Hail the “sold out” scam.
I noticed something amiss when a new billboard was erected along MRR2 stretch where I passed through rather frequently. On it was a typical advertisement for a new housing project, but what appeared atypical was the “SOLD OUT” banner pasted across one corner (in RED!). Not only that it was there AT THE SAME TIME the billboard was erected, but it was also PART OF the billboard itself (not something the advertiser stuck on later after the houses were all sold off).
This got my grey matter on hyperdrive. Why would anyone put up an advertisement, with a sold out note on it? Would that defeat the purpose? Advertising something that’s no longer available? Crazies!
Or so I thought.
After not much of investigation and connecting some dots of information I already possessed, I figured that developers, especially big ones, hire marketing agents to help sell their products. These marketing agents are usually real estate agencies (or their sister companies), though not always.
It is a brilliant form of outsourcing. Let the marketing and sales professionals do their magic, so to speak. Turnarounds are faster and in return, the agencies earn huge commissions.
In making the sales, these agencies can do pretty much anything (supposedly within the law, but there’s always some grey area) including utilizing various marketing techniques. One such technique is enshrined in Marketing 101 class called The Rule of Scarcity — Get Anyone to Take Immediate Action.
When something is scarce, people would want it more. And because of this, that something becomes expensive (or justified to be). What the agencies need to create is, however, just a PERCEPTION of scarcity — make people believe that the product is highly sought after — because this is just as effective.
To me, this is a blatant DECEPTION, but my thoughts rarely count, I digress.
A quick call to the advertised number, you will be told that the project is sold out, but upon further instigation (or when they return your call a few days later), you will be informed that there is, against all conceivable odds, one unit that was recently made available again — and it’s a very nice unit!
There are many different stories offered to explain why this one special unit has suddenly become available, the most popular being the original purchaser had trouble in securing his loan. Whatever the story may be, its purpose is to get you to think that you and the house are a match made in heaven.
The conned buyer, thinking that he has spotted an opportunity, would jump to commit to the unit, leaving out price negotiation and whatever else that should otherwise be common practices in purchasing a house under sane condition.
Caveat emptor indeed.
