Main Female is an artist of some kind. Had items in a craft store in a mall. Had problems there. Took them to a craft-show. Was told be BF to have customer to set the price. Very successful there.
Secondly, would this "pricing" scheme work in real life?
In the long run - No. If it costs $5 and 10 hours to make something, selling it for $3 will not work. Some people have no idea of the cost and effort to produce items, others don't care. In MOST circumstances it is a good way to starve.
About the story? I have no idea, sorry.
Good Hunting, limab
I turn pens on my lathe. I do laser cut inlay pens that take 4-8 hours to assemble, turn and finish, and materials cost $25-35. I have sold dozens for over $100. One bitch complained about the $100+ price, offered $20 and told me she can get pens just as good at WallyWorld for $5 a dozen.
Was told be BF to have customer to set the price.
Only mildly related, in one of the Hallmark 'Garage Sale Mysteries', the kids are organising a charity fundraising sale. Mom tells the kids not to put prices on anything because customers will usually pay over the odds for a good cause.
There's a joke in there about 'making a killing' (which Mom would no doubt solve).
AJ
Secondly, would this "pricing" scheme work in real life?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_what_you_want
It can only work if the marginal cost of production is near 0, and even then isn't always advisable.
If you want to maximize profit, I would suggest First degree Price discrimination instead.
No idea about the story, sorry.
There are some interesting psychological tricks that can make Pay-what-you-want pricing work in limited situations, but that doesn't change the problem with the PWYW model.
For example, if you give someone something absolutely free then offer another thing at PWYW, you are likely to make more overall. So free coffee plus PWYW muffins makes more money than PWYW coffee and muffins.
Also, people are more likely to give money if it's going to a cause than for profit. So PWYW coffee will make less than PWYW coffee with all proceeds going to the SPCA.