Let's take a look at how companies set their prices. Broadly speaking, the price of any product or service can be set as 'cost plus', or 'what the market will bear.' The latter generally involves some analysis or guesswork to establish a standard - often called 'List Price', MRP or RRP - and apply discount in certain circumstances. If you've ever visited a Moroccan souk, you'll know how arbitrary an opening price can be, and how extreme a discount level can get.