Stupid Marketing Tricks
A few of my (least) favorite marketing tricks:
1. Hidden Fees and Charges. Your carrier will sell you the latest, greatest cell phone plan for only $29.99 per month. But when you get the bill, you'll soon discover that all sorts of fees, connection charges, usage charges, surcharges, upcharges, downcharges, and charges-for-the-heckuvit also apply. Didn't you read the fine print in your contract? And speaking of contracts...
2. Impossible-to-Escape Contracts. Want out of your contract, which has another eleven months left on it? No problem, just pay the cancellation fee of $250, which - by chance - happens to be more than if you stick with the contract.
3. Insurance/Damage "Coverage" - What a dilemma! Pay extra money to get "coverage" for your new tech product or get absolutely no service from your vendor when it stops working only six months from now.
4. Late Fees - Miss your payment by a single day on some services and you may end up paying a late fee of as much as $30 or $40. The same applies, on a smaller scale, to video rentals. This one is especially effective when you combine it with...
5. Mid-Month Billing Cycles. Send out your bill after the first of the month and make sure it is due before the end of the month. Then, sit back and collect the late fees from everyone who only pays bills once a month. This one is downright insidious - it ought to be outlawed.
What did I miss? How are the powers that be in the McCulutre surreptitiously finding their way into your wallet?
Technorati Tags: marketing, stupid marketing tricks, hidden fees, mcculture
1. Hidden Fees and Charges. Your carrier will sell you the latest, greatest cell phone plan for only $29.99 per month. But when you get the bill, you'll soon discover that all sorts of fees, connection charges, usage charges, surcharges, upcharges, downcharges, and charges-for-the-heckuvit also apply. Didn't you read the fine print in your contract? And speaking of contracts...
2. Impossible-to-Escape Contracts. Want out of your contract, which has another eleven months left on it? No problem, just pay the cancellation fee of $250, which - by chance - happens to be more than if you stick with the contract.
3. Insurance/Damage "Coverage" - What a dilemma! Pay extra money to get "coverage" for your new tech product or get absolutely no service from your vendor when it stops working only six months from now.
4. Late Fees - Miss your payment by a single day on some services and you may end up paying a late fee of as much as $30 or $40. The same applies, on a smaller scale, to video rentals. This one is especially effective when you combine it with...
5. Mid-Month Billing Cycles. Send out your bill after the first of the month and make sure it is due before the end of the month. Then, sit back and collect the late fees from everyone who only pays bills once a month. This one is downright insidious - it ought to be outlawed.
What did I miss? How are the powers that be in the McCulutre surreptitiously finding their way into your wallet?
Technorati Tags: marketing, stupid marketing tricks, hidden fees, mcculture
posted by Matt at Saturday, March 18, 2006
2 Comments:
Here is a great example of a late fee. I was looking to change electric providers (looking for a cost/expense savings. One particular company seemed to have a good offer, however.... And this is a big however, if you make a late payment (which I never do....however) the late charge is $200, and this is based on either a 24 or 36 month contract. The cost of getting out of the contract is either $150 or $200, depending on the plan you choose.
One thing that really bothers me about this is this company has been making a big marketing push and I wonder how many people will spend the time and effort(due to my OCD) that I have. It looks like a trap. I do not believe the government should manage or protect us to the limit some feel it should, however....
Just a couple of my thought on the subject
How about PMI (private mortgage insurance)? Interest on a loan is by definition payment for the risk of the loans possible failure. To make a customer purchase additional insurance is just plain wrong! And it is packaged in a way that makes some customers assume it is necessary for the life of the loan. It is NOT! They may not tell you that, however. I think it should be illegal. Check and see if you're paying it unnecessarily. You may save yourself several hundred dollars per year or more.
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