Why Scarcity and Urgency Work

Jessica Wynn uncovers Black Friday's dark secrets — fake discounts, cheaper products, and manufactured urgency — on this week's Skeptical Sunday.

Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by writer and researcher Jessica Wynn!

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1245

On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:

• Black Friday "deals" are often illusions. Many retailers quietly raise prices weeks before, then discount back to regular prices, creating fake savings that trigger dopamine responses rather than actual financial benefits.
• Tiered manufacturing means bargains are literally inferior products. Companies create cheaper versions of items specifically for Black Friday sales, using plastic instead of metal parts and downgraded components you won't notice until they fail.
• The shopping frenzy is engineered chaos. Retailers deliberately create urgency and scarcity to exploit loss aversion, where the pain of missing a discount feels greater than the pleasure of getting the item itself.
• Scammers weaponize Black Friday urgency. Phishing sites, fake URLs, and fraudulent sellers exploit the fast-paced nature of Black Friday sales to steal personal information and payment details from rushed shoppers.
• You can outsmart the system by planning ahead. Create a wishlist of genuinely needed items before sales begin, compare model numbers, check price histories with tools like CamelCamelCamel, and only buy what you already planned to purchase.
• Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!
• Connect with Jessica Wynn at Instagram and Threads, and subscribe to her newsletters: Between the Lines and Where the Shadows Linger!

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