April 7, 2021

Scarce doesn’t mean valuable

PRE-S: Registration opens tomorrow for my 5-Day Podcast Challenge. NOTE: I will NOT be sharing it to the main list! If you’d like to get a registration link, you must add your email to the announcement list here: GET NOTIFIED ».

Just because a thing is scarce, doesn’t make it valuable.

People need to WANT it for it to have any value.

For example...

I’m in possession of an original first edition hand drawn comic book, written, illustrated, and lovingly stapled together by my 7yo daughter.

The bidding starts at $1,000.

Going once... going twice...

What...? Not interested?

Now how about this...

What if it was signed by Barack Obama? Or Oprah? Or Elon Musk? Or Björk? Or FGTeeV Duddy? Or Kyle Jenner? Or DanTDM? Or Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Or Justin Bieber? Or Greta Thunberg?

I’d be willing to bet that as you read this list of names, the amount you’d be willing to pay for the SIGNED comic fluctuated (perhaps wildly) based on who had autographed it.

What gives?

It’s still a one of a kind object.

It’s not more scarce with the signature than it was without.

But the value has changed nonetheless.

Why?

Because without the signature, you didn’t want it.

There is no value without desire.

Scarcity alone is not enough to create value.

Yours,

—J

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