On the creation of the illusion of scarcity

One of the most common tricks in marketing is the creation of an illusion of scarcity. There’s been countless studies done to “prove”* this, however when you experience it in real life you have to stop and marvel at the simplicity of the concept.

My experience today was in trying to get a Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter.

When I first got my new MacBook Pro I thought that paying that amount of money for the ability to plug in a monitor was a bit excessive. I could do without one. I won’t bother. Done. Sorted. Ok.

However a couple of weeks back I decided I should get one. It’s a pretty awesome laptop, and deserves the ability of being plugged into an external display on occasion. So I went to NZ’s equivalent of a Mac Store, only to find they didn’t have any of those adapters in stock. Wow, if the Mac Store doesn’t then maybe there’s a shortage! I thought they’d be pretty easily available, but I guess not. Skip a couple of days to today and I find myself in town with 30 mins to kill, so I go check a couple more stores only to find that they also have every adapter except the Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter.

Right then is when I experienced the scarcity principle in full effect. I could have walked into any store right then and there and paid pretty much any price for one of those adapters, and not thought twice about it – in fact I’d have been thankful to have one. Compared to my initial reaction of feeling that being forced to pay money for a piece of plastic adapter was akin to blackmail, that’s one hell of a shift in thinking.

The late and great Bill Hicks had a thing or two to say about marketing and marketers, and if you’re a fan I’ll pause so you can insert one of his quotes right about here.

* Actual mileage of proof may vary. Definition of proof may differ in your state/county/republic. Read instructions for further cautions. Actual definition of the term proof does not in any way increase or decrease the level of proof offered by the actual evidence or hearsay which shall be referred to as proof henceforth. Etc.

 Print | Posted on Thursday, January 28, 2010 9:44 PM |