When someone who has a vested interest in a product that she praises, I tend to doubt whether she is truly telling me the whole story. I am not saying she would lie, but perhaps she would omit some truths. I would only trust her claims if I am able to prove and see the results for myself.
I am talking about Jafra.
My friend Lorin and I each bought $200 worth of Jafra skin care products on a whim. We decided it was time to start taking care of ourselves. We don’t wear much makeup, we just want to have younger better healthier looking skin.
It started when I asked a friend of mine, Heidi, a Jafra rep, for some skin care advice. She offered to let us try her Jafra products. She raves about what Jafra skin care products have done for her. She is a Christian, and as I said, I don’t think she would lie. But honestly, she does have a vested interest in getting us to buy the stuff, so I wondered what she isn’t telling us.
I have to admit, though I was sceptical, I saw proof for myself that Jafra products do work.
One week after Lorin and I started using the products, Lorin says to me, “Which side of my face looks better?”
Unbeknownst to me, she had been using the Jafra on one side of her face only, and on the other side, she used the Costco moisturizer and other skin rejuvenating creme as she had always done.
I immediately saw a difference. Her left side was smoother and healthier looking with less noticeable lines around the eyes.
But I hesitated to answer. What if the nicer looking side was the Costco products? What if the $200 was a total waste?
Before I answered, I examined her face closely and carefully. I want to make sure that my eyes were not deceiving me. “Smile and let me see the wrinkles around your eyes again,” I said. After several minutes, I was definite that her left side looked brighter, with fewer noticeable wrinkles, and smoother.
Lo and behold, it was the Jafra on her left side!
There is yet hope for me!
Let me know if you want to try it.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:22 pm
The best kinds of vested interests are in things that really work; things that you really believe in.
For example, you can ask me what search engine to use; Microsoft, Yahoo!, Amazon’s A9? I’ll tell you Google, and partly it’s because I benefit from Google AdSense and being a Google Ambassador. But I really do think that Google is the best search engine, so while I have a vested interest, I’ve pursued that interest because I like the product anyway.
The same goes for Firefox. What browser should you use; Opera, Internet Explorer, Safari? I’m a Firefox Campus Rep, and I’ll tell you Firefox.
I suspect the same should go for stocks. You’ll probably invest in companies you believe in anyway, thus developing a vested interest in them.
Of course, this isn’t always true, and it’s certainly the case that having self-interest in something will alter one’s opinion and make it less than perfectly unbiased. But there’s always some bias, isn’t there?
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:55 am
You’re right. The best salespeople are the ones who are believers who actually would use the products themselves.
April 29th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
[…] I put on half of my husband’s face the Jafra toner, and moisturizer. On the other half of his face he used Oil of Olay. […]