Hello nerd family,
Imagine a SaaS tool that costs $50 a month. You hesitate: “Do I reeeally need it?”.
Now, imagine you are house shopping. One home is listed at $546,425. Another is $546,975.
In this context, even $500 does not matter.
Why?
The research:
Psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky ran experiments to understand how people evaluate gains and losses. Instead of assuming people treat all dollars equally, they tested how the same amount of money feels different depending on the size of the overall number (Tversky & Kahneman, 1992).
What they found:
Most people do not visualize money in a straight line.
The first dollars feel like a big deal. As the amounts grow, each additional dollar matters less.
This is called diminishing sensitivity.
Why?
The brain uses reference points. Every gain or loss is judged relative to that anchor.
If you’re starting at zero the jump to $50 is huge. That’s a 500% increase.
But once you’ve committed to a big spend like $9000 - the $50 feels like a drop in the ocean.
The safe zone is usually under 10 percent of the main purchase.
How to use it
Add small offers only after the main product price is visible.
$15 nutrition add-on after a $299 fitness course
$5 leather kit with $250 boots
$10 more after a $200 donation
Caveat
If you push the upsell too far - it stops working. A $200 add-on for a $950 laptop is no longer insignificant. It becomes a new purchase decision.
💡Takeaway
Increase sales with upsells that are under 10 percent of the main purchase.
Stay awesome,
Ksenia (the biggest nerd)
Big thank you to today’s sponsor, Hubspot!👇
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