> Hi Dien,

My wife used to have an Antique Shoppe. When we'd go to an auction or estate sale to buy items for inventory she would first determine what she THOUGHT she could get for an item, at retail...then divide by 2...to arrive at a "reasonable indicator or what to PAY".

Some high priced items though she would figure if she could get $200 to $300 more than what she paid, she'd buy it.

And ALWAYS with the thought in back of her mind of, "Are there greater FOOLS than I am who would pay more for this item than I did?"

Sometimes...she'd not be able to find a greater "fool" than she was and she'd have to take a loss on the item to recover part of her money.

Fortunately though she was most always able to find someone who'd be willing to pay more for her stuff than she did.

This is the same with anything...whether you create an item (or service) or buy it; Are there people who are willing to pay MORE for it than it cost you?

Don Alm

> You are right.... Money and the value we
> place on anything are all relative, kind of
> like Einstein's theory of relativity in a
> way.

> For example, real estate is only worth what
> people are prepared to pay for it at the
> time, and not what most people believe...
> That your house is worth what the market
> value is.

> A friend of mine bought a house 6 months ago
> at $355,000... At the time there was another
> buyer who was equally interested in buying
> it, but the owner accepted my friend's offer
> first.
> 2 months later, the well heeled other buyer
> approached my friend and offered him
> $495,000!!! because he wanted it so badly...
> Although the market value of the home
> compared to houses of a similar design in
> the area had only risen by 5% above what he
> had paid.

> The perceived value of money also depends on
> HOW much you have or don't have AND how
> QUICKLY it takes you to EARN it.

> If something costs $1000 and it only takes a
> person one-hour to earn that amount... Then
> the value of the $1000 is of course
> perceived differently to a person who takes
> a month to earn it.

> I always remember the famous line John Paul
> Getty once said (I'm pretty sure it was
> him?)...
> "A billion dollars ain't what it used
> to be!"

> I also believe that most people make their
> buying decisions based upon the price they
> pay for OTHER goods and services in their
> lives, products that may not necessarily be
> similar to the goods in question.... Rather
> than the benefits, quality or market value
> of the product being bought.

> Then there are people who hate wasting CENTS
> but will not think twice in spending extra
> dollars.

> For example... People who turn lights off
> when they leave a room for five minutes to
> save a few cents of electricity... But then
> spend an extra dollar on a pack of smokes at
> a convenience store rather than buy the pack
> at a discount supermarket???

> Each one of us has a built in
> "yardstick" depending on the value
> we place on money and our existing wealth or
> earning capacity.

> In marketing, I always apply what I call the
> "Within the realms of reason"
> factor... In other words, when you price a
> product, you take into consideration the
> psychological value the majority of your
> target customers would be willing to pay,
> and not just the price of competing products
> or market values.

> Sure... Salesmanship comes into it... If you
> are good enough you can sell products for
> much more than what they are really worth...
> But if a product is priced outside "the
> realms of reason" in your customer's
> mind it's going to be a hard sell indeed!

> A good way to find out the perceived value
> of money for a given person is to ask the
> question..
> "If you were to go to a casino... How
> much would you be prepared to lose at the
> roulette table, black Jack or the slots
> before you walked away?"

> The amount of money a person is prepared to
> gamble and lose is a good indication of a
> person's ability to take a risk... Money
> wise.

> If a person is prepared to lose $100 at the
> casino and walk away without blinking an
> eyelid.. Then it's not hard to sell that
> person an ebook for example for that amount
> or less, if you can convenience them it will
> make them money, etc.

> Also people spend money based on
> "lots".
> A "Lot" is an amount of money we
> "think in".

> For example... I think in terms of
> "$100 lots", others may think in
> "units" of "$10" ,
> "$1000 lots" or if you are Bill
> Gates "$10,000,000 lots".

> What this means is that when I go to buy
> something, I "value" the product
> to the nearest "lot"... For
> instance, a $275 video player, in my mind in
> $300, a $8.75 pack of smokes is really $10,
> etc.

> If I take a friend to lunch in a good
> restaurant...I think $100... Even though the
> bill might be $70.

> Money.... It's really all about
> "units" of perceived measurement,
> earning capacity, status Quo, upbringing
> (our parents influence), economic times and
> value mix we equate to the spiritual and
> material world each of us have.

> Then there is the ultimate definition of
> money...
> "Money is TIME". Without TIME...
> There is no money, no matter how much you
> have.

> Imagine winning a million dollars... With
> only a week left to live.

> Then again... Imagine living lifetimes in a
> material world with no money at all as
> millions do.

> Imagine a world with no money or where money
> is no longer is valued... The Celestine
> Prophecy, a book worth reading. Especially
> since the events of S11

> Warmest Regards & $uccess

> Ricky Higgs




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