So here in Phoenix I am subscribed to an auction-house newsletter — every once in awhile, I’ll see something that interests me and go bid. The auction has some great deals and sometimes, some NOT so great.
Here’s a NOT so great deal.
Check it out:
I thought this was interesting because I own 3 of these umbrellas. Where did I get them? Costco, brand new, $19 a piece.
And here at the auction, they are going for nearly twice that, USED.
Just because you bought it at an auction, doesn’t mean you got a good deal.
Don’t allow a venue of distribution *trick* you into misappropriating value.
Here’s another example.
Furniture stores here in Arizona would run this distribution strategy, although I’d call it more of a scam. But it wasn’t a scam – it was perfectly legal and tapped into the weaknesses of consumer psychology.
Furniture dealers would rent out luxury, million dollar mansions for a day, fill it with furniture, and then advertise “Million dollar furniture foreclosure — the furniture must go!“.
Except the furniture wasn’t priced at foreclosure prices — it was priced at full retail. Sorry, that bed isn’t worth $9,000 when I saw it advertised at Ashley Furniture for $1,500 two weeks earlier.
The fact that the furniture resided in a multimillionaire dollar mansion FOOLED buyers. They attributed VALUE to the product based on the venue of distribution — the expensive luxury home.
Google is doing the same thing right now, with its “PLUS-1″ campaign.
By artificially limiting supply (only people with invites get to join!!!) people WANT to join Google +1. How many of us would join if Google simply said, “Plus 1 is now available, just come on over an join!” — probably not many.
Now, by artificially limiting supply, people WANT to join. People post invites on their Facebook, giving Google tons of free advertising and social clout. I suspect when people get an invite, they feel “privileged” and apart of the cool kids group. This “limit the supply” tactic wasn’t an accident by Google.
The point is this: Don’t erroneously attribute VALUE to a product simply by its association with the venue of distribution. Some things to think about…
Have you been *invited* to Google Plus 1? After you got the invite, did you scamper over to Google and join with a sense of urgency? If Google didn’t put the program into “invite only” status, would you have joined with the same sense of urgency? How can we leverage these psychologies to our advantage in our own business? Have you made value misjudgments that can be attributed to *where* or *how* the product was being sold?
And Stop The Prostitution of Monday Through Friday!
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