DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? - Business (4)

DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? - Business (4) - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum › Nairaland General › Business › DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? (42281 Views)

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Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Dotman2210(m): 7:05am On Sep 26, 2020

[quote author=
Now this is more like it, you have said it all
post=94315737]More on this DM issue in our second post below.......
And this is the response/reasons they do this from the companies involved.........

These are some reasons they gave for being secretive though,

Interestingly, several business owners boldly defended the practice as either necessary or strategic.
The common reasons put forward were:

It filters prospects from the curious to the serious;

It hides product information from competitors;

It’s a marketing strategy that promotes exclusivity;

It allows for personal engagement with the prospective customer;

It prevents disparaging comments from social media trolls or those who can’t afford it or aren’t their target market; and

Some products, such as cakes and art, are custom-made.

But in all these, The Customers remain the KING!
Aight? sad

It now depends on us if we wanna patronize 'em!

We Rise![/quote]

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Felibaby(f): 7:07am On Sep 26, 2020

It is not a good business strategy at all and unfortunately most vendors adopts the style. I usuall just skip the vendor once i see dm for price. Who will buy an item will buy. Knowing the price will actually increase sales as buyers knows what they can afford.

1 Like

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by vertueptime: 7:09am On Sep 26, 2020

I never buy from them

pocohantas:
Why do they do this? What are they hiding? It is annoying, stressful and scares clients away. Maybe I am wrong and it actually works for them. Any of them here should please explain to me the idea behind this.

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Nobody: 7:09am On Sep 26, 2020*

It is because the price we give most times are not uniform. So giving a fixed price might affect your sales in a way. For instance, if you get a big client you know can pay well over a certain fixed price and then you've already given out a price to the public, you won't be to inflate it again. Also, you might put out a price meant for the big clients and it will scare the average clients away and most won't even tell you it's the price that is putting them off hence they stay off even though they really need your product/ services. So, when they DM, it makes it easier to play around the pricing without losing any client.

So basically, it's mostly a case of weighing a potential client and charging them according to their worth. That way you get to accommodate all the clients.

I made a mistake of putting out a fixed price some years ago and a big client needed my services. I billed her based on her level, she went and checked my advert and saw the price I put for my naija clients and that was it. Though some don't have the time to do any background checks so they pay 10 times what I would normally charge. Even some that are based here too pay well and sometimes I accept way lesser from average clients especially if they are students.

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Felibaby(f): 7:11am On Sep 26, 2020

InvertedHammer:
/
It is the same way someone lists a car for N2m and trolls will say it costs only N800k in their area. It is bad market for everyone. They are afraid of competition.

/

Not everyone, only the seller. A competitive market is good. It ensures fair prices!

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by 989900: 7:11am On Sep 26, 2020*

mimilogistics:
This is a great topic, thanks op.

But then, I have noticed on Facebook, Instagram, etc that even when the page or seller puts the price on the title or description, buyers, especially Nigerian buyers will still be asking: "How Much", " How do I Get This Product?", "Where is Your Shop?", etc even after the seller have put the price and how to order visibly on the product page.

So what do you have to say about that

My brother, most Nigerians are 'cash-strapped' illiterates who just talk too much -- even the educated ones. An oxymoron, right; it is what is.

Anyone who goes through this entire thread should get the drift: both for and against, but do we read? No . . . 'first to comment'. SMH

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Gab25: 7:12am On Sep 26, 2020

Hy, Good morning to you,

My name is Gab,
Out of compassion to help in this season, I have been researching viable, easy & legit business that I& my friends and love ones can do with my phone, sitting in my room, not those many scam in disguise.
At last I found one, I have done it and earn enough to be sure, you can earn at least 5k in a week, every Friday
All you will need to do is copy and paste advert. That's all.
If you are interested reach me 080 8422 6895
Whatsapp. Na 1800 for reg form. Make i tell u d price now please Only very serious people who want to start immediately to chat me

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by abbasajao(m): 7:15am On Sep 26, 2020

The one reason is that they intend so sell same items to different customers at different prices. Prices to different customers will be determined by their negotiation power.

2 Likes

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by themaestro08(m): 7:18am On Sep 26, 2020

[quote author= post=94315769]More about this Dm for Price issue,,
This is what we came about some weeks ago.....

A few days ago, I saw some locally handcrafted sandals being promoted on social media that caught my attention because of how beautiful and distinctive they were. I was pleasantly surprised.

So, when I saw a style that had somewhat unique detail and finishes, I was very interested and immediately posted a comment under the picture.

“Love these! How much are they?”

Two days later, when I’d almost forgotten them, I got a notification of a reply.

“Please DM for price.”

For those who don’t know, on social media, ‘DM’ means direct message and is the typical way to ask someone to contact you privately.
The delay and their response made me lose interest entirely, so I didn’t bother to ‘DM for price’. And yes, I found it a bother.

What’s most troubling is that this secrecy about price is not restricted to local sandal makers, but is a widespread practice.
Many companies with pages on Instagram and Facebook routinely post pictures without pricing or proper descriptions for a wide range of items, including clothing, shoes, bags, art, accessories, home decor, furniture, hair, skin care products, and even food, and instead ask that you ‘DM for prices’ if interested.

PRICE SECRECY

It is a critical teachable moment for business owners and consumers, particularly in this digital age where e-commerce, effective online communication and customer engagement are key pillars of the future of retail.

Many businesses will either see explosive business growth or devastating stagnation as they navigate the next few years. As a result, I posed the following question on social media:

Why should a customer DM for the price of a product you posted online?
Are you doing business, or keeping a secret?

I then explained key business principles behind transparency, which I will outline shortly.

My post triggered an avalanche of responses. I knew that several consumers had similar sentiments, but when over 1,000 people engaged me on Instagram alone, I was taken aback.

The responses from Facebook and Twitter were also incredible.
People were so vocal and passionate, it was clear I had struck a nerve for many.

I could barely keep up with the hundreds of comments bemoaning this practice of businesses withholding prices and asking customers to either send a private message, call for details, or, worst of all, visit the location.
Users even called out offending companies, tagging them in the comments and insisting they ‘read and learn’.

TRANSPARENCY IS THE BEST POLICY

Although some entrepreneurs had seemingly good reasons for withholding prices from the public, I believe many are losing money and damaging their brands in the process. Here’s why:

Customers love transparency.
They are less trusting of companies that hide prices and may feel that the business is shady and will increase the quoted amount if it perceives the customer can afford to pay more.

Customers like control and real-time information.
A basic customer-service principle is that customers like to feel and be in control.
They’ve become accustomed to real time information in the digital space.
They may also resent being asked to take several actions or steps based on company policies that appear mindless or don’t serve them.

Customers don’t need complexity or extra work. Businesses should make their customers’ lives easier at every opportunity.
In this highly competitive digital space, customers have many choices and lead complex lives.
The easier it is for a customer to buy, the more likely it is they will if they perceive utility.

Stop competing on price.
Compete instead on unique value as competing on price is almost always a race to the bottom.

It’s unproductive.
It can’t be the best use of a business’ time and resources to hide prices then respond to a wide net of people individually with the same answer DM for price

[/quote]Oga you no dey sleep? This early mor mor you don begin type long epistle? grin

Anyway, that's a lovely analysis.

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Prettychild(f): 7:21am On Sep 26, 2020

There is nothing bad about it, it only helps the would be sellers sieve out interested from uninterested buyer.

2 Likes

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Bunsenbun(m): 7:22am On Sep 26, 2020

pocohantas:
I am sure it annoys me more o. That thing dey make me vex ehn! It isn’t transparent to me and I don’t do business with such people. I just want to be sure I am not judging them harshly. Maybe their intentions are noble.

You are being too harsh on them.I also had wondered why they do this until i found out that nigerians do not like the idea of "fixed price",imagine the number of people that will ask physical vendors the price of their goods even to the extent of bargaining rudely only to walk away,my mom was a legend at this,while little me would wonder why she would waste away a good 10 mins on such a thing.DM for price is a tactic to make sure only serious/interested buyers ask.This is good for goods whose actual value can't be determined at face value e.g shoes,belts,necklaces that are not from popular brands.

3 Likes 2 Shares

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by obstead200(m): 7:22am On Sep 26, 2020

pocohantas:
Why do they do this? What are they hiding? It is annoying, stressful and scares clients away. Maybe I am wrong and it actually works for them. Any of them here should please explain to me the idea behind this.

they simply want to scam the buyer into paying more without knowing

1 Like

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Felibaby(f): 7:22am On Sep 26, 2020

emperorblog21:
me i don't have time for shalaye, i just tell people my price straight away, no time for ehn deduct for me nah it fixed man, if u ready to deal you accept

Kudos. thats the way it should be. If a seller is convinced he is selling at a fair price with decent profit margin, he will set his price and stand by it. Who go buy go buy.
But most wont do that because they want to rip people off. They will give different prices to buyers after checking their profile.

2 Likes

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by toniatt(f): 7:23am On Sep 26, 2020

anyone that says Dm for price is a scammer

1 Like

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Banter1(m): 7:23am On Sep 26, 2020

they do that so that rich niggas and bitches no go pay the same price with people wey no get money. am I making sense?

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by obstead200(m): 7:24am On Sep 26, 2020

Bunsenbun:
You are being too harsh on them.I also had wondered why they do this until i found out that nigerians do not like the idea of "fixed price",imagine the number of people that will ask physical vendors the price of their goods even to the extent of bargaining rudely only to walk away,my mom was a legend at this,while little me would wonder why she would waste away a good 10 mins on such a thing.DM for price is a tactic to make sure only serious/interested buyers ask.This is good for goods whose actual value can't be determined at face value e.g shoes,belts,necklaces that are not from popular brands.

it is better to state Ur average price and then say DM me for further negotiations. Or say serious buyers should DM me for serious negotiation and possibly a slight discount

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by OlujobaSamuel: 7:27am On Sep 26, 2020

Lol, DM for price, I always walk away ni oo, although I've been a victim to same person thrice. She is a sis to me, so I just overlook it like it's nothing, the price of same product is lesser elsewhere but I just pretend not to know.
Also, she also attested to using price discrimination technique through class status for her product.
For my own goods, I tell you the price even though I don't usually sell online, also anything I'm selling that is less than 10k, the maximum discount I can give you is 1k.
I love fixed prices compared to always negotiating.
For those selling luxury items, DM for price is not totally wrong, but put prices at times, especially when doing promo. Some potential buyers or commenters that is familiar with the product will help you put down trolls even before you put up a defence.

1 Like

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by DaBullIT(m): 7:29am On Sep 26, 2020

FuckHomophobes:
I think they don't want competitors to know about their price. Talk about keeping your secret safe.

How about giving you the price and you ghost them? That shit is painful from the client end

Everybody has a right to market survey, understanding that your goods is already a competition, put your price let the world see, if yours is cheaper, people will patronize you

You can't expect everybody who prices your market to buy from you

People go to malls to take pictures FFS

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by IJOBA2: 7:31am On Sep 26, 2020

SegFault:
The thing dey tire person. don't think this rubbish has annoyed anyone as much as my sis, she dey always curse them.

MYND44 THIS NONSENSE IS VERY RAMPANT IN THE BUSINESS, CAR AND INVESTMENT SECTION OF THIS SITE. THOSE EDIOTS SHOULD BE DEALT WITH angry

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by nams77: 7:32am On Sep 26, 2020

[quote author= post=94315737]More on this DM issue in our second post below.......
And this is the response/reasons they do this from the companies involved.........

These are some reasons they gave for being secretive though,

Interestingly, several business owners boldly defended the practice as either necessary or strategic.
The common reasons put forward were:

It filters prospects from the curious to the serious;

It hides product information from competitors;

It’s a marketing strategy that promotes exclusivity;

It allows for personal engagement with the prospective customer;

It prevents disparaging comments from social media trolls or those who can’t afford it or aren’t their target market; and

Some products, such as cakes and art, are custom-made.

But in all these, The Customers remain the KING!
Aight? sad

It now depends on us if we wanna patronize 'em!

We Rise![/quote]One of the few reasonable comments from you grin

U hit the nail on its head

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by IJOBA2: 7:33am On Sep 26, 2020

Kondomatic:
For me that sh!t simply means I no wan sell give you.

HOW ABOUT THOSE ONES THAT NORMALLY HARVEST EMAIL AND PHONE NUMBERS IN THE BUSINESS SECTION grin

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by pacespot(m): 7:34am On Sep 26, 2020*

The most unserious people you can find are the online buyers, they will ask for the price and many other questions and then you will hear nothing from them again. Unless the product is fixed price, I will prefer people to fill form before even asking for anything. Some sites will even require you to make a refundable deposit before requesting for their services. This is because of what online buyers have done to some of them, out of 100 people that contact you, it might just be only 5 of them that are serious. Imagine the time and resources it takes for you to respond to 95 unserious people huh

3 Likes 1 Share

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Nobody: 7:34am On Sep 26, 2020

I've never bought a thing form those online vendors who do this nonsense

If you can't be transparent enough to put prices on your products then I don't trust you enough to do business with you.

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by themaestro08(m): 7:34am On Sep 26, 2020

aAK1:
Now I do this but not for the reason everyone is thinking. I run promoted Facebook ads on my business page where I sell exotic animals. Some times in the business you sell eg, a pair of chicken (exotic chicken) for 100k. You state the prices and next thing some ignorant people who behave like all roads lead into their stomach will come and start saying things like 100k for only 2 chicken. If you allow those comments continue, they will mess up your add. It’s best people who are informed call me or send me messages privately

If you advertised publicly, display the price publicly as well. The same applies to private advertisement, the price should be private as well. It's a simple concept. huh

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Openbusiness: 7:34am On Sep 26, 2020

aAK1:
Now I do this but not for the reason everyone is thinking. I run promoted Facebook ads on my business page where I sell exotic animals. Some times in the business you sell eg, a pair of chicken (exotic chicken) for 100k. You state the prices and next thing some ignorant people who behave like all roads lead into their stomach will come and start saying things like 100k for only 2 chicken. If you allow those comments continue, they will mess up your add. It’s best people who are informed call me or send me messages privately

Another very good reason. You have many people like that on Nairaland. They are not interested to buy, they don't have money to buy, but they come around to troll your advert and make provoking comments, because their aim is to ruin your advert thread just to catch fun. Many mad people like that are lurking around social media pages of sellers.

2 Likes 1 Share

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Bunsenbun(m): 7:35am On Sep 26, 2020

obstead200:
it is better to state Ur average price and then say DM me for further negotiations. Or say serious buyers should DM me for serious negotiation and possibly a slight discount

you have made a valid point,but here in Nigeria if you fixed a price at 6k,naija customers would price at 3k.Obviously,there are dishonest sellers and buyers on the net,it is left for us to discern if the price we are being offered falls within the average.
Personally speaking from experience,i think the whole dm for price is an offshoot of our nigerian culture of pricing any and everything nigerian.A Nigerian Woman would vigouriously price yam here in Nigeria but would buy it at face value in europe(only to get home and complain about how expensive yam is)

3 Likes 1 Share

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Nobody: 7:36am On Sep 26, 2020

They do it so that they can quote different prices for different customers. Very greedy lots. They expect me to ask for the prices of all the products I might buy, the most annoying part is that if you ask then the price in the comment section, they will still not reply. I don't follow such greedy fellows.

1 Like

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by nsesam(m): 7:37am On Sep 26, 2020

The reason is simple, it just to scare away the unserious buyers. On the serious buyers will want to go through the stress because they know the value of what they want.
Why will you be scared of scam when you'll still pay on delivery. What's your challenge?

3 Likes

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by AfroKnight: 7:37am On Sep 26, 2020

Dm for price irritates me. And when I am forced to Dm you, my guard is up. Any slight hiccup and I’m backing out

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by Juliearth(f): 7:37am On Sep 26, 2020

femi4:
That's wrong cos if I later found out that you sold a sachet of pure water for me @ N100 instead of N10 cos of my status, I ll never patronize you again. You just lost me there

That is the sad reality bro. And guess what, it is allowed in the world of business, reason why it has a name. That is why I dont bother to DM or contact all these online merchants who dont affix prices for their goods.

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by idu1(m): 7:38am On Sep 26, 2020

aAK1:
Now I do this but not for the reason everyone is thinking. I run promoted Facebook ads on my business page where I sell exotic animals. Some times in the business you sell eg, a pair of chicken (exotic chicken) for 100k. You state the prices and next thing some ignorant people who behave like all roads lead into their stomach will come and start saying things like 100k for only 2 chicken. If you allow those comments continue, they will mess up your add. It’s best people who are informed call me or send me messages privately

What is exotic chicken?

Re: DM For Price: Why Do Online Vendors Do This? by protocol(m): 7:39am On Sep 26, 2020*

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