Free Cat Gloves!

These adorable fingerless gloves come in black, grey or brown. They are so fluffy and warm, why would you not accept them?! This is a product that was advertised to me on Facebook as free, and, despite feeling highly sceptical, I decided to look into it further. As it turns out, despite having to pay for postage, they were in fact free. Trust me when I say the £9 postage from the USA was totally worth it. My hands are so cosy when I cycle to university now! :3

The only thing that annoyed me about the website was that they had a little count-down timer at the bottom of the page, stating that there was only a few minutes left before the offer ran out. This meant I had to make a quick decision about the purchase, meaning I was forced to use my system 1 method for thinking, rather than system 2. As explained by Kahneman's (2011) book Thinking Fast and Slow (well worth a read), System 1 is what you use to make fast, intuitive, decisions, with not much thought, whereas System 2 takes time to make logical or rational judgements. Clearly with a product that is not normally thought of as an essential (though now I own them, I would argue they totally are!!), this timer is a good way of marketing. It forces the buyer to only use their system 1 method for deciding whether to purchase or not, and with words like "Free" and cute fluffy pictures, my intuitive mind was totally persuaded.  

Sara Jane Sutty

References

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.