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There definitely is a difference between Absurdly Profitable and Evil, but Cash4Gold is Evil. They mislead and try to exploit their customers. When two people

There definitely is a difference between Absurdly Profitable and Evil, but Cash4Gold is Evil. They mislead and try to exploit their customers. When two people enter into a deal they should be trying to reach a mutually beneficial deal, they shouldn't resort to underhanded techniques. For instance, when companies offer mail in rebates that are difficult to redeem (must jump through a lot of hoops, takes a long time, etc) they are misleading you. It's just like a mechanic overcharging you because you don't know how much it should cost.

patio11 17y ago
For instance, when companies offer mail in rebates that are difficult to redeem (must jump through a lot of hoops, takes a long time, etc) they are misleading you. So it turns out that someone actually measured this and found out that things you might naively assume are in the customer's interest (short forms and long periods until the rebate offer expires) actually decrease redemption rates. http://news.ufl.edu/2004/06/15/rebates/ http://news.ufl.edu/2004/06/15/rebates/ (Totally anecdotal evidence: Japan offered me an economic stimulus payment of $120 direct-deposited to my bank account within a week, for filling out a three-line form and stamping with my personal seal, and gave me nine months to do it in. I put it in my closet and figured I'd mail it some day when I got around to it, because my personal seal was at the office the day I got the form. Sure enough, I missed the cutoff by a week. If it had said "You have to stamp this TOMORROW or you lose $120" I'd probably have gotten it done.) Totally not anecdotal evidence: http://www.alwinhoogerdijk.com/2009/09/14/rebatedelivery-mail-in-rebates-for-online-sales/ http://www.alwinhoogerdijk.com/2009/09/14/rebatedelivery-mai... http://www.alwinhoogerdijk.com/2009/09/18/rebatedelivery-results-of-ab-split-test/ http://www.alwinhoogerdijk.com/2009/09/18/rebatedelivery-res... Take a look at the results of his A/B test: it shows that offering rebates for his software essentially prints money. I'm seriously considering implementing this in my software -- offering a $5 rebate to bring the price down to $25. The only thing holding me back is the feeling that I'd be exploiting the difference between my customers's self-perception of themselves as organized and their actual organizational skills.

patio11 17y ago

For instance, when companies offer mail in rebates that are difficult to redeem (must jump through a lot of hoops, takes a long time, etc) they are misleading you. So it turns out that someone actually measured this and found out that things you might naively assume are in the customer's interest (short forms and long periods until the rebate offer expires) actually decrease redemption rates. http://news.ufl.edu/2004/06/15/rebates/ http://news.ufl.edu/2004/06/15/rebates/ (Totally anecdotal evidence: Japan offered me an economic stimulus payment of $120 direct-deposited to my bank account within a week, for filling out a three-line form and stamping with my personal seal, and gave me nine months to do it in. I put it in my closet and figured I'd mail it some day when I got around to it, because my personal seal was at the office the day I got the form. Sure enough, I missed the cutoff by a week. If it had said "You have to stamp this TOMORROW or you lose $120" I'd probably have gotten it done.) Totally not anecdotal evidence: http://www.alwinhoogerdijk.com/2009/09/14/rebatedelivery-mail-in-rebates-for-online-sales/ http://www.alwinhoogerdijk.com/2009/09/14/rebatedelivery-mai... http://www.alwinhoogerdijk.com/2009/09/18/rebatedelivery-results-of-ab-split-test/ http://www.alwinhoogerdijk.com/2009/09/18/rebatedelivery-res... Take a look at the results of his A/B test: it shows that offering rebates for his software essentially prints money. I'm seriously considering implementing this in my software -- offering a $5 rebate to bring the price down to $25. The only thing holding me back is the feeling that I'd be exploiting the difference between my customers's self-perception of themselves as organized and their actual organizational skills.