the free gift. oh the madness that statement elicits in makeup mavens. excitement in consumers, terror in makeup artists.who started this? in my two minutes of research i attempted, i could not come up with a definitive answer, so i'm going to blame estee lauder. and yes, i just said "blame."
in the old days, there was typically a spring "gift," and a fall "gift." gift with purchase, that is. "are you in gift?" "when is your next free gift?" "is there a surprise with my purchase today?" "are you gifting right now?" "what do i get free today?"
how about . . . your products that you paid for? novel idea. no one has ever said to me, "you have spent x-dollars on shoes today – here is your free pair!" (in my dreams!) in our current economic state, i feel like i must address this issue for a number of reasons. it may seem as if i am angry about this and i am simply ranting . . . and i am. but i feel i must share with readers so they may understand what their retailers are going through the next time they stop in for a "freebie." if i had shared this at counter with women in line for their free gift, i may have been burned at the stake.
a lot of makeup artists will agree that the free gift with purchase has ruined the makeup industry. it was a fine idea, in theory, but it's as if they gave an inch and we took a mile. the free gift is an incentive for women to purchase the product they currently use, or seize the opportunity to try something new from the line and receive trial-sized versions of products to take home and hopefully fall in love with. if successful, women were to return to the counter once their tiny sample was exhausted and have to have more! another goal was for women who may be new to the line to be enticed into trying the products since they were receiving products for free. as i mentioned above, there used to be 2 free gifts per year for certain makeup lines. namely, your estee lauder and clinique, elizabeth arden and lancome. there were others along the way, but these were (are) the heavy-hitters. now it seems that some lines are hosting gift time every other month. women now expect something every time they purchase. why would women want to buy when they know if they just wait a month, or go to another line or a different store, they will get something free? so much for brand loyalty; women will always gravitate towards whoever is peddling the free gift.
well, not totally free. because what's free anymore? sorry, but you do have to buy something to get something. isn't that always the way? and you are correct in assuming that the price to qualify goes up every time. sure it does. why? because the cost of the products go up. you are also correct in guessing that they "make it so you have to buy more than one thing." of course they do! it's called marketing. they take the average cost of the most popular items and adjust the qualifying cost to be about 20% above that price.
one of the many reasons artists loathe the free gift time is due to the overwhelming response by seemingly normal women who suddenly become greedy, blood-thirsty animals. my tips for this blog will include a list of do's and don'ts for gift customers. please feel free to print them out and take them with you.
- do expect to have to wait in line. it's a free gift . . . did you think you were the only one who knew? many companies don't have the budget to hire extra people to help them out just for gift. trust me, they are working their butts off. the gift isn't going to go anywhere, and i've only seen a store actually run out of gifts one time. and they sent more – no one went without.
- don't pick fights with other customers or the artists trying to help because you think you were there first, or because the artist didn't want to help you for whatever reason. remember, always be a lady. it just makes everyone uncomfortable and the only one who will look bad is you. i know it sounds far-fetched, but i saw it at least once a day, every day during free gift time. i never understood why getting a gift always made women so irritable?
- don't bitch about what you are getting in the free gift. it's a free gift!!!!!! it is like finding a $10 bill on the street and then complaining that it wasn't a twenty. some common issues i hear about are: "the colors never work for me," or "i can't ever use the skin care." they choose the products in the gift based on popularity and/or to introduce a new product into the line. and if you can't ever use the products, why are you buying them in the first place?
- do pre-sell if offered. i think most all stores participate in this now, and it does help in the long run. there is a surge of buying during gift and naturally they will run out of your product! if you are given the opportunity to "reserve" your purchase beforehand, take it. it will save everyone a lot of heartache when you come back asking for something that they have run out of. just thinking of the all the "fits" i have seen thrown over being out of stock on something during a free gift sends shivers down my spine.
- don't ask for more than one gift. the rule is always "one per customer." trust me, they know women come back and make several purchases, and they are ok with that. but just blatantly coming out and demanding more because you spent more just makes you look cheap and greedy. most stores will split up your purchases so that you may do this.
- do know what you want. don't bogart your artist for an hour while waffling over what to buy or ask for a makeover while there are several other women waiting to pick up their free gifts. there will be a better time when gift is over for you to come back and get special treatment. but don't make everyone else suffer while you are trying to make up your mind. have a game plan and stick to it.
- finally, don't come back after gift and return the product you bought but keep the gift. really? some stores won't allow this any longer and i cannot begin to tell you how cheap it looks. i always had a lot of women tell me they stock up just to use the free gifts to give as gifts to other people. wow. (psssst – everyone knows you got it for free.)
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