Are you at your sixes and sevens about fives, sevens and nines? (Newsletter Pricing).

Two issues ago, Marlene Jensen reported that "'7' still seems to have some magic in prices. I tested it extensively years ago and found it gave up to a 10 percent lift over prices without it" (NL/NL 10/17/02).

So much for what works. NEPA has now weighed in with a survey of how publishers are actually pricing their newsletters.

The association conducted an analysis of the 2,328 newsletters listed in the 2002-2003 NEPA Directory of Members & Industry Suppliers.

"When pricing a newsletter, many publishers have strong opinions about what the last digit of the price should be," NEPA's newsletter Hotline reported, "and they tend to stick with that price model." Here are the four most popular prices with regard to their last digit:

* Prices ending in 5-28.0 percent

* Prices ending in 7-19.8 percent

* Prices ending in 9-26.7 percent

* Prices ending in 0-10.1 percent.

All of the other numbers, including 95[cents] and other cents, registered from only .9 percent to 3.1 percent.

Jensen's "magic 7" wasn't limited to just the last digit, but anywhere in the price. So, if you were to combine what she says works and what is most popular among publishers, a price ending in "79" would appear to be a strong candidate.