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  • 3 weeks ago
Why a $90 Book Made Everyone Buy the $40 One


In this video, we explore a fascinating scenario from a crowded "book store" where many browse but few buy. It highlights a critical aspect of "price psychology" and how a simple adjustment in pricing can drastically alter customer perception and drive sales. This insight offers valuable "business tips" on how to effectively "how to price a product" and influence consumer behavior, challenging the conventional wisdom that lower prices always mean more sales.

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📚
Learning
Transcript
00:00A self-made millionaire once visited a crowded bookstore in a busy mall.
00:03Every table was full of people flipping through books,
00:06but surprisingly very few customers were actually buying anything.
00:09Curious, the millionaire walked up to the store owner and asked,
00:12your shop is full, why are sales so slow?
00:14The owner sighed and said, people come, they browse, they read a few pages,
00:19but most of them leave without buying.
00:21Only a few picked the cheapest books.
00:23The millionaire walked around the store quietly, studying the shelves.
00:26On one rack he noticed three popular business books priced at $10,
00:30$25, and $40.
00:32Almost every customer was picking the $10 book.
00:34He smiled and called the owner over.
00:36Your problem is in the books, he said.
00:38Your problem is how people are comparing them.
00:40The owner frowned.
00:41What do you mean?
00:42The millionaire grabbed a marker and a small display card.
00:45Right now customers compare $10 versus $40.
00:47The gap feels huge.
00:49Their brain instantly says, save money.
00:51So they grabbed the $10 one.
00:53The owner nodded slowly.
00:54That made sense.
00:56Then the millionaire said something strange.
00:57Tomorrow, add a special edition version of the $40 book.
01:01And price it at $90.
01:03The owner almost laughed.
01:05$90 for a book?
01:06No one will buy it.
01:08The millionaire smiled.
01:09Exactly.
01:10No one is supposed to buy it.
01:11The owner looked confused.
01:13Then why add it?
01:14The millionaire explained.
01:15When people walk to the shelf tomorrow, they won't compare $10 versus $40 anymore.
01:20He rewrote the prices on the display card.
01:22$10, $40, $90.
01:25Now their brain makes a different comparison.
01:27He said.
01:28They look at $40 versus $90.
01:30Suddenly the $40 book doesn't feel expensive anymore.
01:32It feels like the reasonable option.
01:34Customers start thinking.
01:35For less than half the price.
01:37I still get a great book.
01:38In their mind they feel like they made a smart financial decision.
01:41The owner was skeptical but decided to try it.
01:43The next week, the millionaire returned to the bookstore.
01:46The owner ran up to him with a huge smile.
01:48You won't believe what happened.
01:50He said.
01:51Almost nobody buys a $10 book anymore.
01:53Most customers are choosing the $40 one.
01:55What's crazy is.
01:57No one has bought the $90 book.
01:59Not a single copy.
02:00The millionaire nodded calmly.
02:02That's because the $90 book was never meant to sell.
02:04It was meant to change how the other book looked.
02:06He looked around the store and added one final lesson.
02:09People don't decide value by logic.
02:11They decide value by comparison.
02:13If you control what people compare, you control what they choose.
02:17And that's a secret most businesses never understand.
02:19They think success comes from lowering prices.
02:22But the smartest businesses know something different.
02:24It comes from designing the choices people see.
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