Book Description

Consumers shop to satisfy emotional needs and desires-if a company is selling to emotion, then it's in the business of luxury.

What motivates consumers to buy?Is it pleasure?Education?Entertainment?Status?Or just an impulse?Knowing why consumers buy what they do is the secret to predicting how they will behave in the ever-changing marketplace.In most cases, much of what people buy are items they really don't need.

Focusing on the "whys" of spending, Danziger has meticulously profiled customers in more than 30 categories of discretionary spending through research based on surveys, interviews, and focus groups from a variety of people who make discretionary purchases.She provides readers with a vision of the future, giving them the foresight to anticipate the needs and desires of their customers.

This groundbreaking guide will help marketers of all products understand the underlying motivators consumers use to both make their purchases and become satisfied, loyal customers.In Why People Buy Things They Don't Need, Danziger examines:
* The 14 justifiers that give consumers "permission"to buy.
* Trends impacting why people purchase what they do.
* How to sell even more to these customers.
* The future of discretionary spending. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Have you ever asked yourself why did I buy this item?
Why People Buy Things They Don't Need is the title of a book authored by marketing consultant Pamela N. Danziger.

Have you ever pondered this question? Perhaps you have asked yourself "why on earth did I ever buy this item?" Danziger is a specialist in advising companies how to capture a bigger slice of the consumer market. Over a span of twenty years she has thoroughly researched the fundamental motives that induce people to buy and the results of her findings and insights are shared with us in her handbook. From the very first chapter the author's main contention is that people "do need" and as she states, "that is the simple answer to a profoundly challenging question." There is a desire to satisfy a need and it is this need that we must understand in order to be able to market our products effectively. In other words, understanding the emotional satisfaction of the purchase is of vital importance.

The first section of the book deals with what we need and emphasis is placed on the act of consuming rather than the item being consumed. Emotion and desire become essential, as consumers need a reason to purchase. Various examples are provided in order to show how sales can be improved, if the seller only knew what we needed. The author recounts her own story when she was required to replace her dishwasher. The salesperson showed her various brands and ultimately she purchased the machine. However, as she points out, had the salesperson tried to probe further he would have discovered that all of her kitchen appliances were over ten years old. As we all are aware, ten years is the time when kitchen appliances begin to show their wear and tear. The element of justification would then have presented itself, as the purchaser would have permission to update and it would not have taken too much to induce her to purchase a stove and a fridge.

The author presents us with a detailed analysis of this justification or permission to purchase by exposing to the reader fourteen "justifiers" that creates this motivation.
These fourteen are based on quality of life, pleasure, beautifying the home, education, relaxation, entertainment, planned purchase, emotional satisfaction, replacing existing item, stress relief, hobby, gift to yourself, impulse purchasing, and status. As the Danziger maintains, "it is the justifiers that give consumers the illusion that they are acting rationally in purchasing, but in reality, they remain driven by personal desires and emotions."

The second section of the book describes what is being purchased and the final section endeavours to show us where we are headed or what are the consumer trends.

The book is undoubtedly an interesting addition to the growing collection of published materials pertaining to the subject matter.

Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures.com

For everyone who has ever had a product to sell...
Pam Danziger has a clear understanding of the realities of today's marketplace and the trends for the future. She explains clearly and succinctly just how businesses can reap their share of the nearly 42% of spending Americans devote to discretionary items, backing it up with statistics and quotes from highly reliable sources. Examples throughout the book include the good, the bad and the ugly in manufacturing and retailing today. Far from merely promoting a simplistic "feel good" mentality, Danziger conveys an understanding of the various types of buyers, the justification they need to make their purchases, and how suppliers can deliver that message. Her observations speak volumes: "The consumer's feelings often may have more to do with the act of purchasing than with the object." This is a must-have marketing reference to read and re-read and then implement to reach your maximum sales potential.

still shopping
I could have written this book in six words......."Because it makes you feel good!"

50% Too Long
The book could have given you the message in half the pages. I found about ten pages of really good information but a lot of fluff as well.

The hidden depths of the credit-card happy human psyche
Why People Buy Things They Don't Need by marketing expert Pamela N. Danziger offers truly fascinating insights into the psychology of impulse purchases and rampant consumerism, as well as why people are so quick to buy new stuff they don't use, especially before the old stuff is worn out! Motives such as "improving the quality of life", stress relief, compulsive shopping, and a great deal more are scrutinized in depth. Why People Buy Things They Don't Need is very strongly recommended as a solid and informative treatise delving into the conflicts and the hidden depths of the credit-card happy human psyche -- and how to use it to advantage in the marketplace of goods and services. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Anyone who designs anything to be used by humans--from physical objects to computer programs to conceptual tools--must read this book, and it isan equally tremendous read for anyone who has to use anything created by another human. It could forever change how you experience and interact with your physical surroundings, open your eyes to the perversity of bad design andthe desirability of good design, and raise your expectations about how things should be designed. ... Read more

Reviews (75)

A must read for programmers and engineers alike!
Norman does an excellent job of showing the reader that interface design is not simple a matter of putting a handle or some buttons on something. His in depth analysis of not only which interfaces are good or bad but why is an interesting and educational read for anyone who must create objects, devices, or interfaces that a person will interact with. The language is easy to understand and not heavily technical but still remains interesting. His examples are not specific to computer interfaces but to many different kinds of devices - telephones, light switches, etc. An excellent book for readers of any level - student or teacher, from junior high on up.

THE Book for Designers
If you are interested in the field of design or are currently within it, this is the book to read. Donald Norman's information readily applies to all different types of design: software, hardware, industrial, and more. I am a software designer (user interface design and usability predominantly) and Norman's work has really formed the building blocks of the way I do my job. Norman's explanation of conceptual models alone is worth the price of this book.

Before going anywhere else and reading any specific design books (such as Alan Cooper for software...great book too), read this book.

See The Psychology of Everyday Things
Take a look at the The Psychology of Everyday Things (the hardcover edition of this book). They changed the title for the paperback edition.

Mind altering book.
If you design anything you will want to read this book. Even if you don't design what physically appears to a persons eye you want to read this. It is an amazing book which really changes your view of everything. After you read the first chapter of this book you'll start viewing the world differently. You'll start questioning why your VCR is like so, or why your DVD player is not like you think it should be. It is a fun book to read and a worthy one.

super interesting
great for artists, designers, programmers, architects, actually pretty much anyone who has an interest in they way things work, creative process, and design.
This challenges the notion of lazy design, and goes against the issue of designing things the same way becuase that's the way it's always been done. Rewinds the design process and starts over. Shows design flubs and goes through the thought process and the intentions behind them. VERY interesting book, love the photographs and diagrams. ... Read more

Book Description

How do customers decide what products and brands to buy? With the rise of sophisticated advertising and marketing research methods in this century, business leaders have spent billions of dollars attempting to answer this perplexing question. Occasionally, analysts emerge with suggestive trends, but ultimately with little hard evidence to support any definitive "laws" of customer choice.

Now, in this much-anticipated major work, Eric Marder reveals how universal patterns in survey responses lead not only to general principles in marketing but to empirically verifiable laws of human nature itself. Drawing on forty years of applying his pioneering experimental design techniques to marketing research surveys, Marder presents a global theory of choice behavior, supported by original data reported here for the first time from thousands of massive real-life experiments based on millions of interviews. His dramatic findings about pricing, optimal marketing tactics, product evaluation, the relative role of product and image, and advertising effectiveness will make this book required reading for the entire marketing community. Of special interest to social scientists and survey research practitioners will be Marder's powerful research designs and techniques, including the unbounded write-in scale for measuring desirability (attitude) and his methodological analyses of the relationships among beliefs (perceptions), desires, choice, and behavior.

In the Preface, he writes: "At the core of the theory are three laws of choice behavior the Law of Congruence, the Law of Primacy, and the Law of Persistence. These laws are both general and self-evident. At first glance, they are so self-evident that you might say: 'I have known this all along.' My reply is: 'Of course you have known it all along. But there is a difference between knowing and knowing, between the passive knowing that allows us to persist in actions that are inconsistent with what we know, and the active knowing that helps us change the way we do things.' I believe that knowing the laws of choice behavior-really knowing them -- changes the way we do things. My crass but stringent criterion has been that a good theory should enable someone equipped with it to make more money than someone who isn't. I believe my theory has passed this test." ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Must Read For New Product Measurement
Mr. Marder and his company have been using this method for a number of years for some of the best know brands and it works. The concept is great although the methods can be expanded upon using advances in technology. If you are trying to find out what people think about product concepts this method provides straight-forward easy to understand direction.

A must read for anyone interested in marketing
THE LAWS OF CHOICE is one of the best books on consumer behavior, marketing and marketing research that I have ever read - and I have read a lot of books on these topics. Reading this book enriched me in four ways. First, it supported and strengthed my conviction that marketing can, and should, be an applied science based on EXPERIMENTAL research. Second, it taught me several valuable research design and measurement techniques - one of which, the unbounded write-in scale, I intend to use in my own academic research. Third, it gave me a lot of marketing research data on topics such as advertising, pricing, product design, and brand positioning. For example, I learned the results of over 100 studies that collectively indicate that consumer price sensititvity is as strong for inexpensive products as it is for expensive ones. Finally, reading this book gave me a new example of intellectual achievement to admire and be inspired by. As you may have surmised by now, this is a book of substance that does not make for light reading. However, the book is not difficult to read either. The arguments and writing are very clear and should be within the ability of any reasonably intelligent and thoughtful reader to understand. In my opinion, this book should be read by anyone with a serious interest in consumer behavior or marketing.

MISLEADING TITLE.........BIG LETDOWN!!!
This book was not what I expected at all, I was looking forward to hard definitive answers as to why consumers buy products. What I recieved was theory relative to doing research to find those answers. Mr. Marder lost me numerous times with his explanations of how to do the research and his graphs. I felt the book was more suited as a classroom text book, rather than for your average reading. While I respect his knowledge, work and experience as a researcher this book left me with the feeling that it was nothing more than an endorsment for the services he porvides in his business. ... Read more

Book Description

Whether you are beginning a new career in automotive sales, have been in the business since birth or are a customer seeking insight into what is behind the smoke and mirrors, Cars and People; How to Put the Two Together, is for you.

There is more to sales than basics; journey through the behavioral side of the deal. Learn how to control your customer. Understand what a real commitment is. Be prepared to get dirty. You'll be digging up old stereotypes, planting seeds and building rapport.

There is no reason for the sale to be so difficult. It's only cars and people. Congratulations! Now you are armed with the tools to put the two together.

Book Description

Praise for the Second Edition of Star Ware

"Star Ware is still a tour de force that any experienced amateur will find invaluable, and which hardware-minded beginners will thoroughly enjoy."
–Robert Burnham, Sky & Telescope magazine

"Star Ware condenses between two covers what would normally take a telescope buyer many months to accumulate."
–John Shibley, Astronomy magazine

Now more than ever, the backyard astronomer has a dazzling array of choices when it comes to telescope shopping–which can make choosing just the right sky-watching equipment a formidable challenge.

In this revised and updated edition of Star Ware, the essential guide to buying astronomical equipment, award-winning astronomy writer Philip Harrington does the work for you, analyzing and exploring today’s astronomy market and offering point-by-point comparisons of everything you need.Whether you’re an experienced amateur astronomer or just getting started, Star Ware, Third Edition will prepare you to explore the farthest reaches of space with:

• Extensive, expanded reviews of leading models and accessories, including dozens of new products, to help you buy smart
• A clear, step-by-step guide to all aspects of purchasing everything from telescopes and binoculars to filters, mounts, lenses, cameras, film, star charts, guides and references, and much more
• Eleven new do-it-yourself projects for making unique astronomical equipment at home
• Easy tips on maintenance, photography, and star-mapping to help you get the most out of your telescope
• Lists of where to find everything astronomical, including Internet sites and Web resources; distributors, dealers, and conventions; and corporate listings for products and services

Reviews (6)

An essential referenc for any prospective telescope buyer!!!
For anyone in the market for an astronomical telescope , this book is a tremendous help. Twenty or more years ago there were only a handful of manufacturers that offered astronomical telescopes , but now there is a flood of products for the prospective buyer! Phil Harrington does an excellent job in systematically listing not only the individual products by type , but gives a thumbnail sketch of the manufacturers as well.

The author leaves the final decisions in the hands of the readers , but after reading this little paperback , the reader is an informed buyer! This is not a field where mistakes are cheap. This book will save you some real $$$ if you pay attention. It did me!

This book is will save you money, time, and heartburn.
Looking for a friend to help guide you when buying your first telescope, binoculars, or some new eyepieces and accessories. Phil Harrington, acting vicariously through Star Ware, is that friend. The author, who also writes equipment reviews for Astronomy magazine, exhaustively examines the current astronomical marketplace and discusses the pros and cons of just about everything an amateur astronomer could want and purchase.

The book also features ten new make-at-home projects, including two observatories, a simple digital imager that is light enough to use with *any* telescope, a pair of binocular mounts, an observing chair, and more.

Further, the author's extensive web site ... is regularly updated with the latest news on telescopes and astro-equipment.

I highly recommend Star Ware for all amateur astronomers who are interested in learning about and purchasing the best equipment.

This book is the best money I have ever spent on astronomy!
The newly released third edition is more up to date than any other telescope book around! The author has re-examined literally hundreds of different telescopes, binoculars, and accessories, using both his own findings as well as those of readers who answered his telescope owner survey.

If you are thinking of buying a telescope or some astro-accessory, or maybe want to get more out of the equipment that you already own, this is the book for you! Even if you own a telescope, you're bound to pick up something new in this book! I learned more from reading Starware than in probably ten other books combined. And even if you own the first or second edition (or both!), the third edition is a MUST!

Great new edition, even better than the last!
I've read 'em all and Star Ware is still the single best book about equipment for the amateur astonomer ever written. The author has clearly done a tremendous amount of research to cover just about every conceivable piece of equipment out there. And, best of all, he discusses pros and cons evenly, without bias, and with a sense of humor that holds the interest of even non-astronomer types.

If you are thinking about buying a telescope or other piece of astronomical equipment, the price of this book could save you hundreds. And, in the long run, you will end up knowing more about what to buy and how to use it, thanks all to this book.

Bravo!

Better options are available
Don't waste your money on this book. Save it for your equipment. A better choice for a beginner's book is Nightwatch by Terence Dickinson, available from Amazon.com. You should also subscribe to Sky & Telescope magazine and order a free catalog from Orion Telescopes and Binoculars Co. Their Web site URL is telescopes.com ... Read more

Book Description

Feeling overwhelmed by your debts? If you're ready to regain your financial freedom, this book is exactly what you need! Step by step, Attorney Robin Leonard shows you how to:

*prioritize debts
*create a budget
*negotiate with creditors
*stop collector harassment
*challenge wage attachments
*contend with repossessions
*respond to creditor lawsuits
*qualify for a mortgage
*rebuild credit

To make the process easier, Money Troubles also includes sample letters to creditors, as well as worksheets and charts to calculate your debts and expenses and help you create a repayment plan.

With the completely updated and revised 9th edition, learn how to deal with identity theft, choose a reverse mortgage, opt out of telemarketers' lists and defend your property from creditors who are collecting a debt. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

just an ad for their other books
The phrase I encountered most in this book was "for more on this subject see our other books." There was very little in it that was helpful and it was biased toward the creditors, not the debtors.

Too Basic
This book is very basic and gives advice about how to manage money. However the one mistake the book makes is that it assumes that collection agencies and/or creditors are legitimate and offers no recourse to how to dispute charges from less scrupulous companies and agencies. The text for dealing with credit reporting bureaus is very basic. There are more precise texts to tell how to clean up your credit report (naturally after you have closed the accounts).

Reader friendly coverage of all the consumer credit basics.
Get out of debt and rebuild credit with the aid of this revised 6th edition of a classic, which tells how to take control of finances and repair credit. From repairing a bad credit rating to reducing alimony and responding to lawsuits, Money Troubles provides all the basics involved in consumer credit issues.

Comprehensive, practical, authoritative, reader friendly.
Now in a fully updated and expanded sixth edition, Robin Leonard's Money Troubles: Legal Strategies To Cope With Your Debts continues to be an invaluable instruction manual and guide for consumers seeking to pare down their debts by negotiating with creditors and prioritizing financial obligations; rebuilding personal credit; stop collection harassment; respond effectively to creditor lawsuits; learn effective alternatives to bankruptcy; determine if and when bankruptcy is the correct response to debt; and much, much more. Accurate, reliable, practical, comprehensive, and truly reader friendly, Money Troubles is an outstanding, highly recommended compendium of advice, counsel and strategies for dealing with credit cards, bill collectors, credit reports, credit bureaus, judgments, wage garnishments, repossessions, foreclosure, property liens and levies, refund rights, bounced checks, consigned loans, budgeting, and credit counseling.

Absolutely the best!
This book has to be the most comprehensive and most helpful book for people who are having credit and money problems. It's easy to read (like all the Nolo books I've read) and the information is detailed and excellent. The state-by-state charts of current laws are really useful. I can't recommend it highly enough -- and I've recommended it to a lot of people. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The best
Plain and simple this is the best fashion book to study!

Want To Understand The Fashion Biz?!
"From Concept to Consumer" is the first book I recommend to people who are truly interested in the business of fashion. Even though the book is a textbook it is an easy and fast read. One of the best features of this book is the sequential order format. The author takes you step by step through the development of the fashion process BEFORE a single garment is made by briefly describing fashion forcasting, research, color, fabric and trend analysis. The next process explains how raw materials for fabrics are chosen, processed and produced into textiles. Learn about the marketing of these textiles on the international market and to major apparel manufacturers. All of this takes place before the designer even starts to design a collection! Take a look inside the channels of garment distribution and on to us the consumer. This book provides a realistic insiders view in to the industry which is often glamorized by high profile designers and media spokespeople. Folks the business of fashion is a solid industry just like any other and in my opinion even more interesting than all the fluff and the sizzle. ... Read more

Book Description

"Gershman's guide may be the best guide for novice and pro shoppers alike," praises The Washington Post, and you'll agree. For more than ten years, Suzy Gershman has been leading savvy shoppers to the world's best finds. Now Born to Shop New York is easier to use and packed with more up-to-date listings than ever before. Inside you'll find:

• The best of Manhattan's shopping scene, from world-renowned department stores to hip boutiques-now with even more coverage of the hottest downtown neighborhoods
• Great values on everything from bath and beauty to wedding gowns-plus insider tips on sample sales, flea markets, and factory outlets
• Terrific gift ideas, even for the friend who has everything-plus the best gifts for under $10
• Tips on finding the best hotel and dining values-so you can maximize your shopping dollars

Reviews (1)

a world class book
Professors leading by Robert Murdick make clear the advantegeous to apply OM strategies on services. A superb revision on the operations management dynamics. This edition keeps the material fresh, without loose its objectivity.

As a professor on service operations management I will always appreciate its invaluable didactic support as well on the consulting business. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Paco Underhill has a genius for retail. As a follow-up to the bestseller Why We Buy, he has written an arch entertaining ethnography of the shopping mall. Energized by two dripping cinnabons, Underhill guides readers on a walking tour to encounter senior mall walkers, teen jean and hoodie shoppers, shoe fetishists, six second sales greeters, kiosk vendors and food court diners.

He nails our ambivalence about indoor shopping saying, "the mall, like television, is an easy American target for self-loathing. We look at the mall and wonder: is this the best we could do?" He gets the devil in the details with wonderful riffs about global malls, parking spaces, the "free" gift with cosmetics, retail tribalism (Nordstrom versus Ann Taylor, Pac Sun versus Abercrombie) and why CD and bookstores have returned to city streets. But Underhill doesn't whine. When he critiques multiplex theatres, raunchy bathrooms or the absence of coatrooms, he also offers witty suggestions. For example, how to turn a well-appointed restroom into a profit center.

Underhill is convinced that online shopping and fatigued boomer shoppers are leading to the "post-mall era." This kind of prediction makes The Call of the Mall a great read. It is a smart, observant meditation--one that suggests the past and the future of our shopping culture. --Barbara Mackoff ... Read more

Book Description

How do you top what is said to be the greatest selling fundraising book of all time?

How do you improve upon Mega Gifts, a book CASE Currents magazine called 'the most important fundraising book' written?

How do you, as Emeril Lagasse would say, 'kick it up a notch?"

Jerold Panas knows how.

You update the content, revise it, add more chapters, introduce a rash of new donors, and look afresh at what's happened over the past two decades. What you end up with is an even better book, if that's possible.

The Second Edition of Mega Gifts: Who Gives Them, Who Gets Themis no 'how-to' book. Panas would wince at that depiction. No, Mega Gifts it is far more substantive and significant than that.

What Panas is after is nothing less than exposing the soul of those who make large gifts. And in his own inimitable style, he goes right to the source, the big givers themselves, and speaks at length with dozens of them.

Then, to corroborate what he learns, Panas surveys nearly a thousand professionals in the field and incorporates their insights as well.

The result is a tour de force book from an unrivalled storyteller, with insights dancing off every page. In fact, there's so much inside information, you'll feel you're reading someone else's mail.

What you find in Mega Gifts is the real deal, from the primary source. This isn't conjecture.

And what you gain is an understanding of donors' innermost motivations, what drives them to the causes they support, how they reach their decision, what nurtures their loyalty, what they expect from organizations and their staff, how they wish to be recognized - even how they want you to approach them and present your case.

And then there are the Tenets for Success. From his depth interviews, from his survey to field professionals, and from his own close association with mega givers over the past several decades, Panas has distilled down 62 tenets that guide, shape, and determine the success of securing major gifts. Each and every one should be tacked on the wall.

Mega Gifts is the 800 pound gorilla in the field … and one hugely entertaining animal it is. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Well Researched and Well Written
This book was first published in 1984 and quickly became a classic. Panas calls up the experiences of well-known philanthropists, volunteers, educators, religious leaders, fund-raising experts, and others tounderscore a primary principle of successful fundraising: technique is nosubstitute for a committed heart. Having said that, be sure to check outhis 65 Tenets for Success. ... Read more

Book Description

For more than ten years, Suzy Gershman has been leading savvy shoppers to the world's best finds. Now Born to Shop Italy is even easier to use and packed with more up-to-date listings and shopping secrets than ever before.

... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great Guides to European Cities
...even if shopping is not your primary travel goal.

Suzy is a hoot -- she reminds me of a little less mean Joan Rivers. I love all her Born to Shop books, and must admit that I use them to guide me through any city she's written about, even if I don't plan to do crazy shopping while there. If you're a person who, like me, learns more about culture and civilization in bars and shops all over the world than from great museums, these are for you. I have never had an experience with bad or out-dated information in her books, and her recommendations have guided me to treasured purchases that remind me of my European rambles and bring a smile to my face whenever I wear them. Suzy has a great eye and a lot of inside information and tips that will help you make the most of your mad money, even if all you plan to bring home with you is gifts. I especially appreciate her inclusion of street markets, vintage shopping and flea markets; great for fashionistas who are not glossy fashion magazine zombies, and for those who are looking for passable knock-offs of designer goods. Suzy's books also include wonderful cheap, on-the-go eating ideas for your busy, busy days, and she includes these stops as she tells you how to plan your shopping route to maximize your time.

The Paris, London and Italy books are superb. These, and skinny Eyewitness Top 10 guide books are all I need!

Very disappointing
I agree with many of the other comments here. There are glaring errors all throughout this book, as well as the other Born To Shop books. If you have an older edition, there's no need to buy the new one, as there has been almost nothing updated. The Born To Shop books are a fun read, but do your own homework before following any of the suggestions. Sometimes I think Suzy Gershman really needs to get a clue!

A lot of errors
This guide gives a lot of information but some glaring errors. The Etro factory is in Milan not in Como, Pavia is a city south of Milan and not in Tuscany etc. I also do not necessarily want to know about the authors hot flashes while trying on cashmere sweaters.
Ann Dexter, Rome

From a true shopper
Suzy definitely knows how to get her shop on. It's admirable that she mentions all different shopping experiences for all different types of shoppers. You can appreciate her honesty and her expertise. Her book was the only map I used while in Italy and I came back with suitcases of great stuff thanks to her. This is the ultimate shopping guide for Italy.

Funny lady Suzy is the best shopping partner!
Most of the guidebooks for countries include portions on shopping but they don't tell you what TO buy and what NOT to buy, as well as Where to buy it--SUZY DOES! She has shopped Italy backwards and forwards and knows the ins and outs and nooks and crannies. Having never been to Italy, I was unsure of the special things to buy while I was there. If you are going to Italy and want to know how to best spend your $ on souveniers, get this book. Tips like avoiding Piazza San Marco if you don't want to pay the highest prices for Venetian goodies are invaluable. Also,if you want to be a bit more spendy she gives you those highlights as well--Venezia Stadium is one of the most gorgeous stores in the shopping universe. She includes tips on stores both in the major cities and the rural countryside--including designer outlets. If you are interested in hotels and food she includes those as well, although her hotel budget is a little higher than the average person.
Most of all Suzy is hilarious! Buy this book if you plan to shop at all while visiting Italy.

Also Recommend: Born to shop France (Had a section on Provence region which was helpful) ... Read more

Book Description

Tailored for upper-level undergraduate and MBA students, Assael's Consumer Behavior applies behavioral concepts to market strategy (domestic and international) with special emphasis on web-related issues and applications. Assael presents the content from a managerial perspective, focusing on decision making as the framework for understanding consumer behavior. The text also features a unique, three-chapter Marketing Action section, covering marketing communications, marketing segmentation and micromarketing, as well as consumer rights and social responsibility.

• The text introduces decision-making at the beginning, providing students with a framework for understanding the characteristics of and various factors influencing consumer behavior.
• Each chapter opens with a vignette describing how various companies are responding to specific consumer behavior strategies and challenges.
• Chapter Overviews recap core principles and also explain the relationship between chapters.
• Global Applications of Consumer Behavior boxes focus on the similarities and differences across international boundaries.
• Web Applications of Consumer Behavior inserts address how the advent of the Internet has affected consumer decision-making.
• Strategic Applications of Consumer Behavior features look at how organizations and managers confront current consumer behavior challenges.
• At the end of each chapter, Questions for Discussion test students' ability to understand, recall, and apply essential chapter concepts.
• Research Assignments allow students to practice the concepts presented in the textbook.

Book Description

A fascinating look at how media manipulates the mind;

A handbook for marketing, psychology, sociology, and related classes;

A "how to manual" for artists, advertisers, and business people interested in subliminal techniques.

The Secret Sales Pitch argues that, since the 1950s, optical illusions have been secretly embedded in mass media in order to manipulate the public unconsciously. These subliminal images are extremely provocative, and involve nightmarish monsters as well as many forms of erotica. In addition, pictures with subliminal meanings understood only on an unconscious level have secretly aroused viewers’ innermost fears and fantasies.

The author is an attorney who presents the evidence of subliminal advertising as though he were addressing a jury. Although the claims on the cover may initially seem outlandish, the case that is presented is credible and disturbing. The examples that are provided are startling, and intelligently correlated to studies gleaned from psychological journals. The history of subliminal persuasion, from Vance Packard to the present, is thoughtfully reviewed. N.F. Dixon, a respected psychologist and the author of a treatise on subliminal perception, has endorsed Bullock’s work and commented that his interpretations are "convincing and ingenious."

The back cover promises "You will never watch a commercial, make a sales presentation, or look in the mirror the same way again."Even skeptical readers will not be disappointed. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

How the media manipulates the minds of consumers
Author August Bullock provides an informed and informative survey of how the media manipulates the minds of consumers through subliminal messages in The Secret Sales Pitch. By revealing the psychology involved in contemporary marketing strategies and tactics, Bullock has produced a kind of instructional manual which will prove to be a superbly presented introduction into subliminal message and image oriented advertising. The Secret Sales Pitch is strongly recommended reading for all elements of the advertising community, as well as social activists and reformers concerned with media manipulation issues arising from corporate and/or governmental efforts to persuade consumers and the body politic.

A very thoughtful analysis
August Bullock's new book, The Secret Sales Pitch, is well-written, provocative and well-researched. Whether you agree with all his conclusions or not, he makes a very persuasive argument. College students will enjoy this thought provoking book immensely. It is a must read for anyone in psychology, marketing or advertising!

Shocking and Thought Provoking
With a degree in marketing and experience in graphic arts, I was aware of the basics of subliminal marketing messages. However, I was unaware of the pervasive presence of such hidden messages in mass market advertising --- the traditional marketing classes generally describe subliminal marketing as "untested" (perhaps because the high level advertising agencies keep their research confidential).

Bullock describes an ad for an alcoholic beverage -- an ad that I recall viewing in some detail as I rode the subway to work each day. At that time, I found the image in the ad both disturbing and riveting -- but I could not understand what kept bringing my eyes back to further study it. (As I never drink the particular product being advertised, it wasn't due to any obvious interest on my part.) Imagine my surprise when, there in The Secret Sales Pitch, is that ad I remember from the subway train thoroughly dissected and explained. It _does_ have disturbing aspects, I was _not_ going crazy to have been drawn to the image -- there were many distrubing subliminal aspects that I couldn't identify until I saw the discussion in the book.

I no longer simply look at any mass market ad without looking for hidden messages ... and I've seen some ads that have an initial "innocence" that, upon reflective examination, have many subtle images that reach out to our most basic emotions.

Read this book and you'll never be able to just look at an ad ever again without wondering what secret messages the advertiser is sending you.

Excellent review of provocative topic
August Bullock's new book on subliminal advertising is well written, logical, perceptive, educational and controversial. Whether you ultimately agree with him or not about advertising tactics, you have to give him his due. Most of his conclusions are reasonable. His thesis is amply supported by carefully crafted analysis and numerous examples. Highly recommended for the artist, advertiser, teacher, student, or for anyone looking for an unusual read. ... Read more

Book Description

Consumer Behavior provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform consumer analyses that can be used for understanding markets and developing effective marketing strategies. The authors have developed what they call the Wheel of Consumer Analysis, which is a tool to help the reader understand how consumer affect and cognition, consumer behavior, consumer environment, and marketing strategy interact. The wheel is a powerful tool for analyzing consumer behavior and can be used to understand consumers and to guide the development of effective marketing strategies. ... Read more

Book Description

The three decades after World War II are often heralded as a “Golden Era” of American affluence. But as Lizabeth Cohen makes clear, the pursuit of prosperity defined much more than the nation’s economy; it also became a basic component of American citizenship. Consumers were encouraged to buy not just for themselves, but for the good of the nation.

After a decade and a half of hard times resulting from the Great Depression and the war, the embrace of mass consumption, with its supposed far-reaching benefits—greater freedom, democracy, and equality—transformed American life. The extensive suburbanization of metropolitan areas (propelled by such government policies as the GI Bill), the shift from downtowns to shopping centers, and the advent of targeted marketing all fueled the consumer economy, but also sharpened divisions among Americans along gender, class, and racial lines. At the same time, mass consumption changed American politics, inspiring new forms of political activism through the civil rights and consumer movements and prompting politicians to apply the latest marketing strategies to their political campaigns.

Cohen traces the legacy of the “Consumers’ Republic” into our time, demonstrating how it has reshaped our relationship to government itself, with Americans increasingly judging public services—as if one more purchased good—by the personal benefits they derive from them.

Brilliantly researched and reasoned, A Consumers’ Republic is a starkly illuminating social and political history. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A remarkable piece of research
Lizabeth Cohen's "A Consumers' Republic" does much to explain how citizenship has been significantly redefined by consumerism in postwar America. The thoroughly readable book is full of insights and should interest all readers of 20th century American history. It will also prompt many to ponder how America might try to heal its frayed society while there is time available to do so.

In the Acknowledgements, Ms. Cohen explains that this impressive book was written over the course of ten years. Her thesis profited from audience feedback at numerous college lectures and presentations she made during this time and with able assistance from a number of talented student researchers. With over 400 pages of text and 100 pages of notes, the book represents a remarkable achievement and is a testament to Ms. Cohen's intelligent use of the academic research process.

Ms. Cohen is in top form when she chronicles the struggles of women and African-Americans to assert their rights in what she calls the "Consumers' Republic" of 1945 to 1975. The author provides background material by documenting how a variety of bread-and-butter consumer issues mobilized millions into action from the Depression through WWII. Ms. Cohen then shows how power gained by women and minorities through their contributions to the war effort later found expression in the Civil Rights, women's liberation and other movements of the 1950s and 1960s.

However, Ms. Cohen explains that policy makers in the aftermath of WWII were influenced and corrupted by, among other things, unparalleled levels of corporate power and ideological rivalry with the Soviet Union. Mass consumption was seen as a solution to help keep manufacturing profits high and was propagandized in order prove to the world that the U.S. was practically a classless society. The reality was different, of course. The author discusses how racial, gender and class biases were reaffirmed and institutionalized by the GI Bill and other legislative acts. As a result of Ms. Cohen's extraordinary research, the reader comes to understand that the increasingly stratified post-WWII American society that resulted was not inevitable but was shaped by powerful interests who privileged private sector solutions at the expense of the public.

In my view, the only shortcomings in this ambitious book are Ms. Cohen's failure to discuss the environmental consequences of consumerism and her omission of the student revolt against the military/industrial complex in the 1960s. But overall, these are minor quibbles. "A Consumers' Republic" delivers plenty of thought-provoking material and is a pleasure to read. The book is highly recommended to everyone who might want to gain perspective on contemporary American society and further consider where it might be headed.

A must read for students of American history & marketing.
To say you are an America is to say that you are, de facto, a consumer.

This word is a defining aspect of our American world... Consumerism covers daily life, whether it be drug discounts, tourism, marketers, insurance, cars, homes, technology or just plain old product reviews. We Americans are defined by our consumption.

Lizabeth Cohen has given us a thoroughly researched, readable history on consumerism, and how it came to be such a force and part of our lives in America. She argues that after WWII the "Consumer Republic" was launched, full force, affecting life styles, government and even belief systems. Though the beginning of a consumers movement had occurred before 1940, the "Consumer Republic" took form and force after the second world war.

Cohen's writing style is informative, to the point of being academic. "A Consumers' Republic" is a history book. Thus, it may be a bit more pedantic than most general readers would like.

I found a few omissions that distracted from the overall excellence of the book. One being that Cohen does not investigate how consumerism has been incorporated into, and seriously affected, American Christianity. She does not address how Christianity, especially considering the 'Protestant work ethic', helped to shaped and drive consumerism into being. She does not explore 'why' Americans live to consume, "shop til they drop." Neither does she reflect on the effects that unbridled consumption have on both the social fabric of our nation or the ecological impact on our land.

That said, this book is a "need to read" for students of American history, marketing, those involved as consumer activists, and business. Recommended. 3.5 stars

Interesting
Lizabeth Cohen gavea speech in my school today regarding consumerism in America through her book. Her points were excellent and very interesting. Great read

Consumption and Greed
Over the past decade Lizabeth Cohen has been at the forefront of a new type of American history: consumer's history. In this fast growing field historians look at the development of consumption and consumers, both as an ideal and as a reality, and as a new source of identity. There were reasons to be wary of this trend. Were economic realities and questions of power going to be ignored in a celebration of growing affluence? Was the integrity of culture to be ignored in a vindication of mass consumption?

Now that Lizabeth Cohen's new book has been published we can see that those reasons were misguided. This is a thoroughly documented book that is unusually scrupulous in the attention that it pays to problems of class, gender and race. Cohen starts in the thirties, looking at consumer movements and boycotts, and at two differing ideas of the consumer. One is the "citizen consumer," who is the hero of the book, the consumer who protects his (and very often her) rights and does not placidly accept what businesses deign to give them. The other, more prominent, consumer is the Consumer as Purchaser, the Keynesian consumer who stimulates the economy by his purchases. We then go to the war, and see how the government sought to limit price increases with the help of citizen cooperation. We learn about the many female volunteers, while we also learn that African-Americans, who most needed it, got the least help and the least employment with the OPA. Then we go to the postwar world where, despite popular support, Congress abolishes the OPA. Meanwhile the new consensus, the GI Bill, and the boom of suburbia promise a brave new world of abundance for all, or almost all.

Although women unions and minorities have used consumption and consumer's rights movement to express their grievances, one of Cohen's major themes is how the consumer's republic failed to break down the hierarchies of society and indeed reinforced them. Race was the most obvious failure. Although it has been told before, it is still shocking to learn that black soldiers in the Second World War were excluded from stores and restaurants that German Prisoners of War could freely enter. Cohen also reminds us that shabby treatment of Afro-American soldiers was not merely confined to the South, but to the whole country, including in the West where they were previously non-existent. This takes us to New Jersey, Cohen's native state. Although it had public accommodation laws dating back to the 19th century, storeowners often excluded black customers. Indeed, during the Depression both the Salvation Army and the Red Cross would refuse to help African-Americans in some places. In what is the tour de force of the book Cohen, based on massive amounts of evidence, discusses the struggles in New Jersey for successful civil rights legislation, and the racial segregation and outright exclusionism of the suburbs (encouraged by consumer prejudice, business practice and federal guidelines). We learn about New Jersey's selfish politics of localism, how school funding is based on inequitable local taxation, and of the difficult fights to ensure adequate funding for all.

Especially helpful is Cohen's description of the limited effect of the GI Bill. Most of its students would have gone to university anyway. The poor found that its educational benefits wouldn't be of much help to those who hadn't graduated from high school or who were looking for vocational education. Women and African-Americans faced further hurdles in trying to invoke the GI Bill. They faced outright discrimination, blacks couldn't easily enter the traditional veteran's leagues, and one popular one they did enter was red-baited to death. Both groups had second-rate status in the army, and African-Americans were given much more dishonourable discharges for criticizing their mistreatment. Women, for their part, had trouble getting credit cards, and when working women applied with their husbands for a Veteran's Administration Loan, the wife would have to promise she was either infertile or would get an abortion if she became pregnant. Women also had to step aside for returning veterans so that their proportion in one city university fell from 20% in 1940 to 14% in 1947. Meanwhile, the working class did not vanish in a wash of affluence. They kept their identity, which was enforced by a certain class segregation in suburbia.

Cohen also looks at the growth of shopping malls. She discusses how they were isolated from minority populations (one inner-city youth was killed in 1995 crossing a seven-lane highway because the mall were she worked did not allow buses to stop there). She also points out how they work to limit free speech and distort resources. She then goes to look at the rise of market segmentation in the fifties and sixties and how advertisers and businessmen concentrated their efforts at specific groups. She then discusses the rise and fall of the consumer's movement, as Ralph Nader, Rachel Carson and others inspired a great rush of pro-consumer legislation and greater regulatory effort in the sixties. But the consumer's movement had weaknesses as a truly enthusiastic mass movement, while attempts to institutionalize a consumer's voice in government were defeated in the seventies. There are some weaknesses in this book. As a discussion of advertising, it is less stimulating than Jackson Lears' "Fables of Abundance." More could be said about the pernicious effects of advertising for children, including the insane Reagan administration decision to allow the replacement of educational programming with program-length advertisements for toys. And there is not much about the culture of consumption, a problem that has vexed intellectuals from Veblen to Adorno. But as an account of how consumerism moved decisively from working for the common good to what is good for me is best for all, Cohen's work has no rivals.

The End of Citizenship
From Simon Patten's reworking of the theory of supply and demand into his the theory of consumption at the beginning of the 20th century, Americans have been steadily moved away from citizenship to consumership. Lizabeth Cohen charts the stimulation of desire, describes the segmentation of the American public by marketers, real estate developers and political consultants, and traces the deleterious effects of this fragmentation upon the public sphere. She shows with detailed examples and masses of research how this discourse was created and supported by both the government and the corporation, as well as the public, and how in the process the rights of citizens were transformed into the pale substitute of consumer rights. Particularly thought-provoking is her thesis that the segmentation of the market happened in concert with the end of mass political movements, and how polictical movements are now indistinguishable from consumer movements. Well writen, with good illustrations. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Rarely does a day go by when most of us do not have to deal with surly salespeople, cheaply made products, or vast and indifferent bureaucracies.Most of us endure this with a stoicism worthy of Seneca himself. After all, what's the use of complaining? It all seems to fall on deaf ears, anyway.

But the world needn't be like this, according to Ellen Phillips, consumer consultant and founder of Ellen's Poison Pen, Inc. Since 1988, Phillips has been helping frustrated consumers to get refunds and apologies from everyone from the corner druggist to massive insurance agencies. In her book, Shocked, Appalled, and Dismayed!, Phillips shares the secrets of writing letters of complaint that get results. The first few chapters cover the general dos and don'ts of writing effective letters of complaint (remain calm, use polite language), along with useful advice from legal experts (don't embellish, stick to the facts).

The chapters that follow target specific problems we all face at some time in our lives, ranging from getting bumped from a flight to the secrets of successfully dealing with your HMO. Each chapter contains bullet points, illustrative anecdotes, and a number of example letters, most of which were based on actual letters sent on behalf of Phillips's clients. On top of all this, Phillips also provides an appendix listing the names and addresses of over 600 major companies, government agencies, and consumer organizations. Phillips believes that we should get what we pay for, and after reading her book, you'll be able to stand up for your rights with confidence. ... Read more

Reviews (47)

Shocked, Appalled, and Dismayed! Deserves TEN Stars!
I only wish Phillips had written her book years earlier before I wasted so much time and energy on letters that DIDN'T work. Her first hint - to calm down - (I didn't)is only the start of so much superlative advice to achieve consumers' desired results.

While this book is full of funny anecdotes and language, the really important information is how to protect ourselves from shoddy products and services and then, if we fail to follow this advice, how to write a great complaint letter (and in many instances all we have to do is follow her sample letters).

The appendices tell who to write and to whom to send copies - everyone from attorneys general to consumer advocates to the federal government and everyone in between. As far as I'm concerned, this section is well worth the price all by itself.

Phillips means business and it's obvious that companies take her seriously. By reading her book and doing as she advocates, they will take us all seriously as well.

I'm not surprised [this runs] out of stock.
I learned about Phillips years ago and immediately bought her book upon publication. What a delight to see her on "Oprah" last week and to know that her techniques are still working as great as they did, once upon a time with regards to my own problems.

Shocked, appalled and Dismayed is the best consumer book around, as far as I'm concerned. It details every aspect of writing not just a complaint letter (about every kind of situation) but every other kind of letter that falls within that realm. Tried and tru tips, wonderful advice, sample letters, easy steps - I could go on and on. Suffice it to conclude with the fact that Shocked, Appaled and Dismayed worked for me and I know it'll work for you.

Every Amazon.com customer needs to get this book!
Anyone who has made enough transactions with Amazon.com can tell you, Amazon.com has its share of foul-ups. And when mistakes (that are bound to happen from time-to-time) do happen, the biggest errors occur in their customer service department. For me, I know that I have written e-mail after e-mail complaining about RUDE, ERRONEOUS and downright FRAUDULENT communication emanating from the unskilled and unsupervised excuse for a customer service department only to have other unskilled, unsupervised hacks respond. I kept explaining that I was not seeking compensation, I was trying to complain about Amazon.com's customer service, but Amazon.com either doesn't care or doesn't have a mechanism to care. My e-mails which always started, please forward this to so-and-so's supervisor never were. I can't wait for the follow-up to this book. "How To Write Letters Of Complaint to OUTSOURCED INDIANS WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THE AMERICAN CONSUMER WANTS TO BE TREATED!!"

Xcellent
You may only need this book on occassion, but when you do you will be very glad you have it. It proved indespensible for me recently!

Common sense information
This book is great if you have no idea how to write a complaint letter. However, most of us have common sense, and know how to express that we are "shocked, appalled, and dismayed"! Also, this book discourages the use of certain words and phrases for no other reason than that the author doesn't like them, or thinks they are overused. This book does provide some useful information on how to contact people you may want to send a complaint letter to, but this information can easily be found on the web (for free). ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Interesting that after six editions I'm the first.
This book is a must read for any student in a graduate Integrated Marketing and Communications course. I especially found chapter 20 on marketing ethics informative and usefull for any individual planning on making marketing a career. The graphics are colorful and subject matter is presented in a useful and interesting manner. The questions and discussion formats at the end of the chapter make this textbook an easy use for instructors. Questions for discussion and assignments can be used directly from the book to the students. Makes homework interesting for the class and a snap for the teacher. ... Read more

Book Description

One American in ten tells the other nine how to vote, where to eat, and what to buy. They are
The Influentials

Who are they? The most influential Americans -- the ones who tell their neighbors what to buy, which politicians to support, and where to vacation -- are not necessarily the people you'd expect. They're not America's most affluent 10 percent or best-educated 10 percent. They're not the "early adopters," always the first to try everything from Franco-Polynesian fusion cooking to digital cameras. They are, however, the 10 percent of Americans most engaged in their local communities...and they wield a huge amount of influence within those communities. They're the campaigners for open-space initiatives. They're church vestrymen and friends of the local public library. They're the Influentials...and whether or not they are familiar to you, they're very well known to the researchers at RoperASW. For decades, these researchers have been on a quest for marketing's holy grail: that elusive but supremely powerful channel known as word of mouth. What they've learned is that even more important than the "word" -- what is said -- is the "mouth" -- who says it. They've identified, studied, and analyzed influence in America since the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (now Exxon) hired Elmo Roper himself to develop a model for identifying opinion leaders, and in The Influentials, they are finally ready to share their results. A few samples:

• Influentials have been the "early majority" -- leading indicators of what Americans will be buying -- for more than five decades, from choosing energy-efficient cars in the 1970s to owning computers in the 1980s to adopting 401(k)s and IRAs in the 1990s to using the Internet and cell phones today.
• Influentials have led the way in social development as well, from the revival of self-reliance (in managing their own health care, investments, and consumption) to mass skepticism about the marketing claims of everything from breakfast food to politicians.