Price bundling

This article describes a pricing strategy used by sellers, typically in markets that suffer from imperfect competition, significant transaction costs or imperfect information.
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Definition

Price bundling is a strategy whereby a seller bundles together many different goods/items being sold and offers the entire bundle at a single price.

There are two forms of price bundling -- pure bundling, where the seller does not offer buyers the option of buying the items separately, and mixed bundling, where the seller offers the items separately at higher individual prices. Mixed bundling is usually preferable to pure bundling, both because there are fewer legal regulations forbidding it, and because the reference price effect makes it appear even more attractive to buyers.

Motivation behind price bundling

Exploit different valuations by different buyers

Suppose there are two buyers, $A$ and $B$, and two products, $X$ and $Y$. Suppose buyer $A$ values product $X$ at $20$ units above the cost of production, and values $Y$ at $15$ units above the cost of production. Suppose buyer $B$ values $Y$ at $20$ units above the cost of production, and $X$ at $15$ units above the cost of production.

The ideal thing for the seller would be to practice price discrimination: charge each buyer the maximum that buyer is willing to pay. However, this may be forbidden by law or otherwise difficult to implement.

Instead, the seller can pursue the following bundling strategy: charge slightly under $35$ units above production cost for the combination of $X$ and $Y$. Since both buyers value the combination at $35$ units, this deal appeals to both buyers. This allows to seller the obtain the entire social surplus as producer surplus.

The seller can even make this a mixed bundling strategy: offer both $X$ and $Y$ individually for $20$ units, and offer the combination for slightly less than $35$ units.