Yeah, I usually distrust any stocking information - unless my need is urgent or I'm after some unusual item (like something handmade rather than manufactured) I assume a) that it's BS and b) that if it's that popular, it'll be back in stock soon enough, or available elsewhere.
The social proof of seeing other people order, oddly enough, I find much more persuasive even though it's just as subject to manipulation. Maybe I'm just jaded from the ubiquity of 'hurry in, this offer can't last' advertisements on TV, on the weekly coupon junk mail that shows up in the mailbox and so on. I always wonder why car dealerships make such a huge thing out of their sales, given that they seem to occur on almost a monthly basis.
Having owned a lot of uncommon, unusual, and vintage products over the years, there is intrinsic value to many other people owning the product beyond simple social proof.
Quite so. I'm into synthesizers and like any other specialist hobby, the more rarefied examples have significant costs of ownership besides scarcity, eg the difficulty of maintenance or finding people competent to do repairs if they become necessary.
The social proof of seeing other people order, oddly enough, I find much more persuasive even though it's just as subject to manipulation. Maybe I'm just jaded from the ubiquity of 'hurry in, this offer can't last' advertisements on TV, on the weekly coupon junk mail that shows up in the mailbox and so on. I always wonder why car dealerships make such a huge thing out of their sales, given that they seem to occur on almost a monthly basis.