"Limited Time Offer" Scams
There are many different products and services being sold online. The companies and marketers that sell them use a wide variety of marketing techniques from giving you extra bonuses, giving you discounts, and free trial offers. They also use many different strategies from email marketing, blogs, and salesletters to promote them.
A popular tactic that is used is the "limited time offer". When you come across a salespage, you'll notice that they often promise you a big discount or some valuable bonuses if you buy before the end of the day or some other defined time period.
Some websites state that if you don't buy their product now, it will sell out and you won't get the opportunity to buy it ever again. The websites often use copy similar to this: "Buy product x before July 11th and you'll receive a 25% discount."
The truth is that most of these sites are using "javascript" or other automated methods so the times and/or dates change every time you visit the site.
Another way they present the limited time offer is by claiming there are only "18 copies left" with the original number that was being sold getting slashed out.
This is a psychological trick used to create urgency. In fact, some marketers use this technique even though they are selling digital products. They often justify that they don't want the information in their product to be known by too many people.
Other sites use a more sophisticated technique. They display a time limit "countdown" that offers a discount if you buy before the time reaches zero. Some sites present you with a pop up when you leave the site with the same kind of offer. While you are made to think that this is a one-time offer, you'll see it again if you come back later.
The reason why these sites employ all these kinds of technique is because it's a very effective marketing technique that gets you to buy now instead of later, or before you change your mind. The whole idea is to play on the emotion of scarcity and greed in order for you to make an impulsive emotional decision.
Of course, you will come across real limited time offers. However, the goal of the marketers remains the same - to get you to buy the product now.
The right thing to do is to take a step back for a while and logically evaluate the product or service before you make your purchase decision.
Look around in forums, blogs, and review sites to check the product's feedback from customers. You should only buy when you find what the product is about, see good reviews, and also feel it's something that will really help you.
Obviously IM Report Card is a great way to get real reviews and unbiased feedback from real people. Unlike most review sites, you will get real reviews rather than thinly disguised affiliate promotions. You'll also get to see what other IM Report Card members thought about the product/service and their individual experiences using it.
To make things simple, our best recommendation is to never puchase anything "now" just because the seller claims it's a limited time offer. 99.9% of the time it's really not a limited time offer so take your time and do your research.
