Preaching and Selling: Make Them Believe

When it comes to online shopping, especially with internet auctions like eBay, you’ve probably noticed the differences in pricing and how some sellers are just able to sell anything at any price despite lower-priced competition. How do they do it? Perhaps it’s simply a great reputation, or a simple preference for buying from a particular seller.

But there is more to it than that. Something many sellers fail to realize is the role that marketing plays, even on eBay. One very effective marketing tactic is tapping into a buyer’s emotions by offering them a great deal… or leading them to believe that they are getting a great deal.

We can get a better idea of how giving somebody even a chance at a great bargain can improve your odds of making a sale with the following real-life example.

A retail store manager received an order for ski jackets. However, one of them had a long cut in it, the result of being slashed by a zealous employee when cutting open the box it was shipped in. All other ski jackets were in perfect condition. Knowing he’d be unable to sell the jacket in his store, the manager decided to list it on eBay. As a test, the manager also decided to put an undamaged jacket up at the same time.

Both jackets were listed at roughly the same time, the same day, the same length of time, and under the same account. The only difference between the two listings was that the damaged jacket was listed with an opening bid of $0.99 while the undamaged one was listed for $75.

By the time the end of the auctions came around, the store manager was surprised to find that the auction which opened for less than a dollar ended at $72 with over a dozen bids while the other received very few page views and only one bid. The manager was perplexed at this turn of events. Why would the damaged jacket received far more interest and sell for nearly the same price as the undamaged one?

It has to do with the low starting price and planting the thought that there was a great deal to be had. Even after several bids had been placed, the price was slow in rising and therefore continuing to attract deal seekers. By the time the price was out of the “good deal” range, those who already placed a bid had already invested time in hoping to get the jacket at a great deal, and continued hoping to win the item even after the “good deal” was no longer available.

As you can see, there is some serious power in getting a buyer emotionally invested in your product or service. People buy as much for “want” as they do for “need.

Stuart Lisonbee is Search Marketing Manager at Doba, bringing wholesale dropshippers and retailers together and providing universal access to over 300 wholesale suppliers offering more than 1.4 million products ready for dropshipping direct to the end customer.