In order to attract customers to their saloons, bar owners in the past made generous offers to the potential customers in the form of free lunch. This was normally the case if you purchased at least one drink at the bar. This was a great idea but the lunch usually cost more than the drink, such that the owners usually relied on the expectation that the customers would buy more than one drink.
The razor blades produced by the company of the renowned entrepreneur, Gillette, had become quite expensive and he had to reduce the price after the first patent expired. He sold them at a lower price to make market for the newer ones. This was coupled by the fact that there was a lot of competition in the market at that time.
The Standard Oil, a company owned by the famous John D. Rockefeller, at some time enjoyed a monopoly over the American market. When they decided to expand and look for overseas markets, the company sent out representatives to China to make a deal. About eight million kerosene lamps were given out in an attempt to lure over the Chinese.
The largest mass media company internet service provider in the United States, Comcast often gives out free DVRs samples to subscribing customers, bearing the burden of the initial product cost. This cost however is regained when the customers want installation, which costs about $19.95, as well as a monthly fee of $13.95 that is charged to every subscriber. The initial cost of one DVR box which is about $250, takes only around 18 months to recover, and then the company starts generating profit.
Big computer printer manufacturers often sell their products with partially filled cartridges as freebies at below costs to create sales for their external cartridges. In most cases, the cost of the printer with the partially filled cartridges almost equals the cost of buying one cartridge. The producers sometimes make the machines in such a way that if a non-proprietary ink cartridge is put into the machine, it completely disables it.
Free sample give outs sometime misfire, especially if the consumers find other uses for the sub standard commodities rather than the one intended. When free computers were given out with attached expensive relational internet services, the consumers opted to put them into other uses. This usually affects the revenue flow for the company that would have otherwise gained marginal profits from the supply of internet.
A type of marketing strategies related to freebies called tying is used by large companies to market their products and to ensure that unpopular products sell. A company can decide not to sell a bestselling book to a book store until a certain unpopular one sells out before releasing the best seller to the market. This tends to force the consumer to buy something that they do not need in an attempt to buy a product that they actually like.
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