How Does Cloud Theory Establish Vehicle Prices?

Cloud Theory gives clients the freedom to display the pricing that best fits their story + goals. Whether a site displays MSRP, dealer price, or sale price, the preferred price will be reflected in-platform + through marketing.

Our Default Pricing Process:

At Cloud Theory, we aim to capture both the MSRP and the dealer's default price for every vehicle.

Here's a step-by-step breakdown of our data extraction logic:

  1. We always attempt to extract the MSRP of the vehicle when available on the website.
  2. In addition to the MSRP, we prioritize capturing the default non-MSRP price listed by the dealer. This is the value we'll use for all non-MSRP related "Price" data points for that vehicle.
  3. In cases where multiple prices are displayed on a website, our system defaults to the standard price field/class/tag/attribute as determined by the website's provider, ensuring we're comparing the most standardized, non-MSRP value across all dealers.


Why Do We Prioritize the Dealer's Default Price?

While MSRP offers a consistent benchmark, the dealer's default price provides the most accurate representation of how vehicles are positioned in the market with a universal price applicable to most shoppers. By focusing on this standardized non-MSRP value, we ensure a fair and standardized comparison across dealers. This approach prevents potential biases or inconsistencies that might arise if we were to capture prices with multiple layered discounts that some dealers might use for promotional purposes.

Alternate Pricing Accommodation

We understand that different clients have unique requirements. While our default is the general price, which covers a vast majority of vehicles, we are equipped to handle custom pricing requests. However, it's essential for clients to note that by opting for a custom price, they might be presenting a price that might not align with what end shoppers commonly compare across dealers. Hence, such requests should be made with due consideration.