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The price you show before anyone has to ask

You'll leave here knowing whether each thing you sell needs a number, a "starting at," or a "contact us," based on how much your price actually changes.

By Yodai · Published September 6, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

It's time to put a price on what you sell on your website. You can write $35, you can write starting at $35, or you can write message us and we'll tell you. All three are honest. Only one is right for each thing you sell, and it's not always the same one.

This isn't a matter of taste, it's a matter of business: how much what you charge varies from one customer to the next for the same service. That answer, not a habit of showing or hiding prices, is what decides what you write. Before this, it helps to know exactly where each thing you sell ends; here, it's time to say how much it costs to get there.

The question that decides the format

Ask yourself one thing for each service: if ten different customers come in for the same thing, do you charge all ten the same, all ten differently but within a small range, or does the price depend on things you don't know until you talk to each one?

If all ten pay the same, put the number. A men's haircut, a car inspection, an hour of English lessons: the cost doesn't change just because the customer does, so hiding the price only adds a step that doesn't help anyone.

If ten customers pay close to the same but not exactly the same, you write starting at followed by the real lowest price. A hair color job costs different amounts depending on hair length, but you know the cheapest price you'll actually charge. That number, not one made up to attract customers, is what goes after "starting at." And next to it, say what makes the price go up: consumer protection law requires that when a price can't be set exactly, you explain how it's calculated.

If the price depends on details you only learn once you talk to the customer, how many guests the cake needs to feed, how many walls the remodel involves, there's no honest number to put down. You ask them to reach out: you give each quote once you know what the job involves, and that service doesn't belong in the catalog with a fixed price.

How to write each one

All three formats can live on the same page without looking messy, because each line shows at a glance what kind of price it is. And if you sell to individual customers, be clear about whether the number you show includes sales tax, since that varies by state and consumer protection law requires accurate, non-misleading pricing.

The costly mistake with "starting at"

The same thing happens in reverse: if you put a service in your catalog that actually depends on so many things that you never get the number right, you're promising a price you'll have to correct over the phone. That costs you more trust than not listing a number and asking people to reach out from the start.

The rule doesn't change with the size of your business: the less what you sell varies, the closer your text should be to the exact number; the more it depends on each customer, the sooner you should send them to ask instead of making up a figure that sounds good.

Yodai builds the site from what you tell it, with a store, bookings or quote requests depending on what you do. See what the website for your business looks like.