Sweet Talkin'

Today I came across a photo of how to fix wrinkles and in these Bagged Out Boomer times this and similar schemes, have apparently become the new marketing ploy. The photo in the ad shows a picture of a woman, her face sagged down and unhappy looking and beside it, the after picture of her  fresh and cheery, thus almost wrinkle-free. The caption reads that it is an unretouched photo. But on closer examination, we see that the woman hasn't changed much but is now in better lighting and she is smiling. Smiling lifts any face. For curiosity's sake, I took the step and went to the site advertising this miraculous fountain of youth product. Like most ads of this nature, you know, the ones that hook you into listening for a half hour of what I call sweet talkin'? It's ninety percent blab with almost no actual information. How these ads draw in millions with their hollow diets and magic cures and how tos, makes millions. It's like listening to a salesperson going on and on about research and data and statistics that are designed to have you  believe he or she is actually knowledgeable. The spiel is well rehearsed to convince you how expert the salesperson is so that you will trust them. And buy. It reminds me of the time when I was searching for a new place and asked the long haired, designer dressed saleswoman who was gold loaded and made up to the nines, about a purchase. She could give me not one single straight answer about the construction, the systems of the building or the management of it. In short, she was selling herself and her appearance. She had done absolutely no research on the product that would cost me a good hunk of my earnings.  But, back to the little bottle of over priced oil. It's an example for consumers to beware the promises and sparkle but to look for informational specifics.  All of the sweet talk about research and the pictures of smooth skin that that did not happen using what's in the bottle are indeed tempting but good sense weighs more. You could probably slap some butter on your face for all the product will do. But you bite and sign up for the free sample bottle. You think that can't hurt. It's a free sample and the item can be returned any time. Watch out. Your free sample will arrive about the same time the actual costly bottle comes which you paid for with your card when you signed up. You'll be involved in having to cancel the payment and return the larger size. Off to the post office and calls to the card company are a nuisance. Enough people keep the first bottle and pay for it because they don't get around immediately to the hassle of cancelling. This is exactly what the sales department plans on. That bottle that you kept and paid for makes them a lot of money. Hey, you fell for the sweet talkin'. On line, similar hype merchants will sell you all sorts of quick and easy scams for free samples or marked down items or cheap how tos,  but if they sell enough before the customer catches on, it's how they make their living. Sweet talkin' seems to work.