Overpaying For Priceless

Craig Clemens shares stories about Joseph Duveen, a masterful art dealer who used psychological tactics and marketing brilliance to sell expensive art to wealthy Americans. Duveen operated with the philosophy that "when you overpay for the priceless, you're getting it cheap" - a powerful marketing concept he propagated among the elite.

Duveen's Selling Techniques:

• Creating Artificial Scarcity:

  • Made potential buyers wait (90 minutes in one case)
  • Claimed paintings were "reserved for Mr. Mellon"
  • Made wealthy clients feel small and unworthy of the best pieces

• Building Desire Through Exclusivity:

  • Forced clients to start with "starter pieces" before accessing premium art
  • Created a ladder of acquisition that wealthy clients had to climb
  • Positioned himself as the gatekeeper to prestigious art collections

• Relentless Pursuit of High-Value Clients:

  • Strategically engineered "chance" meetings with wealthy prospects
  • Stalked elevators to encounter reclusive millionaires like Andrew Mellon
  • Dropped prestigious connections ("brunch at the Duke's house") to impress prospects

• Creating Additional Sales Opportunities:

  • Required clients to use his architects to design homes with "optimal viewing"
  • Designed homes with excessive wall space to accommodate more paintings
  • Convinced clients to open museums when they ran out of wall space
  • Persuaded Andrew Mellon to build the National Gallery in Washington as "the key to immortality"

• Psychological Manipulation:

  • Embedded the idea that overpaying for priceless items is actually getting them cheap
  • Connected art ownership with dynastic wealth and status
  • Positioned art as an investment in immortality and legacy

Craig also shared a separate marketing story about Gary Halbert creating Tova perfume with the headline: "This wife of famous movie star swears under oath her new perfume does not contain an illegal sexual stimulant."