On
a recent vacation I paid to enjoy a number of tourist attractions. I noticed a
common denominator amongst them:
1. They
were overpriced.
2. They
had layered pricing or combo deals depending on the level of experience desired.
3. They
would nickel and dime you on the extra amenities, such as food, parking or
lockers.
Why
must the consumer be hosed?
I
went to Canada’s Wonderland, an amusement park in Toronto and was hit with
outrageous fees. A foot-long hot dog was $8. Funnel cake was $12. After getting
wet on the handful of water rides you could pay $5 to have a machine blow dry
you. Meanwhile, the entrance fees were high and lines for each ride were long.
Of course my family enjoyed the experience but the cost of such activities is
getting steeper and steeper.
At
Niagara Falls we spent around $50 per person to do a 25-minute boat ride and a
few minor activities. It would have cost me more but I out-screwed them by
saying my five and a half-year-old was three and getting her in for free. We
didn’t buy the $30 souvenir photo that cost them less than a dollar to produce.
The
CN Tower in Toronto was no different. The tallest structure in North America,
save for a restaurant and just a handful of office spaces, exists only to suck
in tourists. The 1800+ foot structure offers great views, 1140 feet above the
ground at $32 a pop. For an extra $12 you’ll get a view that’s 300 feet higher.
How much extra to have a bird shit on you?
Of
course, to get to the tower I had to pay for a parking lot space. I got "lucky" paying
$20 for an unmanned garage. Most spots were $30 and $35.
I
know it does no good to complain about the prices they charge, especially when
I pay them. But it’s not right that consumes get screwed. Sure they have costs
and sure they want to earn a profit but why does it have to be crazy money? Why
can’t one be capitalistic, but also fair?
But
all of this overcharging got me thinking. Could book publishers or authors set
up an attraction that they could charge for?
I
think I would just set up an empty room in the dark and call the attraction
“Surprise.” I’d charge $20 for it. People can talk about how they went into
this scary room and survived it. Let their imagination run wild. They would be
encouraged to then do it again -- with the lights on to see what they missed.
Authors
struggle to make a few bucks off their brain sweat but tourist attraction
owners rake in the big bucks. It doesn’t seem quite fair.
What
kind of attraction would you create? What would you charge?
Can a bookstore be a tourist attraction? Maybe when it starts to charge admission
fees or extra money for readers to get a photo of them reading a book will
stores become the place to go to.
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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog
are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter.
You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him
at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2013
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