Something given has no value is an oft quoted saying, but is it true?
I am not including illegal activities in this post, something taken in this instance is theft. I always find it strange that some people view mp3/videoes/software/ebooks as being fair game just because it is digital and not tangible.
No, I am talking about giving something from a website, and is there any value for the giver or the recipient?
In experiments, it has been found that on the whole, people would rather receive a gift free, than pay for a slightly better gift, or given an option of a $17 per month membership against a $147 lifetime membership, many people will take the monthly option because that is the cheaper NOW.
A behavioural economist ran an experiment involving children and chocolate bars. Firstly he gave them all three Hershey kisses.
He then held up two Snickers bars, a small one and a large one, and offered a trade with the children. One Kiss for the small bar, and two for the large bar. Most of them made the trade for the large Snickers bar.
He then changed tactics, and offered the children the small Snickers bar for free, or the large one for one Kiss. Most of the children went for the small bar of Snickers, which had no trade value, even though, logically the trade for the large Snickers would have meant, overall more chocolate.
Another example would be mobile phones on contract. For many people the lure of a small monthly cost to own the latest Smartphone is almost irresistible, yet for some, the cost of buying the phone, and using on Pay As You Go would be cheaper overall.
Does this mean, that if we offer someone something in return for their visit, or offer them something better in return for their email address. they are more likely to take the gift offered for their visit, because it has no implied cost, even though the optin gift is far better ‘value’.
What do you think, is the perceived value of any importance or is ‘Free’ the overall deciding factor?
JVZoo Product Feed
