Reference no: EM132461419

According to Roman legend, a series of prophecies by the god Apollo were written down in nine books and interpreted by the Sibyl of Cumae (an old woman living in a cave whose interpretations were sought on numerous occasions by Roman leaders). Around 500 B.C., the Sibyl gave the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus a chance to buy the books for a price payable in 2 gold. He refused. According to the myth, the Sibyl burned three of the books and offered the king the remaining six for the original price she had asked for the nine. He refused again; she burned three more books and offered him the remaining three at the same price she had asked for all nine. This time he paid her. Why would he do that? How can his behavior be seen as consistent with the theory of consumer demand? By reducing the number of books in existence, the Sibyl made it clear to him that the remaining ones were now scarcer. She changed the quality of the product in the king's mind, which induced him to pay a price three times higher per book than he would have paid if he had bought the books at the original price. Q. Are there other examples of sellers destroying some of their product to enhance the value of what remains to increase their total revenue? Why don't we see very many other sellers behaving like the Sibyl and trying to convince people how valuable their product is by throwing some of it away?