Commercialism…. or, the art of the psychological

In a way, commercialism is a lot like politics. It’s all about psychological manipulation. 

Sellers get you to believe you want something, you need something, you can’t live without that certain something. And, if the pitch is effective enough, in a childlike way you believe them. 

Normal Progression of Things 

First, they get an “expert” to demonstrate their wares, mostly on TV.  After all, seeing is believing, right? They show you how “easy” their product is to use, and with foolproof outcomes. Like the proverbial used car salesman, you are likely to experience a lot of “fast talkers” here in this phase. Fine print disclaimers abound. (*Evelyn Wood speed reading course recommended.) The main goal here is to “hook” you with the product's "good" parts. Ahh, those half-full glasses. Who can refuse? 😉

Next, okay, you buy their product, your hopes running high. Then boom, reality hits. You find out through personal experience that you are nothing like those “experts,” fumbling around, your “hand-eye coordination confidence” fading fast. That Ginsu knife doesn’t cut any differently than my regular knives. WTF?  Those Gotham Steel pans still stick after a few uses. For crying out loud! That salad shooter made coleslaw out of my lettuce. Degusting!  They didn’t say I needed to win an arm-wrestling contest to have the strength to push that potato through the “perfect French fries” slicer. 

Last, and with a heavy heart, the failed product gets relegated to the junk draw; a.k.a. the graveyard of useless utensils/gizmos. The only time that drawer gets reopened is to add new material (more junk).

So what products have you been taken in by?  I.e., what’s in your junk drawer?

I once bought an ear wax vac. Should have come with a free bullet so I could blow my brains out! 😮

(by PrimalSoup)