Charging a higher price for customers who support a competitor?

Lucan Unlordly · Aug 10, 2026

We run an online service for sports clubs that provides valuable information and contact details to subscribing organisations.

In recent months a couple of newcomers have tried to stick their nose in the trough, setting up in competition with our established offer. Whilst their likelihood of success is low it irks me somewhat that some of our customers are signing up - almost certainly without parting with any cash for the first couple of months - at a price that is many times higher than ours.

Can I legally have 2 tier pricing, one for those able to financially support another supplier, and another for those who remain loyal?

I'm sure I can't sell it that way but..........

NickGrogan · Aug 10, 2026

Supermarkets seem to manage it with their card holder prices.

£5 for cake, or £2 if you've got a card.

Maybe something like that?

numbersrule · Aug 10, 2026

Yes but the disloyal would obtain a card maybe thereby defeating it.

Dear Lucan Unlordly
It's a free country. People can make choices.
Rationalise your.thoughts about the competition.
Best option is to focus on how to improve your offering as opposed to quirky attempts at manipulation of the pricing.
If you are right about the competition having little chance of success then just allow yourself to succeed.

NickGrogan · Aug 10, 2026

numbersrule said:
Yes but the disloyal would obtain a card maybe thereby defeating it.

How? Its a relatively small list, I believe, so @Lucan Unlordly would know who does/doesnt have a card.

DontAsk · Aug 11, 2026

Lucan Unlordly said:
Can I legally have 2 tier pricing, one for those able to financially support another supplier, and another for those who remain loyal?

Of course you can. You can charge what you like to who you like, so long as you don't base the decision on any protected characteristics.

Ozzy · Aug 11, 2026

You can offer an exclusivity discount, without any risk of fallout. That is normal and well rehearsed, but charging a higher price for disloyalty runs the risk of alienating customers of making yourself look like you feel threatened and knee jerk reacting.

It's all in the framing, and a loyalty 'discount' is no different from many other industries.

ES16 · Aug 11, 2026

Lucan Unlordly said:
We run an online service for sports clubs that provides valuable information and contact details to subscribing organisations.

In recent months a couple of newcomers have tried to stick their nose in the trough, setting up in competition with our established offer. Whilst their likelihood of success is low it irks me somewhat that some of our customers are signing up - almost certainly without parting with any cash for the first couple of months - at a price that is many times higher than ours.

Can I legally have 2 tier pricing, one for those able to financially support another supplier, and another for those who remain loyal?

I'm sure I can't sell it that way but..........

Generally, I’d have thought you can have different pricing tiers, but I definitely wouldn’t describe it as “pay more because you’re using our competitor”!

A cleaner way of approaching it would be a **loyalty rate** or loyalty discount for organisations that continue to use your service exclusively or meet whatever reasonable criteria you set.

Commercially, that also sounds much better: reward the customers who have supported you rather than penalise the ones having a look elsewhere.

Worth getting the exact wording and terms checked if you introduce it, particularly if exclusivity forms part of the deal, but the loyalty angle would be the route I’d explore.

Lucan Unlordly · Aug 11, 2026

Ozzy said:
It's all in the framing, and a loyalty 'discount' is no different from many other industries.

Our product is revered and held in the highest esteem so I'd currently be giving discounts to the majority so that's out of the question.

My main concern is akin to the pub regular who had a single dodgy pint, didn't tell the Landlord and spouts on about how good the beer is at the new place across town. That it doesn't serve his favourite tipple, is a bus ride from home is lost on him. I want to metaphorically 'water his (and my rogue customers) beer down'. On reflection price differential may not be the best way.

fisicx · Aug 11, 2026

If you know who they are it’s fairly easy display different billing information (depending on how your platform does the billing). Nobody else would know.

Gecko001 · Aug 12, 2026

This rival might be on to something. If the sports clubs are amateur or part-time professional, the person who wants to use such a service as yours will probably be a volunteer, who will not want to dip their hand in their pocket to pay for your service, or wait until they get payment approved by a committee or board, but they might want to get a month or two months free, so that they can use the service and demonstrate to those who hold the purse strings that using the service for longer than the trial period will be worth the money.

Lucan Unlordly · Aug 18, 2026

Gecko001 said:
This rival might be on to something. If the sports clubs are amateur or part-time professional, the person who wants to use such a service as yours will probably be a volunteer, who will not want to dip their hand in their pocket to pay for your service, or wait until they get payment approved by a committee or board, but they might want to get a month or two months free, so that they can use the service and demonstrate to those who hold the purse strings that using the service for longer than the trial period will be worth the money.

Not sure how you've reached the conclusion that our customer bases are different when I made it quite clear that they are targeting our established marketplace and the sports clubs within.

Analogy number 2: They run a (hypothetical) Car lot with 10 vehicles on the forecourt that you can (temporarily) view the details of for nothing. We run 1000 Car lots with 10,000 cars on the forecourts but you have to pay to view.
Which would you choose?

DontAsk · Aug 18, 2026

Neither, I would find a different car lot.

Gecko001 · Aug 18, 2026

Lucan Unlordly said:
Not sure how you've reached the conclusion that our customer bases are different when I made it quite clear that they are targeting our established marketplace and the sports clubs within.

Analogy number 2: They run a (hypothetical) Car lot with 10 vehicles on the forecourt that you can (temporarily) view the details of for nothing. We run 1000 Car lots with 10,000 cars on the forecourts but you have to pay to view.
Which would you choose?

It is not a conclusion, but a suggestion why your rival thinks that his model will work. My suggestion is based on a market made up mostly of part-time or amateur sports clubs. You know your market better than me, and I could be wide of the mark and your market could be based on professional sports clubs with deep pockets who do not think like volunteers when choosing a service.

Paul Kelly ICHYB · Aug 18, 2026

Lucan Unlordly said:
Our product is revered and held in the highest esteem so I'd currently be giving discounts to the majority so that's out of the question.

If the others are charging more, put your prices off and then offer a discount.

If you are not worried about the competition, maybe just live with it.

Add a comparison chart for you and the others on your website, highlighting bang for busk.

Call the people who are using the other services and yours and ask them why - you might be surprised by the comments!

Lucan Unlordly · Aug 18, 2026

Gecko001 said:
It is not a conclusion, but a suggestion why your rival thinks that his model will work. My suggestion is based on a market made up mostly of part-time or amateur sports clubs. You know your market better than me, and I could be wide of the mark and your market could be based on professional sports clubs with deep pockets who do not think like volunteers when choosing a service.

Their model won't work, they just don't have the hands on experience to know yet.

The distinction between amateur and professional sports clubs is miniscule. Many amateur organisations can tap into government grants and seek financial support and sponsorship from parents etc., Many professional football clubs teeter on the brink of insolvency.

Paul Kelly ICHYB said:
If you are not worried about the competition, maybe just live with it.

That's what I'm doing but it would be foolish not to keep one eye on the wannabees.

Paul Kelly ICHYB said:
Call the people who are using the other services and yours and ask them why - you might be surprised by the comments!

I have and the response is the same 'it was free so I thought it can't do any harm trying it but I won't be paying for it'.

Gecko001 · Aug 18, 2026

Lucan Unlordly said:
Their model won't work, they just don't have the hands on experience to know yet.
The distinction between amateur and professional sports clubs is miniscule. Many amateur organisations can tap into government grants and seek financial support and sponsorship from parents etc., Many professional football clubs teeter on the brink of insolvency.

For every professional club that is teetering on the brink of insolvency, as you put it, there are perhaps dozens, if not hundreds, of amateur and semi-pro clubs that are run on a shoestring.

Lucan Unlordly · Aug 18, 2026

Gecko001 said:
For every professional club that is teetering on the brink of insolvency, as you put it, there are perhaps dozens, if not hundreds, of amateur and semi-pro clubs that are run on a shoestring.

Best draw a line under this............... I do not know any person, let alone a sports club that cannot afford the price of a standard bar of Cadbury's chocolate for a weeks access to something that they rely on and use 7 days a week!

Search

Search

Charging a higher price for customers who support a competitor?

Lucan Unlordly

NickGrogan

numbersrule

NickGrogan

DontAsk

Ozzy

Founder of UKBF

ES16

Lucan Unlordly

fisicx

Gecko001

Lucan Unlordly

DontAsk

Gecko001

Paul Kelly ICHYB

Lucan Unlordly

Gecko001

Lucan Unlordly

Similar threads

Latest Articles