Selling goods on the internet is no different. As long as you can make up a good story, you can sell anything. Take the following eBay auction. This woman sold a $3.00 pack of Pokemon cards for $142.51. Why? Read the story. The title alone invites the reader into a world of a weary mother who missed her kids sneaking something into the grocery cart. She goes into great detailed length at how at every turn, the little ones would throw random objects into the cart and the cards were the one she missed. Even still, the cards were opened, and she still managed to sell the item because of a compelling story. She maximized on the fooling all of the people some of the time idea. How? The internet and email forwarding worked in her favor. One person saw this auction and emailed it to two friends and so on and so forth, just like the Shampoo commercial. I received it myself in an email from a coworker the day everyone had caught onto the story. The viral nature of the internet coupled with the nature of the story drew people like bugs to a zapper and people felt compelled to bid on a pack of cards for nearly 4000% markup.
To shift gears a little, how about the chance to win a FREE PLAYSTATION 3 or iPOD? Sound too good to be true, it's really not. There are sites called Incentivized Freebie Websites or more commonly IFWs or Freebie sites. The concept is much like a pyramid scheme. You tell someone you got a free item. You show them how to get theirs. They show their friends and next thing you know, a hundred people are all trying to get a free gift based off of one person's word of mouth. IFWs are sweeping the internet and they are actually legit, in most cases. Sure, there are a number of sites that promise a lot and pay a little, citing various terms of services that you somehow missed when you originally signed up. The basic concept is this. I have a website called YourPS34Free.com and at the end is a series of numbers that make up a link that is unique to me. I send 10 people to that link through various means and they sign up as well. Here's the kicker. I as well as those 10 people have to complete an "offer" to get this free Playstation 3. Each one of us has to complete an offer or as they call it "Going Green," in order to be eligible. Now the offers range from everything to long distance, weight loss, and even stamps, and they don't cost a lot of money. But still, the idea is to get it for free. Most people want to get something for nothing. Ok, I'll rephrase that. Everyone wants something for nothing. There are ways to get it for free. These tactics rely solely on your ability to spot the loopholes and exploit them. Some people are willing to part with a little cash to get that really expensive item for a fraction of the cost. These people trade sites for cash or referrals on other sites.
The art of the sell works here because for the most part, people try to beg their friends and family to try out the sites. They post signs in the grocery stores and college campuses. They spam eBay auctions and message boards to get the word out. Sometimes, though, their voice gets lost in a sea of other PS3 hungry voices and they lose out to those who are willing to up the ante to get that freebie. Who really wins? The IFW sites that offer the freebie website and the retailers that put their offers up for completion make out like bandits. The retailers get traffic driven to their site as well as people signing up for offers that 5 out of 7 times requires some commitment. The IFWs get paid a fixed amount for driving traffic through their referral sites. They take what they get paid as a way to offset the cost of that game system or mp3 player. Who loses? If you fail to complete the requirements of getting the free gift or you somehow violate the terms of service, you lose out on the free gift. The IFW keeps the cash YOU generated by sending people to the retailers and YOU get NOTHING. For every one person who gets a PS3, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of people who change their mind or screw up causing them to get nothing. Every little referral counts to someone, from the retailer down to the poor average Joe who just wants a Playstation for Christmas without having to pay the high price tag.
There are many sites that offer help, eBooks that give tips, and unfortunately, there are scam artists out there who are willing to take your money and not give you a referral. If you are thinking about getting involved with an IFW do some research. Check around for legitimate ones that offer a better referral to gift ratio. When in doubt, save your money or be like my buddy and con 400 people into giving you a dollar. It's bound to work on some of the people, some of the time. For more info email me at bigbenfanatic7@yahoo.com