Consumer Gullibility

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CROCKD
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Consumer Gullibility

Post by CROCKD »

A recent experience made me more cynical than ever about the average consumer. I concluded that the average consumer is either apathetic, lazy, gullible, uninformed or all of the above.

The incident involved the give away of a free razor on a street corner as part of marketing promotion. A pretty trite example you say. But consider this.

PRINTERS: Ink jet printers have been sold at very low prices. The GOTCHA factor arrives when it comes time to buy a replacement cartridge which are expensive. Canon cartridges typically cost $48. When I owned an ink jet printer I got around this by finding a stand in the local mall that refilled them for $20.

CELL PHONES: Companies often provide free phones or more upscale models at cheap prices as long as you sign on the dotted line for a contract of X years duration at $Y per month.

ALARM SYSTEMS: Sign a contract for X years at $Y per month and we'll give you a system with free installation.

GILLETT FUSION RAZOR: A few years ago my barber gave me a free razor. It worked well but of course when it came time to replace the cartridge I found they were very expensive causing me to evaluate my alternatives. The razor is still sitting in the cupboard without further use.
Big deal you say it's just a razor. Well if you have been paying attention when watching TV over the last few years, you will have seen a lot of commercials extolling the virtues of this razor. These have typically featured Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and other top sportsmen sometimes together. Gillette has spent big advertising bucks promoting this shaving system - so draw your own conclusions about profitability.

SCHICK HYDRO RAZOR: This has provided the catalyst for my rant. The razor has worked well but as it is now time to replace the cartridge I investigated their cost at my local SDM. As I suspected they are expensive even with the coupon included with the give away.
Schick have obviously concluded that they too should be on the expensive replacement bandwagon.


Nothing is ever really free! Hence my conclusion about gullible consumers
" A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it is written on " Samuel Goldwyn
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by Shakespeare »

Nothing new about the approach - Polaroid would practically give you the camera and soak you on the film.

The other thing to look for is small upgrades that are inordinately expensive. Car manufactures are good at this - $2 worth of parts to make a variable-speed wiper for an extra $200.

The cheapest alternative is often to buy the cheapest combo available and throw it out when it is no longer usable.
Sic transit gloria mundi. Tuesday is usually worse. - Robert A. Heinlein, Starman Jones
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Nemo2
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by Nemo2 »

Shakespeare wrote:Nothing new about the approach - Polaroid would practically give you the camera and soak you on the film.
And Nifty Louie Fomorowski offered Frankie Machine a 'free' fix.

"Sure, I'll be around."
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

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CROCKD wrote:GILLETT FUSION RAZOR: A few years ago my barber gave me a free razor. It worked well but of course when it came time to replace the cartridge I found they were very expensive causing me to evaluate my alternatives. The razor is still sitting in the cupboard without further use.
What was your alternative?
I have been tearing hair out of my face for too many years. It seems you get what you pay for. The Gillette product is the best I have found. I buy the blades at Costco once a year.
"And the days that I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, well, I have really good days" RW Hubbard
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

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Shakespeare wrote:The other thing to look for is small upgrades that are inordinately expensive.
Retailers play a similar game. Crappy Tyre is a master at this. They'll have the lowest model on sale at a good price. When you get to the store you find models with more features that cost considerably more and that aren't on sale. They're hoping you'll want some feature that's not on the basic model and thus buy a higher model at full regular price.

Other examples of consumer gullibility:
• Most people assume that the largest ("club") size of some packaged food is the best deal. But often when a smaller size is on sale its unit cost is not only lower, but you don't have to buy a lifetime supply to get the best price.
• Fast food joints offer "meal deals" that are just slightly cheaper than buying the burger, fries and soft drink individually. They're hoping that even if you went in to get just a burger and fries you'll go for the "deal." Their incremental cost of the soft drink is next to nothing so they still make more profit on the combo than on just burger and fries.
deaddog wrote:What was your alternative? I have been tearing hair out of my face for too many years.
Grow a beard. Beard trimmers are cheap and last for years. They cause far less irritation than a razor blade. Plus you only need to use the trimmer once or twice a week.
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by deaddog »

Bylo Selhi wrote:Grow a beard. Beard trimmers are cheap and last for years. They cause far less irritation than a razor blade. Plus you only need to use the trimmer once or twice a week.
I can't think of anything more irritable than having a beard in the summer. :)
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

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deaddog wrote:I can't think of anything more irritable than having a beard in the summer. :)
Schistosomiasis :lol:
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by deaddog »

Nemo2 wrote:
deaddog wrote:I can't think of anything more irritable than having a beard in the summer. :)
Schistosomiasis :lol:
Right :thumbsup:
Theres also my ex wife :lol:
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by Rickson9 »

For diabetics. "Free" meter with a purchase of test strips. My wife sold this to pharmacists like they were going out of style and the pharmacists pushed them to patients.

Pharmacists got paid per meter by big pharma to push specific brands and the consumer "purchased" a box of test strips which were covered by Ontario Drug Benefit. Some patients had a bunch of meters just to get "free" test strips. The amount of money flying around was massive.

Ontario healthcare at work.

GG
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by optionable68 »

What about all the $99.99 type advertising?

What about the "up to xx% off" gimmick?

What about the "5 easy payments of $39.99" trick?

What about the brand new downtown Toronto condos "starting at $499,999 and up to 2,500 sq feet" fiasco?
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by Yukon Maiden »

^oh yeah. I remember seeing a huge billboard selling a new subdivision that screamed "starting at $179,900". Wow! So cheap! Turns out there was exactly one house at that price, smallest house ever, and already pre-sold to the builder's BROTHER. :roll:
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by deaddog »

But wait there’s more!!!
If you order in the next ten minutes we’ll double the order, just pay extra shipping and handling!! :roll: :roll:
"And the days that I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, well, I have really good days" RW Hubbard
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by newguy »

What about "me love you long time"? :lol:

newguy
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by Bylo Selhi »

deaddog wrote:But wait there’s more!!!
Or conversely, "Quantities are limited so only two [genuine 99.9999% pure gold plated] coins per caller."
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by Brix »

optionable68 wrote:What about the "up to xx% off" gimmick?
Lacks imagination.

Better: "up to 70%off and MORE!" I.e., 70% off two or three items plus some streamers hung from the light fixtures.
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by IdOp »

And don't forget the extended warranty, can't live without that peace of mind. :lol:
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by Rickson9 »

optionable68 wrote:What about all the $99.99 type advertising?

What about the "up to xx% off" gimmick?

What about the "5 easy payments of $39.99" trick?

What about the brand new downtown Toronto condos "starting at $499,999 and up to 2,500 sq feet" fiasco?
"Invite-only" Google+

"Zero-to-60 and 600 horsepower" to appeal to those who can't manage their ego.
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by Bylo Selhi »

Rickson9 wrote:"Invite-only" Google+
How exactly is that to the consumer's detriment considering that both the invites and the service itself are free?

If you're looking for examples of consumer gullibility, check out the people who pay for G+ invites on eBay.
"Zero-to-60 and 600 horsepower" to appeal to those who can't manage their ego.
Or the variant, "You can lose your driver's license without leaving 1st gear." :twisted:
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by ig17 »

Anti stain waterproofing treatment of your new upholstered furniture. Furniture stores sell it for $50 or more. You can buy a spay can of the same stuff for $5 or less.
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

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ig17 wrote:Anti stain waterproofing treatment of your new upholstered furniture. Furniture stores sell it for $50 or more. You can buy a spay can of the same stuff for $5 or less.
Yabbut....ya gotta factor in labor. :wink:
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by Rickson9 »

Bylo Selhi wrote:
Rickson9 wrote:"Invite-only" Google+
How exactly is that to the consumer's detriment considering that both the invites and the service itself are free?
"Invitation-only" is just a common technique used in various industries to garner above average demand. That's all.
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by Bylo Selhi »

So is "free."
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

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And 'exclusive'.
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

Post by Rickson9 »

Bylo Selhi wrote:So is "free."
True. However, Google+ may have thought that they needed "invitation-only" in order to garner some traction against FB. The tactic also worked well when they launched Gmail since both social networks and email are assumed by the internet community to be intuitively "free". I have no evidence to support this opinion.
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Re: Consumer Gullibility

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A "private club" in our neighbourhood provides gym equipment, a small swimming pool, tennis/squash courts, an old skating rink, a restaurant and meeting rooms for a one time payment of $30,000 per person plus ~$2500/year fees. You also must spend a certain unknown amount at the restaurant/year.

But wait, you can't just join. It is an exclusive club and you must wait on a list for some unknown number of years and eventually you hope that the board will approve to let you on to the next list. On the second list, you can let your kids use the facility, but you still can't until you become a full member which usually takes more years. To get on the first list you have to submit an application complete with occupation and references from existing members. Some have waited in excess of 10 years before making it to the second list. I'm not making this up.

Yet within a 2km radius, there are larger, newer, less crowded, and better facilities in every direction with all the same stuff under one roof which can be had for ~$1000 for a yearly membership for an entire family and $600 for a single adult.
Last edited by couponstrip on 13 Jul 2011 13:30, edited 1 time in total.
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