When the shark bites with his teeth dear, scarlet billows start to spread... -Mack The Knife

All right, if you have to use this test you are already half way down the sharks throat, but here goes anyway...

You've Taken The Bait

Once you have plunked down you credit card number and you are whisked away to what you expect to be the download page, you end up with this surprise. You are on a page that basically tells you that what you have just bought is a pretty much worthless unless you buy this additional product or upgrade and, lucky you, this new purchase will only be available to you this one time in all of history...well then you have just been bitten by a shark. Now let me clarify something right here. Up sells, in and of themselves, are not bad, in fact, if they are done right, they can benefit both the merchant and the consumer. Sharks have no interest in benefiting you, the consumer.

Not All Up Sells Are Bad

An example of a great up sell is when I bought a new chainsaw last fall. The salesman offered a discount on chain oil, if I bought it with the saw and since I needed chain oil anyway, it was a benefit to me. This was a win win situation for me and the merchant. Another example is an excellent diet ebook I purchased, the product owner offered me a great exercise guide at a deep discount, if I bought them together. I did and was very pleased since they complemented one another.

Sharks, on the other hand, make you feel like what you just bought is worthless unless you buy the upgrade or additional software, etc. They are correct on the first point but not on the second. Again, many sharks don't know when to quit, and they force you through 4 or 5 hard up sells with mild insults that you have to click on n order to get to the next up sell. Insults like "I understand that I am giving up my chance to make 10,000 extra dollars a week, but take me to the down load page." Of course it doesn't...it takes you to the next up sell.

Rule # 3: The number of hard up sells there are before you get to the down load page is proportional to the size and bite of the shark.