The Discount Trap: Why I Stopped Running Sales

Key Takeaways

  • The Drug: Discounts are short term revenue but long term brand poison. They train customers to wait and not to buy.
  • The Math: A 20% discount requires a 25% increase in sales just to break even on gross profit. Most founders do not do this math.
  • The Alternative: Use Value Adds like free shipping or better packaging instead of price cuts.
  • The HACOY Rule: We reward loyalty and not timing.

In the world of ecommerce Black Friday is not a day. It is a religion.

Founders are taught that the only way to move inventory is to slash prices. 20% Off. Summer Sale. Flash Deal.

It works. You see a spike in Shopify sales. You feel good.

But it is a trap.

At HACOY we made a decision early on. We do not participate in the discount wars. Here is why I believe sales are the silent killer of modern brands and how we grow without them.

01. The Brand Erosion

Every time you put a red Sale sticker on your product you are telling the customer that this was overpriced before.

You are eroding trust. If I buy a shirt for €100 today and see it for €80 tomorrow I feel cheated. I will never buy from you at full price again. I will wait.

Luxury brands like Hermès or Rolex never discount. They burn inventory before they lower the price. Why? Because they know that integrity is their product not the leather or the steel.

02. The Profit Suicide Math

Most founders ignore the math of discounting.

Let us say you have a product with a 50% margin.

  • Price: €100
  • Cost: €50
  • Profit: €50

If you give a 20% discount:

  • New Price: €80
  • Cost: €50
  • Profit: €30

You did not lose 20% of your profit. You lost 40% of your profit.

To make the same amount of money you now have to sell almost twice as many units. You have doubled your logistical work, doubled your customer service load and doubled your risk just to stay in the same place.

03. How to Create Urgency Without Discounts

So how do you move the needle if you cannot cut the price? You have to be more creative.

  • The Value Add: Instead of taking €20 off spend €5 on better packaging or offer free express shipping. The customer feels like they got a gift but your margin stays healthy.
  • Limited Drops: Scarcity works better than discounts. Only 50 pieces available creates a rush to buy because of fear of missing out not fear of overpaying.
  • The Member Benefit: We offer perks to our loyal community like early access or specific colors but never a slashed price. It frames the relationship as Exclusive not Transactional.

The Verdict

Building a brand without discounts is harder. You have to write better copy. You have to take better photos. You have to tell a better story.

But the customer you acquire is better. They are buying your product because they love it not because it was cheap. And that is the only foundation you can build a 10 year business on.

Stop renting your customers with discounts. Start owning them with value.

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