Stuff About Free Stuff

Free. It is a magic word in the consumer world, and it can make people do things that they normally would never do. Predictably Irrational talks a lot about the power of a free item. People waiting in line for long periods of time for something that normally might only cost a few dollars. There is a great episode of The Office where the office building is giving away free pretzels in the lobby and people rush to get into line to wait upwards of an hour just for a free pretzel. At the end of the episode Stanley marks in his calendar “365 days until next pretzel day”.

I experienced a similar situation tonight at the “De-Stress Fest” in the sub. The flyer advertised free food and giveaways starting at 6:30 and when I showed up 20 minutes early the line was already stretching from the ballroom all the way down the hallway and into the cafeteria, and by the time the doors opened the line was almost twice as long. So what is it about “free” that is so appealing? First off, there is no risk involved in the decision, except maybe the risk of waiting in line for a long time and whatever you are waiting for being gone by the time you get there. Free also makes things more enjoyable. I couldn’t tell you how many random trinkets I have scored from career fairs over the years. Things I don’t really need but I get anyway because they are free.

I think a similar phenomenon happens on Black Friday. Ultimately the deals aren’t that great, and if they are you have to wait in line all night and fight someone for one of ten BlueRay players that they marked down 50%. I think a situation like that wouldn’t be worth the stress. I would rather pay full price for something in order to get it peacefully instead of having to deal with crazy people. But obviously there are plenty of people that like being in those situations or else it wouldn’t be the biggest shopping day of the year.