Author:  Zarina Akhmetova Affiliation:  Independent Researcher Abstract Many managers assume product quality is the main driver of customer value. Yet real markets often reward context —where, when, and how something is presented—more than the underlying product itself. This article examines the proposition that “location and packaging can matter more than the product,” using the well-known Joshua Bell Washington, D.C. Metro field experiment as an anchoring case. In that expe