The Return of Price Point
Sorry, but I’ve got to rant again about the absolutely idiotic phrase “price point.” I know that Lachlan is OK with the phrase in some situations, but I truly do not think that it should ever be uttered. Here’s the latest example, courtesy of Reason:
What’s more, this Christmas is expected to usher in the year of the flat-panel. With price points dropping below the $1000 mark, high-end TVs are moving down-market fast with Wal-Mart leading the way.
See what I mean? Why can’t they just say, “…with PRICES dropping below the $1000 mark…”? Really - why use two words when only one word is needed? Grrrr…
November 18th, 2006 at 6:30 pm
Clearly the example above does not require “price point.” And while we’re getting rid of “price point” in that sentence, let’s just say “prices below $1000.” Mark’s my name, don’t wear it out!
However…when I worked in the inventory business, we would sometimes conduct what we referred to as “price-point” inventories. These were counts where we recorded only the price (and usually department) of the merchandise, as opposed to entering a SKU or UPC number. Somehow, “price inventory” just doesn’t sound right.
I can’t cite a specific rule, but I think it has to do with the use of “price” as an adjective. Note the use of the hyphen — since there is no appropriate suffix to turn “price” into an adjective (pricial? priciary?), it begs for some sort of modifier. “Price-level” or “price-based” inventory also sound better than just “price” in this context.
Anyone else think this makes sense?
November 19th, 2006 at 11:56 am
Happy Sunday - well I’m a D list blogger. There’s only room for improvement.
take care
November 20th, 2006 at 8:00 am
Just for your info, David, I quoted you and put up a mild challenge on minimum wage over at Piece of Mind.
November 22nd, 2006 at 4:11 pm
Hehe. Not sayin’ a word.
Other than what I just said, of course. Thanks for the link-love.