M376R - Pricing Policy

[M376R - Pricing Policy] Repost 26/06/95 Original 31/01/95

The pricing of Scientology stuff has gone through a few revolutions and evolutions, and it sure looks like the Pricing Tech was slow in in development, if at all.

Evidently, pricing started off fairly high. Stories from the 1960s sure tell us that the SHBC used to cost a packet, somewhere in the range of an entire years salary - nothing seems to have changed there.

So what have we seen so far?

"25 Hours of processing should cost 1 months pay"

"Prices will go up 5% a month"

"Prices will go up 2% a month"

[NEW!] Prices were seen to go up 10% per month in late 1989

"Prices will be revised 6 monthly"

I suspect the 6 month model applies, but what's the betting they've never resisted (in the last 10 years) the urge to put up the prices? Even in a world recession!

If they up the prices every 6 months by 5%, thats 10.25% yearly.

A course costing $1000 now will cost $3250 in 2005. Generally, inflation in western countries runs somewhere between 1% and 4% given the past stable trends, so if we use the real world pricing of 4%, we would see our $1000 course being $1480 in 2005. A difference between 325% and 148% isn't there! More calculated profits for the Cof$.

Where does the need for more money come from? Paper hasn't risen in cost by more than 20% since 1985. Cassettes are so easily produced and out of favour, cost is static. Meters? Efficient production in volume should have cut the price in half by now. Transport costs have risen, but not that much. Ink? Packs of Kools on LRHs desk? Cost of lily white Sea Org Uniform Material? The net argument for costs between 1985 and 1995 should have been in the realm of 165% ... has it been so?

Indeed, the Cof$ isn't shy of chasing the bucks without due consideration to making courses and materials affordable. If anything, equipment like E-Meters should have dropped in price, while courses should remain fairly stable if expansion statistics (of which we only hear the word 'expansion' from the Scienos) are anything to go by.

Oh yeah, and while I'm here, 8 million in 1991 and 8 million in 1994 doesn't sound like expansion to me.

Let us see.

Ashraf mentioned recently:

AG> WOW! Heber announced that scientology has 8 million devotees early AG> in December 1994. Gee that sounds pretty impressive does it not?

If it were real, it would be. Come on, Heber, quit reading your favourite lie of 1990 and invent some new ones. I already posted long time back that there should be at least 11 million now.

And finally, in the statistical vein: (regarding a post from Russia)

BS> In Russia alone, over 4,200 Dianetic counselors were trained in BS> 1994. They helped to deliver 26,259 hours of Dianetic counseling, BS> 20 times what was accomplished in Russia in 1993.

Oh calculator, o calculator ... that is 6.25 hours per 'counselor', and if that doesn't sound impressive, we all know how this figure was arrived at ... 25 actual auditors delivered about 10 hours a week each, and the other 4150 were attendees at Dianetics Introductory Courses where they co-audit each other for 3 hours in an afternoon.

Big Deal.

How many roubles does 12.5 hours cost? 4 toilet rolls, 1 bootleg CD and ten american dollars?

The Squirrelle, [One-Point-One]

1.0 The Squirrelle, Anti-Scientologist and proud of it. ---+ Tone Scale 1.1

2.0 Making Elron's Psycho-Weasels sweat the Real World! ---+ R1 // U \\ 376