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So much this! I broke my leg a decade ago and asked my doctor how much did it cost to get X done if I wanted to pay in cash. He didn’t know and looked dumbfounded by such a simple question.

In what other profession can a professional perform a task not knowing what he’s charging for the services being rendered?

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Plenty of professions, actually. Especially those where skills cultivated by individuals become highly specialized, and companies thus maintain a large number of employees to ensure their business requirements (including billing and bookkeeping) are met by dedicated staff of sufficient skill level. Not all medical practice can be done like sole-proprietor design shops.

Yeah, almost everything B2B has prices listed that no one actually pays; they're just meant as an initial negotiating position.

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