There was a time where rare was expensive (with the exception of a blind horse, as we say in French – I am sure there is an equivalent expression in English).

Today, the idea of ‘niche’ has slowly but surely dethroned the idea of ‘rare’.

The concepts of value have not changed. It’s the world around, the playing field that has changed. I am starting to wonder if the change in the way value is perceived will start to generate a crisis of desire.

How much more do you want something you can't find easily ?

Let me elaborate a little: When I used to go to my music store to find a particular album, and that album was out of stock, I had to wait. My friends had it and I didn’t. It made me want it more. Now it’s readily available online. I can buy it because there is no shortage. Plus it is cheaper because there is no physical media and so fewer costs are involved. The result may be - I don’t really want it so hard.

I believe this is the dilemma faced by digital goods. Such is human nature, readily available is not always a good thing. In many ways, scarcity can be much more interesting and perhaps in certain situations now needs to be artificially “created”. Retailers already often do that.

We know from psychology that Value Estimates for the purpose of making a choice (preference) are a factor of time and context (what is readily available in my mind or close to me for the purpose of comparison). And we know that human beings although equipped to make elaborate choices are subject to several biases. On that subject, I recommend excellent TED talks by Dan Gilbert the author of Stumbling on Happiness.

So what can we learn overall from all this. That bespoke products are in demand. And that the key to keeping perceived value up is to maintain a sense of uniqueness, scarcity. An offer that wins in the “Now” and the “More”.

Make one off pieces. Tailor your products to the very unique needs and wants of your customers. Do pre-launches, exclusive releases. Cultivate a niche. Tease consumers and ensure it requires some effort to get to your product. It’s rare, so it’s hard to find. If you get one, you’re lucky. To be the lucky one, you’d pay a lot more. Simple. Make it a little harder and they’ll want it more!

But not too hard !

If you make it too hard, as Dan Gilbert explains, people synthesize happiness. Studies show that they are happy with their choices regardless. Therefore, you may end up with a coalition formed by those who could not get access to your product, going around telling everyone how actually they are better off ‘without’ your product ! Remember Vuitton and Rollex are over-rated unless you own one…

These are just a few ideas that can help you salvage ‘value’. If it’s too easy then, it’s not fun. No mystery – no love