I'm a member of a group for my university alumni where people can promote their business in the hope that we can help each other buy and sell. The reality is, you see sellers everywhere, but not so many buyers.
With hundreds, and even thousands of sales listings every day, you realize there’s only so much you can possibly buy, or would even want to buy ... from these guys. Most offerings involve food, and after a hundred or so posts, all those homemade cheesecakes honestly start to look the same.
Then the other day I came across a post from a guy selling duck eggs. Yes, duck eggs. Let's call him 'John' - his post went like this:
"Hi, my name is John, and since the university semester is postponed I have nothing to do, so I'm selling duck eggs. Only two eggs are available per day and they are THB 10 (USD$0.30) each. The duck eats twice a day which costs me THB40 (USD$1.20) – so I'm making a loss here – but it's OK, I can afford it... PS. Might be slow to reply to your enquiry because I will be with the duck."
When I read it the first time I assumed he was just taking the piss, and wondered how the page admin had ever approved his post, but I did laugh and thought it was funny. I also went and checked his FB profile - as you do.
That original post was dated 21st of April, 2020. On the 25th of April I saw another post of his with a link to a local news site that had picked up on his story - which resulted in him receiving 120 bookings for his eggs!
This morning, it turns out that now, responding to market demand, he’s modified his product to 'salted' duck eggs - again only two eggs a day, and he's already got two orders.
What he has achieved is exactly what any product in the luxury market really strives to do - create a demand for something that is in scarce supply. "Whether you want it (need it) or not, I will be here and I don't care, regardless."
I have told hotels the same thing about doing their marketing and advertising NOW, even in a recession – and be sure to never go completely off the radar, because in luxury there will always be a demand. People know it's overpriced, but they don't care because it’s special (And you really need to make it Special)