Firasta-Vastani"
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"
---
# The difficulty of reversing a free reference price

A core warning about the psychological permanence of offering goods for zero cost — the seed of the [[concept-reference-price-trap]] and [[claim-free-internalization]].

> "Once customers internalize “free” as the reference price, it becomes difficult—sometimes impossible—to charge later. Worse, free offerings are frequently undervalued, overused, or abused."

— **Saloni Firasta-Vastani** ([[entity-saloni-firasta-vastani]])