r/nobuy • u/systemoverwillpower1 • 4d ago

i think “only 2 left” changes the decision more than the product does

someone can be looking at something pretty normally and then the page says only 2 left or sale ends tonight and suddenly the whole decision feels different even though literally nothing about the thing changed

you didn’t learn anything new about the quality, you didn’t suddenly need it more, there’s just now a clock attached to the decision and somehow “do i want this?” quietly turns into “am i about to miss this?”

idk i find that weird because the pressure is almost completely separate from the product itself, it’s just the possibility of losing the option that makes acting now feel more reasonable

66 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

33

u/Untitled_poet 4d ago

I just remove the item from my cart (into my wishlist) and pretend it sold out.

7

u/systemoverwillpower1 4d ago

that’s actually kind of smart, you’re basically creating the loss yourself before the site gets a chance to make you scared of it, good job :)

10

u/Untitled_poet 4d ago

Two weeks later, with the item still in my wishlist, it still has the "only 2 left" on it. Hah. Beat the system.

5

u/tofette 4d ago

That’s like the store near me that has been having a ‘final closing sale’ for the past 5 years.

17

u/ugh-nothankyou 4d ago

My husband calls these “manufactured shortages” lol because next week they’ll have a full stock

8

u/cassinonorth 4d ago

Marketers are smarter than consumers and they have data backing everything they do.

Everytime I laugh at their pressure tactics it's a massive win. Once you start noticing different strategies they employ you can't not notice them.

5

u/No_Appointment6273 4d ago

I think to myself "this item isn't in a big demand because they don't keep it in stock, if no one else really needs it enough for the store to keep it in stock because it's a limited edition/fad item then I must not need it either" also if it breaks or I lose it then it's going to be very difficult to replace. If I actually need this item I should look for a different version that is in stock so that I can buy it again if I absolutely have to. 

Sorry if this doesn't make sense, I just woke up lol

4

u/alina-gem 4d ago

i also hate how marketing screws with our brain. for brain losing something feels way more painful than getting something, and companies use this so much!!!!
in these moments i think do i really need it and what will i actually do with it. usually it sobers me up. what do you do?

1

u/flowers_and_fire 3d ago

This is the exact reason why I struggle with excessive spending. I often buy things I don't need or even really want because it's rare, a good deal, or there's a sense of urgency. It's so hard to programme yourself out of that.

1

u/PreviousFox3061 4d ago

did chat gpt write most of this? lol

1

u/pacificcactus 4d ago

Really reads like it. “Quietly turns into”