“I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more. Just to be the man… who walked 1000 miles to fall down at your door.” – The Proclaimers
Horse apples. That’s a booty call two time zones in the making if there ever was one. At least “the man” in question certainly wants to do more than only fall down at the door.
Humans put forth effort when there’s a reward. That’s especially true in the world of retail. And there’s a direct relationship between the amount of effort given compared with the reward that is expected to be received:
Say you see a nickel on the sidewalk (R = 1). You’re in a rush to get somewhere. So even though it would take but half a second to get that nickel, R < E. No action is taken. But say that nickel is a $10 bill, and now the reward bumps it into the green area. Effort is a go and you pick it up.
Obvious? Absolutely. Often forgotten by those who are hoping to get someone to do something? You bet.
In another life, your humble Dappered.com editor used to work for some radio stations. The salespeople would line up a live broadcast at say, a car dealer, a gas station, or a cell phone store. The DJ would go out and stand under a tent, broadcasting live for a few hours, and maybe an extra handful of listeners/potential customers would come by. The sales person and client wouldn’t understand why there wasn’t a flood of people stampeding into the store. The graph above could be summed up into two words of brutal honesty after the failed promotion: “Would you?”
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Many of you probably got the above email from Bonobos yesterday. It’s instructions for how to get a 50% off code that can be applied to regular priced or on sale swimwear. Yes the discount is great, but it’s limited to just swim suits. And it’s almost August. And you have to take a photo, upload it… you get the idea.
I know, I know… #partypooper #overthinking #rainingontheparade
But even if you were in need of a swimsuit at this point in the summer, would you want to play along, in a very public manner, for the savings? If any retailer can get their customers to do it, it’s Bonobos. All credit to them.
Question: What’s the most effort you’ve ever put forth to score a deal? And was it worth it? Ever crash the doors on black Friday? Get yourself in one of those “last person with their hand on the car wins it” contests? Or do you think all this stuff, especially with retailers now taking to social media, is too much and just not your thing? Leave it below.
That is, if you feel that the R for your comment is > than the E required to leave it… Oh boy…
I once created 348 fake email accounts to increase my odds of winning during Reader Appreciation Week
That’s gold! Someone please give this gentleman at minimum, some workin stiffs.
I don’t personally go out of my way for any deal at all; even simple stuff others would scuff at me for being lazy about. If it’s in front of me, I’ll take advantage of it. But if not, it’s not the reason I was at/buying something in the first place.
That said, I don’t look down at those who go through tons of effort. To each their own, and I appreciate their passion and putting it out there…usually. 🙂
Different first and last names too then?
I hate any promotion requiring the use of a facebook or twitter account. I won’t do it, unless it’s really good. (Post a completely unrelated status and win a million dollars!)
I went to a Black Friday promotion once, only to realize how silly and tired I was at the end of the day for one shirt. My fiancee appreciated it a lot, but I won’t and I don’t do things like that again. I do send emails to Joe when he has a contest….One of these days I’ll win something…
I coordinated a cavalcade of friends on individual laptops to bomb Ticketmaster at exactly 10am on the day of ticket release to see Rush. I NEEDED front row tickets. I got em’ baby.
HOWEVER: The Bonobos “take a picture of yourself and post it on Facebook” fun prompted me to delete that email before I finished scanning it.
I have entered every single Dappered contest and have not one anything yet. I never win 🙁
For whatever reason, I would rather drive to a store in another city for a deal than spend 5 minutes jumping through these hoops for a coupon.
Now Joe isn’t going to pick an Anthony…way to go man
I like the idea that 350 fake email accounts would just be excessive.
The odds of winning are not good. There are way more Dappered readers than the comments suggest. Back in the day, there would be contests that required you to post a comment – those posts would generate close to a thousand comments IIRC.
Same here. Checking dappered is the farthest I’ve gone for a deal. When I want something I just buy it. Rather spend my time making more money then trying to save what I have
Last year when Bonobos had a 25 for 50 (I think) living social deal that was supposed to begin AFTER they had their winter sale. But then their winter sale got pushed back and I combined them. I got four of the living social codes (using 4 different credit cards, 2 my own, 2 from my parents, with different email addresses), thus getting 1 of the codes for free. I then combined all these codes, the already reduced sale price, plus the additional 50% off for new customers code. I ended up with the Grenson Bert Cap Toe Oxford in Black for a grand total of $75.
Joe, my reaction upon getting that promo email was Meh. Delete. Thanks for a more thoughtful explication!
I like a good deal on stuff I’d actually buy, regardless of the price. Gotta trip my trigger, ya know! A swimsuit sale in August, WTF? If someone handed me a free swimsuit now, I’d be like ‘Thanks, I guess.” why would I care about any savings whatsoever…
I am willing to do quite a bit for a sale, but I refuse to stand in line to buy clothes (sale or not). It’s where I draw the line.
In the late 80’s I spent 36 hours on a sidewalk to get my hands on a $500 camera for $10. It was in october and below freesing point.