• Turquoise jewelry wasn’t selling so they doubled the price to increase demand: “The customers, mostly well-to-do vacationers with little knowledge of turquoise, were using a standard principle—a stereotype— guide their buying, "expensive = good." Thus the vacationers, who wanted "good jewelry, saw the turquoise pieces as decidedly more valuable and desirable when nothing about them was enhanced bur the price. Price alone had become a trigger feature for quality, and a dramatic increase in price alone had led to a dramatic increase in sales among the quality-hungry buyers. Click, whirr!”

Reciprocation

• Reciprocation: “The rule says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us. If a woman does us a favor, we should do her one in return; if a man sends us a birthday present, we should remember his birthday with a gift of our own; if a couple invites us to a party, we should be sure to invite them to one of ours.” → See’s Candy samples as a kid
• All societies are built off mirrored reciprocation, where you’re expected to work together and match someone’s energy → go positive and go first
• Indebtedness is why Sam Walton wouldn’t allow his buyers accept any gifts from sellers
• Shared economies of scale where customers stay loyal since the business prices well (Costco, Amazon)

Reject then Retreat

• Reject then retreat technique: “I was walking down the street when I was approached by an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy. He introduced himself and said that he was selling tickets to the annual Boy Scouts circus to be held on the upcoming Saturday night. He asked if I wished to buy any at five dollars apiece. Since one of the last places I wanted to spend Saturday evening was with the Boy Scouts, I declined. "Well," he said, "if you don't want to buy any tickets, how about buying some of our big chocolate bars? They're only a dollar each." I bought a couple and, right away, realized that something noteworthy had happened. I knew that to be the case because: (a) I do not like chocolate bars; (b) I do like dollars; (c) I was standing there with two of his chocolate bars; and (d) he was walking away with two of my dollars.”
• Ie negotiating a purchase price reduction with a big initial request then walking it back
• A potential concession is asking for referrals when a customer doesn’t make the purchase
• Watergate scandal was a request then retreat example: "If he had come to us at the outset and said, I have a plan to burglarize and wiretap Larry O'Brien's office,' we might have rejected the idea out of hand. Instead he came to us with his elaborate call-girl/ kidnapping/mugging/sabotage/wiretapping scheme... He had asked for the whole loaf when he was quite content to settle for half or even a quarter.”
• Ethan’s specialty:

Commitment & Consistency

• Commitment & Consistency Principle: we want to act in ways that fit with what we’ve said or done before → we value being consistent, especially after a public commitment (no one likes being seen as a flake or unreliable publicly)
• “I just happen to know how several of the big toy companies jack up their January and February sales. They start prior to Christmas with attractive TV ads for certain special toys. The kids, naturally, want what they see and extract Christmas promises for these items from their parents. Now here's where the genius of the companies' plan comes in: They undersupply the stores with the toys they've gotten the parents to promise. Most parents find those things sold out and are forced to substitute other toys of equal value. The toy manufacturers, of course, make a point of supplying the stores with plenty of these substitutes. Then, after Christmas, the companies start running the ads again for the other, special toys. That juices up the kids to want those toys more than ever. They go running to their parents whining, You promised, you promised, and the adults go trudging off to the store to live up dutifully to their words." - we all want to live up to our promises
• How can we use this to our advantage?
  • Public commitments tend to be lasting commitments - like if you tell all your friends and family you’re gonna run a marathon you won’t just back out once the training sucks
  • Identity-based habits make use of the consistency principle because you want to live up to how you internally view yourself (Atomic Habits aka I am a reader or I am an athlete to build up the confirming votes)