Pricing strategy

How you price your products is one of the most important business decisions an operator makes. BoothIQ gives you three pricing levers per product: base price, extra-copy price, and multi-copy discount percentage. This article explains how to use them.

Who this is for: Operators setting prices for the first time, or revisiting pricing based on sales data.

The three pricing levers

For each product (Photo Strips, 4×6 Prints, Smartphone Print), you set:

1. Base price

What the customer pays for the first copy of the product. This is what shows on the product selection screen and what most customers see when they decide whether to use the booth.

2. Extra-copy price

What the customer pays for each additional copy in the same session. Almost always lower than the base price. The customer is "buying in bulk" with photos already taken.

3. Multi-copy discount percentage

A percentage off the extra-copy price when the customer buys more than one. Stacks with the extra-copy price.

How the math works

A customer buying N copies of a product pays:

total = base_price + ((N - 1) × extra_copy_price × (1 - discount/100))

Example: base $5.00, extra $2.00, discount 20%, 3 copies:

total = 5.00 + (2 × 2.00 × 0.80) = 5.00 + 3.20 = $8.20

You can verify the exact math by walking through a session and watching the live price preview on the extra prints screen. That's the source of truth.

Common pricing patterns

Pattern 1: Simple base price, no extras

  • Base: $5
  • Extra: $5 (same as base)
  • Discount: 0%

Every copy costs $5. Simple but leaves money on the table. Customers who want 2 copies will think twice.

Pattern 2: Loss-leader extras

  • Base: $5
  • Extra: $1
  • Discount: 0%

The first copy is the real price; extras are nearly free. Encourages customers to take a few extras to share.

Pattern 3: Bulk discount

  • Base: $7
  • Extra: $3
  • Discount: 30%

The first copy is more premium-priced. Each extra is 30% off, so 4 copies cost $7 + 3 × $2.10 = $13.30. Encourages "buy more, save more" thinking.

Pattern 4: Event pricing

  • Base: $0 or $1
  • Extra: $0
  • Discount: 0%

Free play or near-free for events where the venue is paying you. Combine with Free Play mode for fully complimentary sessions.

How to pick prices

Step 1: Survey local competition

Before you set prices, check what other photobooths in your area charge. BoothIQ doesn't have a "right" price. It depends on your venue, your customers, and what they expect to pay.

Step 2: Cost per print

Each DNP 4×6 print costs you something in media. Divide the cost of a fresh roll by 700 (the prints per roll) to get your per-print media cost. Add some margin for power, maintenance, the kiosk hardware amortized over its lifetime, and your time.

You should be charging at least 5× your media cost per print to make a real profit after all overhead.

Step 3: Price for the first copy, not the average

Customers decide whether to use the booth based on the base price they see on the product selection screen. If the base price is too high, they walk away. If it's too low, you're not earning what you could.

Set the base price for the first impression, then use extras and discounts to capture additional revenue from customers who decided to use it.

Step 4: Encourage extras

The extra-prints screen is your upsell opportunity. Make extras feel cheap:

  • Set extra-copy price to 30-40% of the base price
  • Add a 20-30% multi-copy discount

Customers who weren't planning to buy extras will tap +1 on the way to the payment screen.

Step 5: Watch the data

After a week or two, open the Sales & Analytics tab and look at:

  • Average copies per transaction. Are customers buying extras at all?
  • Revenue per session. Divide total revenue by transaction count
  • Product breakdown. Which product is generating most of your revenue?

If average copies is 1.0, your extras pricing isn't working. Extras are too expensive or not visible enough.

If average copies is 3+, your extras pricing is generating real upsell revenue.

Step 6: Adjust and repeat

Change one variable at a time and watch the data for at least a few days before making the next change. Don't change the base price and the discount and the extras all at once. You won't know which change moved the needle.

How to change a price

In the Products tab:

  1. Find the product card.
  2. Tap the field you want to change (base price, extra-copy price, or discount).
  3. Enter the new value.
  4. Tap Save.
  5. Exit admin and verify on the customer-facing screens.
Warning
Don't change prices mid-event. A customer who saw $5 on the product selection screen and gets charged $7 at payment will be unhappy.

Free Play and pricing

Free Play mode (set in Settings → Operation Mode) bypasses payment entirely. Your prices in the Products tab are still shown on the product selection screen, but the customer doesn't pay. Use Free Play for:

  • Free corporate events
  • Wedding / private events you've already been paid for
  • Promotional days
  • Testing the booth in production

For a deeper guide, see Operation modes.

Cross-sell pricing

The cross-sell offer on the extra-prints screen (e.g. adding a 4×6 to a strip order) uses the base price of the cross-sell product. So if your Photo Strips base is $5 and your 4×6 base is $7, a customer who buys strips and adds the cross-sell pays $5 + $7 = $12.

Cross-sells work best when both prices are reasonable. If 4×6 is significantly more expensive, customers won't add it.

Verify it worked

You're using pricing strategy effectively when:

  • The base prices are competitive for your market
  • Extras and discounts are encouraging customers to buy 2-4 copies on average
  • Sales tab shows revenue per session is well above your media cost
  • You can change prices without breaking the booth

Common mistakes

Setting all prices the same and never revisiting.

Use the Sales tab to identify what's working and adjust.

Pricing too high and getting no customers.

Lower the base price; use the cross-sell for upsell instead.

Pricing too low and losing money on every print.

Raise the base price; use discounts to soften the increase.

Forgetting to tap Save in the Products tab.

Always confirm by exiting admin and walking through a customer session.

Changing prices mid-event.

Wait until between events.

Next steps