They're trying to get ppl to BUY NOW. Don't know if it works, never tried it and don't plan on it. If a product says, price will go up in 24 hours, I don't buy it, cause I feel I'm being deceived which of course nobody likes to feel deceived. I've seen sites that always say price is only good for today-going up tomorrow-but it says that everyday.

This tactic will be used for as long as the results are good. This sense of urgency seems to work most of the time, it may turn you off because you do IM for a living. The average consumer will usually give in and bite at the offer.

This tactic is trying to use Scarcity in an attempt to have you buy it now!

I am personally sick of the Scarcity tactic on info products. Scarcity works fine for a physical product, I mean if you only have 10 widgets left, and when they are gone, they are gone.

On the other hand, I can understand a limited time (day, week, month, etc) price offer or a OTO (one time offer), but page count down with 19:59 and the offer is gone forever. It will start working less and less as more people use the tactic.

It's like all gimmick methods, the more they are used, the less they work.

How about adding real VALUE (the corporate word of 2009 it seems) for the price you are charging. Try it, you'll like it or at least your customers will.

Haven't used it yet. Does it work i wonder??

I hate them also. I think all of us know it is BS. I also hate the WSO's that have one price for the first 10 then a different price for the next ten and so on.
I just move on with those too.

Jim

Or what about those websites that offer it once, then you click no thanks, then they offer it again at a lower price? Whats up with that? Are they that hard up?

I hate people that use this tactic. Most of them are scammers and are not thinking about repeat business. They learn this from those seminars. As you said, if you find a bargain today it should be available at that price the next day or next month. Maybe through someone else.

The bottom line is having a list of people who know you offer only good products, no BS, no scam and no urgency to buy. I would rather have a list of say 50 of those kind of people than one of 10,000 who are only there because their clickn finger missed the delete button.

The oft repeated claim that the money is in the list surely is not a come in spinner invitation to newbies to loose their shirt. We should respect and protect our would be clients so they will think and talk well about us and return often to see what we offer not shy away as though they are going to get burned. Isn't it better if they look forward to a newsletter or offer than scams showing up everywhere.

We all read the same spiels about how to compose an e-book in 3 easy lessons or get a software component to do it for us and then sell it for heaps of money even though the author might not know a thing about the subject. The only way the creators can sell most of them is by using these tactics - God help the newbies.

Norma

Using scarcity tactics, in any field, could come at a price. Whilst it may increase immediate sales in areas other than Internet Marketing, I feel it does not augur well if you are endeavoring to build up a long term relationship with the buyer.

This is particularly so when the same, or a similar product, is offered at a reduced price (or even for free) at a later date.

You know whats even more ridiculous? Those 10 minutes timers that say if you don't purchase now. It is just funny to see, because it just shows how desperate the seller is.

I say..."Don't change it if it's not broken."

The reason most copywriters use scare tactics and the reason most IMers want these scare tactics incorporated into their sales letter is because it works!

It's kind of like those close out sales at Macy's. You know they'll have another sales in a couple of months, but you still anticipate being their bright and early in the morning to get the first discount picks in your size.

I hate them also. I think all of us know it is BS. I also hate the WSO's that have one price for the first 10 then a different price for the next ten and so on.

I personally don't mind the tactic, but I hate it when the price doesn't really go up and the calendar count down just resets. Stupid. If you are promoting scarcity, stick by your guns.

That's the point. Its the very thing I am talking about. People who use these tactics to make some quick money are cheating themselves.

The difference with you Kevin is that people know you and the quality of your offers. That doesn't mean that we can all afford to buy your offers so we miss out big time when the price rises. Like with the Aussie dollar fluctuating as much as it is right now I can't sign up for anything that is a recurring charge because I don't know how much it will be in a month's time. Right now everything is one third dearer than in $US,

Enjoyed your Traffic Building course by the way but, as I said above, still going back to refresh on some points.

God bless

Norma

Most of the replies here are right. But the stategy of scarcity has been around even before the internet was a glint in some geeks eye.

Scarcity works - it is just that this stategy is known to you and you are jaded by the concept from over exposure. But most buyers dont read or thinkg about marketing the way you do.

Buyers are emotional and that is what the strategy is geared towards - but this now that will solve your problem. Buy buy it NOW, otherwise you may miss out and you will continue to experience the pain you feel.

But even though you are jaded, I am going to guess you still fall for this timeless strategy. Now you probably shouted... NO! But look around your house. Have you never bought ANYTHING on sale? Have you never thought ... thats a great buy, I had better get some before they sell out? Of course you have ....

Now scarcity can also be linked to quality. After all we all want to buy nice things don't we? Quality is implied quality and the value the buyer attaches to it. Do you honestly think that a $12000 Rolex is built 100 times better than a seiko for $120? After all $120 will buy you a very nice watch that will last for decades. But only few people (relatively speaking) buy Rolexes. Scarcity is used as a sign of wealth and influence, even if what they are buying is crap.

So yes, scarcity works. Just think like a buyer when using it instead of a jaded marketer.

Not always. When coaching is involved a person can only "hand-hold" so many people at a time. I've seen some people who did what you're saying and left a coaching program open to everyone - he got overwhelmed and many customers were very dissatisfied with the result. It's enough to destroy a person's name in the marketplace.

a wise man once said... there are no stupid questions

I beg to differ this is one thats plainly stupid... you know the answer Norma it works like gangbusters...

Its not just in IM its every where, in your local shops, newspapers department stores

buy one get one free
special sale offer buy one get one half price for as long as the offer runs etc etc

coupon codes, half price summer sale, look inside for a money back offer

the list goes on, if you dont like marketing go do something else and stop asking stupid questions

Robert

PS: I even slept on it before i answered this, i just knew it would be a controversal answer.

I thought you were going to say something else, Norma.

I'm always baffled when I see a "buy now or else" message that states the product is running out.

? What ? It's digital.

The only digital product that would "run out" are those that are best served if they are restricted to a certain distribution level, like secrets to getting past a particular roadblock in internet marketing - that would be severely useless if too many people knew about it.

Other than that, how does a digital product run out? It sits on your server, people buy, it gets downloaded. Once it's set up, there's nothing for you to do but keep the site and product active - which takes what? A $9 per year URL registration and perhaps $5 a month hosting? You don't even have to do any maintenance (except maybe if the site links fail or something) unless you just don't want the hassles of customer service when problems arise.

I quite understand the logic behind timing a sale. It's like going into Wallmart (I don't but many do) and hearing about a sale at the other end of the store that ends in 10 minutes. People stampede to get to the stall before the deadline.

All I would say is, at least make the countdown "sound" valid. Your product isn't likely to "run out". And if you're planning to increase the price, at least give a believable reason. ie: the obvious reason being that you want to test the market to see how well your product will do, without having to wait months for results. But to say you "can't hold the price much longer", why not? Are you desperate to cover the hosting fees?

Maybe you're only planning to spend a certain amount of time marketing this particular product and then will just shut it down. You have other, more exciting things in the offing. If that's the truth, it sounds much more valid.

If it's a new product, just let people know it's in the launch stage and therefore being offered at a lower "introductory" price - I think most people can grasps that concept much better than that you are somehow under pressure to raise the price. It only leaves questions. What will happen to YOU if you don't raise the price, and why should I care? Either you have a good product or you don't. If it's good, I cannot see any reason why you would feel pressured to increase the price, other than perhaps a spendthrift spouse.

Let's face it... in the end, it's all just lies, lies, lies!

Sylvia

PS: Gee, I sure hope people get my sense of humor!

Selling something based on scarcity is a viable strategy, selling it based on false scarcity can backfire and earn a reputation as a questionable seller. Kevin is right, if you say the price is going up... make it go up.

Deceptive sales techniques may work in the short term, but as an overall part of a sales strategy will usually result in damaging the reputation of the seller and the product.

It's just to create "urgency". Most people will not buy your product straight away if you do not create a sense of urgency on your sales page. Generally people tend to procrastinate, so creating that urgency makes some of them to take action.

I mean you can't be everything to everybody if you know what I mean. Some people will not like it, and some don't mind.

It's a scarcity tactic that creates urgency and it works. That's why people use it. To not use scarcity is like saying, "Sure, I don't mind making half the sales I could make."

You use what's proven to work and that's that.

Sometimes you just can't think of things with opinions because it'll kill your cash flow.

What an awefull feeling it would be if you find out, that the same product you bought for a certain amount, is being given away , by the same seller, at half the price, or worst - for FREE!. I've never experienced it yet,and i am doing evrything to avoid it. I think i could say im a good bargain hunter, and i also know when to buy a product at its regular price. With the recession going on, people are holding on more to their money.. so i think this tactic is slowly dying..:-)

When I introduced my product, I sold it to warriors at the lowest price ever. The wso ended and it went to its normal price. Many people have busy lives. They may intend to come back to your offer, but almost never do. Car salesmen know this, so does almost everyone in retail. Just because you know that people are almost guaranteed not to come back and induce them with a line to create a sense of urgency does not make you a bad person. Really, it doesn't.

TomG.

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There's all too many "jump on the bandwagon" types.

"If it works for them it will work for me."

The bottom line is different selling strategies work differently in different markets and with different products. (Like how many times I can use "different" in a sentence?) Applying a "blanket" strategy to "selling" is pure and simple ignorance.

That would be an interesting analogy of the problem except that the product was still there when you returned. In other words you had time to think about it and consult someone. I am talking about products that give you seconds to decide to spend on something you know nothing about and probably will never use even it it happened to be usable in the first place.
I don't get your point Brian. One's honesty shouldn't change even if the strategy does. If the product is worthwhile people will return to buy it. I mean I do.

I am about to buy a $300 product I have been pondering over for a few weeks. But the price hasn't gone up. There is no threat to withdraw it and frankly I can't wait to get it. Meanwhile I have been able to research it and even try out a similar product. Of course it is from a reputable company with whom I will probably do a lot more business.

Norma

The scarcity tactics used by many marketers and advertisers work, because they trigger a hard wired feeling that is part of our makeup. We want things that might not be available in the future.

It is one of 6 inbuilt triggers identified by Dr. Robert Cialdini, in his book "Influence - The power of Persuasion".

The Other triggers are:

Reciprocation - you're more likely to do something for someone who has done something for you first. This is why marketers "give away" stuff.

Committment/Consistency: You tend to act the same way you've done previously. The car salesman asks lots of innocent questions to which you say "yes". He's conditioning you to do the same when he puts the crunch on you to buy the car

Authority: We're more likely to follow/obey someone who appears to be in some sort of authority position. That's why people seek and revel in Guru status.

Social Proof: If others are buying/doing it, it must be OK. This is the reason for testimonials.

Liking/Friendship - We tend to support people like us. That's why sales pitches continually tell us that the person selling the product was once so poor that they ate coal, never had any money. Couldn't afford a decent car, lived in a hovel, yada, yada, yada. But they made good - and so there's a chance that all the other coal eaters who are the target market can make good too, if they buy this product.

If you haven't read Cialdini's book, do yourself a favour and do so. You'll never look at a promotion the same way again :-)
Cheers, Eric G.

Whenever I see this (which is quite often), I chalk it up to the blind following the blind with that same rehashed script!

I am a relative 'newbie' to affiliate, niche, article marketing, etc...however, I have been selling art online since 2004.
In the past few months, it became necessary to have a 'sale' on my art, in order to have income. This worked well, but it seemed I needed to run a 'sale' every other week in order to move my art.
Believing this to be connected to the economy, I decided not to raise prices back to normal, until the economy stabilized. At the same time, I also decided to remove the word 'sale' from my titles.
Sales plummeted. It didn't take me long to put 'sale' back in all of my titles, at which time, business picked right back up. I didn't believe this to be deceiving in any way, since the prices really were the 'sale' prices, whether stated as such or not.
I know this is a little different from what you are referrencing, however, I believe that folks may be 'conditioned' to react to words and phrases like; 'sale', 'limited time offer', ' x number left', 'one day only'.
Before I began to learn about the tactics and strategies used, in many of these "new to me" ventures in IM, I 'reacted' to these "sale" words and phrases, just as the marketer hoped I would. I honestly didn't know any better. And, I confess to being 'burnt' on more than one occasion.
Since learning these tactics and strategies, I do not make any 'impulse' purchases and I do 'check' out everything that is offered before I part with my hard earned dollars. And, I also 'check' out any affiliate program that I might be interested in marketing. If I find the program to have a number of complaints, or any 'issues' that I do not want to be connected with...I just move on.

I feel exactly the same - its really annoying

[DELETED]

That's so not true. Walmart never has plasma TVs 50% off.

i am pretty sure its working and there were certainly studies conducted confirming this. Its a very common marketing technique.

However, i refrain from such techniques myself.

Hi Norma,

You said:
>> I also am reluctant now to accept so-called free offers because they too are
>> usually tied to this kind of promotion.

Yeah, I agree. I mostly skip all the manifestos and blueprints and other freebie stuff now because I know that sure as night follows day, there'll be at least one OTO lurking behind that nice, free bait.

What really capped it all was a few months ago when I bought something or other for $1 and there were 3 or 4 OTOs in the follow-up. Once I did get to the $1 set of videos I'd signed up for, I found them to be dead basic stuff. Not bad, but not what I was expecting after reading the sales promo.

Since then I've gone nearly 100% off video products, since I can read and input information about twice as fast as a narrator can speak. I've seen darn few videos worth the time to sit through them.

As another person remarked, we're kind of jaded because we've seen all the tricks over and over again. But still... just because I don't like a marketing tactic personally, it doesn't mean I won't use it if the tactic seems appropriate and effective.

Except for those silly countdown timers that don't change anything. Wouldn't touch one of those with a ten foot polecat.

Cheers from warm and smiling Thailand,
Charles

I've been using a slightly different strategy by not saying offer ends at x but by saying I guarantee the discounted price through x.

This way it's not a threat and they shouldn't feel deceived. I'm not saying the price WILL change at x but it's within the realm of possibilities.

Sometimes there's more in what you don't say than what you do.

The best is when they say the price will go up, but then it actually goes down the further you go, and then if you signup for the newsletter or whatever it continues to go down down down lol

Classic sales behaviour, for some people it works, for some it doesnt. It does turn me off completely though.

It does add urgency and encourages people to "buy now" ("just in case the offer does go up")

I however try not to use these tactics (of price raising) anymore as if I find a product I am selling is going off the shelves at $20 I'm not going to want to price people out of it by putting the price up to $40,$67 or $150. JUST because it's selling well at $20.

HOWEVER, I do find it important to let people know if plan to remove the opportunity further down the line. Which lets those who DO buy the product that it is 1 of a limited amount (therefore increasing the chances of a sale - no one wants to miss out) AND lets those who are on the fence or are thinking of buying it later that they may not have the chance later on (ie. it encourages them to make the "bold" step of making payment)

I'm all for "tactics", there is nothing wrong with them.

Some work, others don't.

Some are clever and well thought out, others are cheap/cheesy/old.

Daniel

PS. Don't you just hate those countdowns that unbelievably only have 19 mins and 59 seconds before the offer ends when you first arrive at the sales page... only for you to still be able to buy it after the countdown ends. rubbish.

Its interesting the responses to this question. It appears that most don't like it and won't use it and yet it still goes around.

Over the last couple of days I have been shopping at the local Mall. I needed to stock up on some winter things and was stunned when the price at the checkout was reduced substantially. I did not go to these stores because they have sales on, in fact I have no knowledge of the sales as I don't watch commercials and don't get any junk mail.

The point is that when I want something I go and buy it and am not worried by the price. That has its advantages as I am not addicted to the words SALE or BARGAIN and so save myself a lot of money by not buying all the junk on offer.

How many stack their cupboards and closets with hoards of stuff bought at sales and never wear or use them? Its the same thing with IM. Yes, it works because these are trigger words that are irresistible to many but after a time even the most addicted shopaholic will wake up.

I still like to promote honestly and if I reduce the price then it is for good reasons, with no offense meant to anyone else who does otherwise.

Norma

It really depends how it is being used. If its using fake scarcity, its a lowball tactic.
It DOES work. And making your product somewhat exclusive is a good idea.
It works very well for high priced products. Such as Ryan D's continuity blueprint. Took a few days to sell out 500, but he did. If he hadn't put a limit on them, I doubt he would have gotten anywhere near that number.
And somehow I think they have tested to that effect at some point.
One thing the big boys aren't, and thats stupid.
But like I said, using it and in effect lying, will only get the person a bad rep.

Good point Daniel. How do people then lower the price again to include all those they have excluded by the price rise. There was a great television show years ago called Osin. It was about the art of marketing as much as anything else. In poverty stricken post war Japan Osin became very rich by selling product below the normal retail value. She was always there peddling her wares, upfront and honest. She built up a huge customer base and drove her competitors out of business.

That's what you also see in retail where stores drive competitors out of business by selling cheaper and, therefore, more product.

Its a case of 100x$20 or 1x$100 and I know what I would rather have, especially when there are no production costs.

Norma

I think it depends on the person if it works or not. I for example are always annoyed by these messages. Other people might think they miss ou ton something though.

People will copy over and over what they believe works. And maybe for some it works, but for how long? And is it more effective than just offering good value?

Seriously I use a junk email for nearly all my list opt ins. I get one email... then the next then the next... over and over. From the supposed experts to the wannabee copy cats. And the "Experts" are merely better copywriters. And by the time the 4th or 5th offer for the same pitch comes along the plagiarism is rampant to the point of being funny.

Most of the time my upsale will tell you that you can come back tomorrow and more than likely still find the offer .

But I do warn that only a certain number will be sold with this promotion.

I build a list with free offers . Most offers have a shelf life . By the time I have sold 250, 500, or whatever the predetermined number is for the upsale , it is time to move on to a different offer .

With the new freebie comes a new upsale . I never get rid of an upsale page but I do password protect it as soon as the number of sales reaches the predetermined number or a particular promotion quits drawing in the desired number of opt ins per day .

The main thing is if you say I am only selling 250 of these in this promotion , at 250 they come off the market . I can't stand those pages that have been up for 3 years and only have 11 copies left every time you log on to the site .

Last but not least , there are times that I am trying to create a buzz for a new product and say I will only let 25 go for this price. I have actually given people their money back and let them keep the product because I did not close the sales page quick enough.

This let people know that if I say something it happens . If I tell my list a certain product is limited they know that if they don't get it when they first see it that it will not be there when I say I am taking it down.

You know,

It's hard to believe that the scarcity proponent authors forgot one simple thing about the subject -

If I don't have the result you're product is promising, IT'S ALREADY SCARCE IN MY LIFE. If I'm hungry and it's dinner time, no restaurant I go to has to convince me to buy it by telling me how few steaks they have. In fact, if they did that, I'd leave, because apparently they don't know how to run a business. (Not making this a metaphor for the IM community - just steakhouses, natch!)

I've bought so many IM products that, looking back, I can't say that I've ever bought one because of the scarcity item. I've usually made my decision by the time I get half way down the page, way before the true or deceptive scarcity tactic even is visible on my monitor.

The problem with the pure theory aspect of the 6-steps of persuasion, is that it implies you have to consciously apply them. But think about it - if the thing you provide for someone wasn't already SCARCE in their life, they wouldn't have ended up on your sales page in the first place.

And you know, now that I look back on the ones that I didn't buy (I have 40+ IM products, probably a dozen WSO's), I think if I wasn't sure, the scarcity thing made me decide no.

I'm not saying that my model is what others use, so please don't reply with how fine you're doing already - just keep doing what you're doing.

The point of this is to question the theoretical NEED for it. Like I said, all of my purchasing decisions are usually made after reading less than half of the content. And if I've decided against it, it doesn't matter - no scarcity tactic is going to change that.

I'm sure many people act this way over TV's at Walmart, too.

"Triggers" by Joe Sugarman
Chapter 19 Sense of Urgency

"There is no excuse for not at least considering a sense of urgency in every presentation you make."

This is no different than popups, fake date scripts and countdowns, exit pops, long sales copy and everything else people say they hate. It all works whether you like it or not.

PS: So you guys are saying you'd never buy a rug from Rosco?

YouTube - Almost Live - Roscoe's Rug Emporium Featuring Pat Cashman

[DELETED]

I agree with you, Norma. If the product is good, why should all the sleeze be necessary? Why not be upfront and honest with people? I am personally turned of by these tactics. I have never used them and never will--I don't care whether they work or not.

I really love your topic, like you said, people do what they have learned, and they trust that what they learned was taught by someone that knows.

I am not sure if you follow "so you think you can dance" but there were several "dance instructors" that were simply aweful, and they get paid to teach.

John Delavera is coming up with a new way of doing things, It is called the Delaverian Marketing Method, and it is going to change everything in the Internet Marketing arena.

I know you might not have heard of John, but trust me, you have heard of several of the people that used his ideas to make it big.

There will be no more need to resort to shady tactics, and the net will start to have quality again.

I for one can tell you, it is a long wait for something like this to happen.

Any way, that is my humble opinion.

This approach is usually working when you launch a new hot product and you have a lower price for the first 2weeks to get people buy ASAP and then you change it to the actual price.

Let's put it this way. What's more powerful - a doctor saying you have 10 days to live or a doctor saying you're going to die soon.

If it's just soon, you'll probably just wait around. But there's something about 10 days that will actually get you into action.

I think the bigger issue to deal with is a fear of sales that you have here. Does Donald Trump have a problem with selling? No. Is he a bad person for that? No. It's all your mindset to sales.

If you think your product is really good then you darn well need to do everything possible to get it in the hands of people. If you had a product that you 100% believed that was going to change the way someone lived their life, you would use every tactic imaginable.

Sure you could give it away for free but you would denying yourself a living. If you can't feed your children, that's child abuse and neglect. So what's it going to be - getting over a fear of sales or doing what it takes to help people?

I haven't read everything in this thread.

The idea that using urgency is unethical is laughable.

The idea that it's done poorly at times -- THAT I can believe.

As people have pointed out -- "sales" to sell inventory happen all the time.

So, let's see.

If I "need" to make $10,000 off a product I created -- there is something called the "time value" of money. If it takes me 10 days to come up with the money rather than 20 days -- then why shouldn't I benefit the buyers by encouraging them to buy.

I benefit, not because the product is worth less, but because TIME IS VALUABLE.

Norma, the fact is -- most people DO NOT return. You are an exception.

And there are tons of reasons for why people don't usually return.

I'll give discounts -- AND bonuses -- to incentivize a sale.

If I've spent 30 minutes interacting with a copywriting client, if that person doesn't hire me -- then I've lost the 30 minutes. So it can be worthwhile for me to add a little urgency to their decision-making process. It's not going to work for a product that someone isn't already considering, right?

The fact is, MOST PEOPLE live their lives in indecision. I can't think that helping people to (stop wasting time?) and make a decision is reprehensible. It's not.

And, whoever mentioned Cialdini -- Cialdini has to be one of the most oft-recommended books to marketers. It's an awesome book (books) -- and well worth the less than $20 it will cost you at Amazon.

I also recommend "Made To Stick" -- even if they do think copywriters are the scum of the earth. (They had some somewhat uncomplimentary things to say about copywriting legend John Caples...)

Live JoyFully!

Judy Kettenhofen, Profit Strategist/Copywriter
NextDay Copy

Now that I think more about my answer, I realize that you actually are making the assumption that every scarcity tactic is connected with a poor product. I think that's a little bit of faulty logic there, wouldn't you?

I don't mean to be confrontational - trust me. I have done a lot of soul work and have actually put a spiritual product in the market that I TRULY believe in - it was the product that helped me lose and keep off over 50 pounds no problem. I think it's a high quality product that can actually make a change in peoples' lives. And you know what, I'll use scarcity tactics if it's going to help.

Would I do it if I didn't believe in my product? No. But that's a whole different story. But I think there's been so much hating in this thread that the logic has gotten a bit out of control here.

Scarcity tactics are not a sign of a bad product. Scarcity tactics are a sales technique. A great product can use a scarcity tactic just like an awful product.

So the real issue is "Why do some marketers allow themselves to put junk products in the market place and make people believe that it's the next best thing?"

[DELETED]

If I go to a hotel and hire a room I don't expect it to consist of a bed in a bathtub with no window or other facilities. I expect to get what I paid for and what I expected to receive. That means that the onus is on the seller not the buyer.

When things are sold sight unseen then they must stand up to expectations otherwise it is cheating and while there are no Internet police if enough people complain there might soon well be.
Already some governments, such as the Australian one, is threatening censorship. That means that cheats will spoil it for everyone so it is not a silly argument. Its about preserving what we all love for the future.

God bless

Norma

Wow, I almost missed this great point. Unfortunately the tactic is so wide spread that web masters of sites I use regularly frequently put it up before you can log in. They tend to marry it with their normal message and it can be very confusing.

Do you click to see what the offer is about or do you press the 'no thanks' button. If its someone you trust you can really be sucked in and then not trust them anymore. Well, at least that's how I feel.

Norma

I think it too depends on "what" they are offering. I've been doing this IM stuff for 12 years now. Here's how I perceive it...

"IF" its a service and there's a REASON for the limit, then yeah, it should be stated. (I made this mistake in one of my own sales letters last week <gasp> - stated there was only 50 available at the top level, but forgot to explain why. It was brought to my attention by an associate and I quickly fixed it, *explaining* that I can't do "hands on help" for everyone - and that's why its limited to 50 for that level.

If a person honestly removes it from ever being sold again, then yes, I agree. John Reese did that a few years ago with his Traffic Secrets (1)... I can't remember if he offered it again eventually or not. (My mind is niggling that he re-introduced it temporariliy for either those that were returned OR as a bonus somewhere, but don't quote me on that).

I learned a long time ago not to bite on a lot of that stuff unless you truly know its going to be gone. Yeah, it's frustrating to see that its "gone" and then see it pop up as these bonuses.

These are sales tactics... its fear of loss - it works, otherwise they wouldn't do it. But frankly sometimes I think that it does devalue the product when its suddenly given away as a bonus to another launch. (Then from there if you haven't noticed, that particular bonus seems to pop up everywhere for another batch of launches).

As for the price rising... yeah, in the example above - if its a set time limit (i.e., a launch price then it goes up ONCE after x days) I can understand. A lot of people don't like this though (both from reading posts and my own surveys).

But to have the price rise constantly is annoying.

I did a survey of my members/subscribers about this exact matter a year or so ago when that tactic was really big. (I think it's eased "a little" on the 'upping the price every few days').

Anyway, I asked "When you see a "limited" offer, what do you LEAST like?"

Absolute overall majority said when they raise the price every few days...
and the second was they only cared how long it was (really) available for.

The concept on some of these tactics, is exactly the same as a "firesale" - except they're no longer called that.

You know, this special offer available for x days or till sold out, or price goes up every few days.

Frankly these are the big reasons why I rarely do JV's anymore, because its like everyone and their brother is emailing you with their "big" bonus that you can only get through their affiliate links (and the next one is bigger... and of course delete your cookies so you properly get credit etc etc)...

Tactics some like, others don't. I can't be bothered, nor would I want to lose my own subscribers for hitting them with the same launches everyone else does.

Have you guys ever gone to the CNE (Canadian national exhibition) or something like it?

I am starting to feel like some of these launches are feeling like going there...

"Buy this here now, you won't get it cheaper"... "buy this from me and not elsewhere and I'll throw in this bonus"....

and then if you wait till just a few days (or even the last day of the cne LOL) - everyone's practically giving the products away because they don't want to take them home.

LOL.

I'll shut up now... I could rant on these things for hours too Norma (and others!)

Point 1. About constantly rising price. Notice how there are not timers now raising the price every few minutes. This was so off-putting. Like if you were the first, or supposedly so, you could have had it for $5 but because you see it late the price is now $15. Who wants it or needs it. You see the clock ticking and wonder about how high it will go. Well I think it has gone, and hopefully for good.

Point 2 Ethical selling. People are sadly drawn into the IM sphere on the promise that they will make it big with little work and easy to learn knowledge. Nothing could be further from the truth. Triggers that stir them into action are 'amazing', 'free', 'work at home', 'million', 'best product', and so on. I won't list any more because the list is too long.

Other triggers are 'first time', 'buy now', 'you'll never see this offer again - ever', and so on. It becomes a science to know how to act on the emotions and make people respond with money.

Years ago someone published the list and let it go for free to anyone who wanted it. Now I see those same words being used over and over, in many instance by people who have been just five minutes into IM. The point is they rise to the level of need and greed rather than of a student in a new field with a long way to go before they truly know what they are talking about.

Since I first came onto the Internet mid 1990's I have seen it all and it appalls me to see what has happened to ethics over that time. By the same token the progress in technology is amazing and I for one can't keep up with it.

Many have offered me the opportunity to JV with them and to market their products but something within me stops me from doing it. Why? Probably because I have seen it all before and do not want my name associated with something that has not been proven to be worth the price asked or even whether it has any real value when measured against all else out there.

God bless

Norma

This is a scarcity tactic... and works on a large percent of the population because of just psychology.

The main purpose is to ACT NOW!

For most IMer's I'll admit I never see the price go up, its just a tactic trying to raise conversions. granted it doesnt work on everyone (like you). But it works on enough people to become a viable piece of someone's salespage.

Cheers,
Nick

Have you ever thought about a product, seriously considered buying it... even hit the
order button and stared at the order form?

Then, maybe you've pressed the back button, thought more, hesitated, asked yourself
whether you needed it, gone off to get some food or feed the cat or do something
else... and then you get distracted with other stuff in life and...

... eventually, you don't buy?

If so, there's the reason scarcity tactics are used.

They are there to get you to BUY NOW.

It is an attempt to reduce your hesitation, your procrastination, and the almost
inevitable fact (at least in some cases) that if you don't buy there and then, you
probably never will.

Of course, that's not always true. Some purchases really do need a lot of
consideration. Like if you're going to buy a house.

But for smaller purchases, the decision to buy is often made at the peak of their
desire. That's when they want you to buy. If you go away and think about it, you may
talk yourself out of buying.

[DELETED]

Are you implying that because I will never buy the product that this justifies over inflating it, over charging for it and pushing my emotions to the limit to force me to buy it? That argument does not hold water.

The fact is I was never going to buy it so what's it all about? I'll tell you!

Its about pushing people who have not yet worked out who knows what they are talking about into products from novices who are only out to make a killing. When the real champs offer products you know it.

One of my champions is Big Mike. He offers amazing products that do incredible things for peanuts. He is what I would call the $7 guy and I usually buy up most of what he is selling simply because I have learned that he really does know what he is talking about. He is a great software producer and he is not out to screw everyone.

Norma

The bottom line is GIVING value for money not TAKING because you can skim money off without giving value in return. I don't hear Big Mike screaming about poverty. He offers genuine value and people love and respect him for it. he probably has thousands on his mailing list and if it is not costing him any more to sell 10,000 of the same product than it does to sell 50 then why would he want to put the price up. Like $70,000 plus (and that's just for one product) based on these figures is a lot of money. If he offers 5 products or even 10 and people buy them up then he is making what most people would dearly love to be making.

The point is not to cut your path off to the big money by trying to get it all in a few minutes of starting your business. I hope you get the point now Paul.

God bless

Norma