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I don't want to sell low-quality products (but people buy them). What to do?

by perneali45
5 replies
[DISCLAIMER: I'm not passing any judgement whatsoever. I just want to have an intelligent discussion on the topic, and see what's the best way to handle this issue.]

Hi guys - hope you're well!

Lately, I have honestly tried to improve my products. But - the result was the opposite of what I expected.

It seems people will buy what APPEARS to be "easy" and "fast"... (even though it doesn't work in the real world). At the same time, they appear to be reluctant to buy a more "serious" product if it requires more work on their part.

I'll give a very rough analogy to illustrate the point (these aren't the type of products I sell, this is just for demonstration purposes):

EXAMPLE 1:

"This software will build an affiliate website that makes money on autopilot."

People will gladly buy the example above, even though the "autopilot affiliate website" will be duplicate content that offers no real value to the end user. As a result, that website will not really generate any income. I don't feel ok with selling such a product, or telling lies.

EXAMPLE 2:

"This software will help you write better content that will attract visitors."

People will be less likely to buy the example above, even though it will help them build a real website with value, that generates happy visitors, and ultimately income. But of course, this requires work (writing). I feel ok about selling such a product, but people don't seem to be interested (at least not enough of them).

I see a few options:

1) Sell what people buy, even if it's low-quality. Tell them what they want to hear, even if it's not the truth. This is business, and business is about making money. Keep doing this until getting banned by payment processors like Paypal or other regulatory agencies.

2) Meet people where they are. Sell them what they buy, even if it's low-quality. Tell them this isn't necessarily the best way forward, but it's one option if they don't have the time or experience to do the real work. After they have bought, try to educate them and upsell them to more "serious" business products. "Sell them what they want, give them what they want, sneak in what they need."

3) Just focus on selling the "serious" product upfront, but try to find the people who have serious businesses. This would be great if it was doable (but I admit I have been having a hard time finding these people).

4) Something else.

What do you think?

I welcome all opinions, no matter if they are controversial, politically correct, or anything in between.

Let's have an intelligent discussion on this.

Thanks in advance!
#buy #lowquality #people #products #sell
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  • Profile picture of the author msulcs
    People are looking for easy money. That's just how it is.
    How you want to bank on it depends on you. You don't necessarily need to sell trash to make money. There are many great products who actually are worth the money.

    Either create them yourself or keep searching.

    If you don't feel comfortable selling shit to people, then don't do it! That's not a long-term business.
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  • Profile picture of the author GordonJ
    Originally Posted by perneali45 View Post

    [DISCLAIMER: I'm not passing any judgement whatsoever. I just want to have an intelligent discussion on the topic, and see what's the best way to handle this issue.]

    Hi guys - hope you're well!

    Lately, I have honestly tried to improve my products. But - the result was the opposite of what I expected.

    It seems people will buy what APPEARS to be "easy" and "fast"... (even though it doesn't work in the real world). At the same time, they appear to be reluctant to buy a more "serious" product if it requires more work on their part.
    rough analogy to illustrate the point (these aren't the type of products I sell, this is just for demonstration purposes):


    What do you think?

    I welcome all opinions, no matter if they are controversial, politically correct, or anything in between.

    Let's have an intelligent discussion on this.

    Thanks in advance!
    Several times, you wrote: seems "people will buy"

    But at issue, really, is your idea of 'PEOPLE' or your target market. It may have more to do with WHO you are targeting than with the what, be it easy or not.

    I see a lot of this in IM, and so many Warriors selling to the bottom of the tank crowd.

    I DON'T see this when people are BUYING Rolex watches, Mercedes, or even Cuban Cigars.

    Try aiming a bit higher, combining some of your better efforts, build a higher quality bundle of products and get away from the bottom feeders altogether. Just one opinion, anyhow.

    GordonJ

    PS Whenever you say "people are", you are using a very broad stroke of an idea of people, just like in your niches, go down deeper and target "people" who have the money and don't mind buying what they want. Much better crowd to work with.
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  • Profile picture of the author SARubin
    Yep, what Gordon said...

    If you want to catch prize winning Tuna... then you can't go fishing in the swamp that has nothing but bottom feeding catfish in it.

    If you want to sell higher priced, more sophisticated software... then you need to stop selling to the "get rich quick and easy" crowd.
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  • Profile picture of the author Princess Balestra
    Gotta figure low quality products don't advance nowan noplace.

    Any gal threw on a cheapo bra expectin' sweep-offa-feet miracles knows this is troo.

    So I would drop the crapola an' fling open the black hola wanna wanna.
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    Lightin' fuses is for blowin' stuff togethah.

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  • Profile picture of the author palmtreelife
    I don't see a problem with selling low quality products as long as the price is in line with the value of the product. There must be a margin to make profit and making a profit is fine. The scumbag alert comes with someone sells a low quality product for a high price and markets that product as a higher quality product than it really is.

    Look at dollar stores or Walmart. They aren't trying to tell you their products are the best. They are catering to a particular demographic and the owners do very well for themselves. (I know I used Walmart as an example, but please let's not get deeper into the Walmart business...it was just an example of selling lower quality products for lower prices)

    2) Meet people where they are. Sell them what they buy, even if it's low-quality. Tell them this isn't necessarily the best way forward, but it's one option if they don't have the time or experience to do the real work. After they have bought, try to educate them and upsell them to more "serious" business products. "Sell them what they want, give them what they want, sneak in what they need."
    I'm not a sales expert like Claude, but personally I enjoy this line of selling. Find out what the customer needs, solve their problems, make the sale and work on the upsell. Maintain the relationship so after they've used the lower quality product for a while, you can check in and solve problems you know exist with that product by upselling the better product.

    Remember though, money is not usually the primary objection. If you're already taking the time to educate them on the higher quality product, you could easily do that before they purchase the lower quality product. Explain to them you understand this is probably the product they want at the moment, but this bigger better product will be able to do this, this and this for just a little more money. It's a much better value.

    1) Sell what people buy, even if it's low-quality. Tell them what they want to hear, even if it's not the truth. This is business, and business is about making money. Keep doing this until getting banned by payment processors like Paypal or other regulatory agencies.
    I have a couple issues with this. If people are already buying "X" and you start selling "X" even though it's low quality, what is wrong with this? Telling them what they want to hear, even if it's not true is wrong, yes. That is NOT business though? If you keep doing that (telling lies), then sure you might run into problems, but not from a payment processor like Paypal? And no one is going to touch you for starting to sell something that people are already buying...it's HOW you sell to those people that makes the difference.
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