Despite the trust issues riddling e-commerce, I have noticed Nigerians still embrace shopping online. If you stay in a place like Lagos, you will know how hard it is going to the market. Traffic and all. It is better to allow them come to you.

However, I have noticed this worrying trend of not attaching prices to goods and services... Very common with Instagram vendors. They will post a very fine item, then write “DM for price”. When you comment to ask them for the price, they will reply “Check your DM”.

Why do they do this? What are they hiding? It is annoying, stressful and scares clients away. Maybe I am wrong and it actually works for them. Any of them here should please explain to me the idea behind this.

pocohantas:


Why do they do this? What are they hiding? It is annoying, stressful and scares clients away. Maybe I am wrong and it actually works for them. Any of them here should please explain to me the idea behind this.

The thing dey tire person. don't think this rubbish has annoyed anyone as much as my sis, she dey always curse them.

SegFault:

The thing dey tire person. don't think this rubbish has annoyed anyone as much as my sis, she dey always curse them.

I am sure it annoys me more o. That thing dey make me vex ehn! It isn’t transparent to me and I don’t do business with such people. I just want to be sure I am not judging them harshly. Maybe their intentions are noble.

pocohantas:


I am sure it annoys me more o. That thing dey make me vex ehn! It isn’t transparent to me and I don’t do business with such people. I just want to be sure I am not judging them harshly. Maybe their intentions are noble.

They are just bastardy nothing more nothing less.

For me that sh!t simply means I no wan sell give you.

I think they don't want competitors to know about their price. Talk about keeping your secret safe.

How about giving you the price and you ghost them? That shit is painful from the client end

Whenever I see dm or WhatsApp for price I just jump and pass. They are simply unserious con artist.

excellence44:
Whenever I see dm or WhatsApp for price I just jump and pass. They are simply unserious con artist.

You don't term them con artist bro. Don't generalize. All you have got to do is to look away and jump pass like you said.

Remember, every one has his or her way of doing his or her business. It's up to the prospective buyer to determine if such ways are okay with him or her.

With the same DM pattern, na people still dey patronize them cos it's okay with them.

I come in peace!

pocohantas:


I am sure it annoys me more o. That thing dey make me vex ehn! It isn’t transparent to me and I don’t do business with such people. I just want to be sure I am not judging them harshly. Maybe their intentions are noble.

It kills me mehn! I don't even follow up with them. But I think they don't want competitors to use their price as a yardstick, and they also do price discrimination.

I think it's because of indecision on the seller's part. They can't stick to a segment of the market for fear of missing out on sales. They want to sell to highend buyers at crazy prices and also to price sensitive buyers for low margins.

This might sound crazy but I think it's sort of a mechanism for making maximum profit off unsuspecting customers. Going to their DM for price means A doesn't get told the same price or given the same discount as B.

It's still crazy how they are yet to understand how much of a "bad market" that statement causes their online business.

Like WTF, just say the price upfront. Nobody wants to come to your DM when we have other things to do. So many others buyers products to look at too.

More on this DM issue in our second post below.......
And this is the response/reasons they do this from the companies involved.........


These are some reasons they gave for being secretive though,

Interestingly, several business owners boldly defended the practice as either necessary or strategic.
The common reasons put forward were:

It filters prospects from the curious to the serious;

It hides product information from competitors;

It’s a marketing strategy that promotes exclusivity;

It allows for personal engagement with the prospective customer;

It prevents disparaging comments from social media trolls or those who can’t afford it or aren’t their target market; and

Some products, such as cakes and art, are custom-made.

But in all these, The Customers remain the KING!
Aight?
It now depends on us if we wanna patronize 'em!

We Rise!

omonighoblessing:
you have said well

Thank you so much ma.

They might give you a price openly and immediately another seller will DM you and give you a lower price for the same product.

They want to scam unsuspecting buyers. The price given to A would be different from the price given to B.
What they do is that they check your profile pics and online profile before giving you a price

Go and check all those who request for DM for price, they are struggling sellers who don't make sales. That is because most serious buyers who are really interested don't bother sending DMs. They move on to the next seller with available pricing and negotiate.

Tayeni:
I think it's because of indecision on the seller's part. They can't stick to a segment of the market for fear of missing out on sales. They want to sell to highend buyers at crazy prices and also to price sensitive buyers for low margins.

Exactly my sentiments.

Most seller don't put prices because they believe that in Nigeria there are too much copy and paste sellers, people trying to take advantage of the next person.
even with the DM price, you will see someone asking you for price and the next few days S/he has also started selling the same product on the same platform, (though the market is big enough) and will remove maybe NGN 10- 200 from your price in order to make sales even some goes to the extent of selling inferior product at just a small discount from your own which might be at higher quality to make sales.
many people are not really passionate about the business or their integrity in this part of the world but just the money to be made in a particular business at that time before jumping to another business.
Take for instance the face shield and nose mask that came out during the coronavirus period well many people that sold initially, sold at ridiculous cost but the way people jumped at it and start selling you will think that is the only business people can do, it has it's positive as it helped to reduce the cost but a lot of counterfeit came out just to maximize profits. Some face shield after like a month you will notice it's not that clear again while the first ones that came out have lasted 4 months and still clearer than the one only used for one month, also usage depends on individual. How many people are now selling the face shield now that the price is down?

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Dem be werey wen no wan competition to know their pricing regime.

It's a strategy for dishonest vendors. They use it to rip off some customers.

DM for price? Lol, bro I'm paying for this, its not a job application or me tryna ask anyone out. Annoying as Bleep. I think some of them just copy it because they have seen other do it as well. If you ready to sell, you attach the price.

Very annoying

I will never DM for price

More about this Dm for Price issue,,
This is what we came about some weeks ago.....

A few days ago, I saw some locally handcrafted sandals being promoted on social media that caught my attention because of how beautiful and distinctive they were. I was pleasantly surprised.

So, when I saw a style that had somewhat unique detail and finishes, I was very interested and immediately posted a comment under the picture.

“Love these! How much are they?”

Two days later, when I’d almost forgotten them, I got a notification of a reply.

“Please DM for price.”

For those who don’t know, on social media, ‘DM’ means direct message and is the typical way to ask someone to contact you privately.
The delay and their response made me lose interest entirely, so I didn’t bother to ‘DM for price’. And yes, I found it a bother.

What’s most troubling is that this secrecy about price is not restricted to local sandal makers, but is a widespread practice.
Many companies with pages on Instagram and Facebook routinely post pictures without pricing or proper descriptions for a wide range of items, including clothing, shoes, bags, art, accessories, home decor, furniture, hair, skin care products, and even food, and instead ask that you ‘DM for prices’ if interested.

PRICE SECRECY

It is a critical teachable moment for business owners and consumers, particularly in this digital age where e-commerce, effective online communication and customer engagement are key pillars of the future of retail.

Many businesses will either see explosive business growth or devastating stagnation as they navigate the next few years. As a result, I posed the following question on social media:

Why should a customer DM for the price of a product you posted online?
Are you doing business, or keeping a secret?


I then explained key business principles behind transparency, which I will outline shortly.

My post triggered an avalanche of responses. I knew that several consumers had similar sentiments, but when over 1,000 people engaged me on Instagram alone, I was taken aback.

The responses from Facebook and Twitter were also incredible.
People were so vocal and passionate, it was clear I had struck a nerve for many.

I could barely keep up with the hundreds of comments bemoaning this practice of businesses withholding prices and asking customers to either send a private message, call for details, or, worst of all, visit the location.
Users even called out offending companies, tagging them in the comments and insisting they ‘read and learn’.

TRANSPARENCY IS THE BEST POLICY

Although some entrepreneurs had seemingly good reasons for withholding prices from the public, I believe many are losing money and damaging their brands in the process. Here’s why:

Customers love transparency.
They are less trusting of companies that hide prices and may feel that the business is shady and will increase the quoted amount if it perceives the customer can afford to pay more.

Customers like control and real-time information.
A basic customer-service principle is that customers like to feel and be in control.
They’ve become accustomed to real time information in the digital space.
They may also resent being asked to take several actions or steps based on company policies that appear mindless or don’t serve them.

Customers don’t need complexity or extra work. Businesses should make their customers’ lives easier at every opportunity.
In this highly competitive digital space, customers have many choices and lead complex lives.
The easier it is for a customer to buy, the more likely it is they will if they perceive utility.

Stop competing on price.
Compete instead on unique value as competing on price is almost always a race to the bottom.

It’s unproductive.
It can’t be the best use of a business’ time and resources to hide prices then respond to a wide net of people individually with the same answer ­ DM for price

Lol
Some do it with the thought of getting more inquiries

Greedy lots
They will go through your profile so as to determine a price for you

But there are many online sellers attaching prices.. I wonder wetin Dey carry una go “ DM for price people “

Whatever you’re even buying is likely going to be fake.

I feel is greed.
For fear on the sellers part not to loose customers interest in buying a product advertised in public space.
Instead of sellers to publicly state out your prices to save the customers the stress of asking questions and DMing you.

pocohantas:

Why do they do this? What are they hiding? It is annoying, stressful and scares clients away. Maybe I am wrong and it actually works for them. Any of them here should please explain to me the idea behind this.

SECONDED!!
This is nothing but the absolute truth.
In all our years of shopping online in stores abroad,
We have seldom heard the phrase (DM for price!)
It may exist tho, but we haven't witnessed it so far.


We still have a long way to go as a 'people' , this is about individuals, not even as a country.
We hope we get there soon.

What the heck are they trying to hide

They simply lose customers, by this crazy price hiding attitude.......

It's a turn off for me......

It depends....

The price may be negotiable.

Trusted vendors always rely on their loyal customers...

I kuku no sabi how to send Dm

They want to sell N2k item for N6k.

Kendumazy:


You don't term them con artist bro. Don't generalize. All you have got to do is to look away and jump pass like you said.

Remember, every one has his or her way of doing his or her business. It's up to the prospective buyer to determine if such ways are okay with him or her.

With the same DM pattern, na people still dey patronize them cos it's okay with them.

I come in peace!

Calling them con artist isn't out of place. It is proven that the their major intention is simply to milk you dry and prey on your ignorance of such product in their DM.

Thing is, they hike the price badly and if eventually you agree to a price, you'll realise later that you got scammed and the product wasn't worth the price.