Why you shouldn't use POA on your website

On a whole we see less enquiries on websites which don’t display prices versus websites which do display prices. 

BUT WHY?

We want all our dealers to be successful, so we tasked ourselves with researching why we see websites which do displays prices succeed over websites that use POA.

Here's what we found:-
 

1) Impulse and the "now now now" culture of today

Luxury purchases, such as Antiques, Art & Vintage items, are very emotional purposes and often bought on impulse.

The quicker you can make a sale the more chance you have of completing it. Not displaying prices just creates a delay in the process, and the client’s interest will naturally subside, meaning they’re more likely to “flake out”.

2) A buyer will buy something else instead whilst they're waiting to find out how much your item is

It's really not rocket science. If a buyer has to enquire about how much your item is, and wait to hear back, you're giving them the time and opportunity to continue looking around and spend their money on something else instead; probably from a dealer who does display their prices!

3) Embarrassment

Buyers can often be embarrassed to ask how much an item is, even if they're not the kind of client who is struggling for money. So not displaying prices makes it less likely that people will enquire about an item.

4) Avoid time wasters

Time is precious!

... and time is money!!

If you want around £5,000 for a beautiful antique oak chest, and keep getting enquiries from people who can only afford half that much, then by displaying the price you’ll not be wasting time replying to enquiries which are never going to result in a sale (time you'll never get back!).

Plus, those people with a budget of only half that would be able to spend their time looking at items on your website which are in their price range.

5) Because our dealers tell us so!

We've been working with Antique, Art & Vintage dealers for 15 years now, and have a large number on our portfolio. The feedback we've received from dealers over the years who've tried displaying prices vs. not displaying prices is that using POA doesn't work, and it's better to display your prices.

Yes, the other dealer you bought an antique chest from for half the amount at Newark might see how much you're selling it for now, or your competitors might see how much you price your items for, but how much does that really matter? There's other ways people can find out how much you sell items for if they really want to, so not displaying the prices just becomes a fruitless exercise.