Not too long ago I watched a documentary about a treasure that was found undersea on Netflix. 

It started out with this great story of a quest. Where an artist from Europe invests with this treasure hunter to find it. 

Reaching back into history books of folklore and a ship that was rumored once to have gone down. Each moment keeping you on the edge of your seat to see what clue would bring them to the next. 

I was sucked in from the word treasure, and I couldn’t believe the story that was being told. The odds of these guys finding the treasure were insurmountable. Which only added to the drama and story.

In the end, they find all this amazing treasure that they later put on display in a museum for others to see. 

For a few days, this treasure was on my mind. I don’t know why maybe it’s a young boys dream thing. But I started to think about the story. I finally decided to look up and see what this treasure was all about.

That’s when I saw that it was a documentary created by the artist to promote his works. It never even happened. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. 

It just goes to show that you need to question things quite often when they are in front of you.

That was the case also when I read an article from Robert Glazer. Talking about a mysterious new restaurant named “The Shed” becoming the #1 rated restaurant in London by TripAdvisor.

Drawn in by raving reviews customers were trying to set reservations for months out. The place had vendors sending free gifts. PR firms were calling and offering services. Customers were even trying to case the neighborhood seeking information about the restaurant.

People were going nuts for it, and it wasn’t even real. It was all a hoax put on by a freelance writer for Vice UK and a previous writer for fake reviews on TripAdvisor. 

The man whose last name was Butler thought of the idea to see what people were willing to believe. So many people bought into the hype that people left reviews for a place that didn’t even exist.

Crazy huh?

It happens all the time, though.

I recently ran into another realtor friend that had just lost a listing with a client. In the end, one of the things, she mentioned was some lady she heard on a radio show. She told my friend Brittney “She says she has a list of buyers and if she can’t sell it then she’ll buy it.”

Maybe you’ve heard someone promote this before? Well based on this writing you probably already know that’s a bunch of BS.

She doesn’t have a list of ready buyers and ya she’ll buy your house at 70 cents on the dollar. Nobody sells for that.

It’s so competitive out there these days people are willing to do whatever it takes to get a sale. Abandoning moral ethics all in the name to get a customer.

The crazy thing is we are all susceptible to it. We want to believe people. We want to take them for their word. It’s also why I partnered to write the book The Value Driven Approach To Sell Real Estate. Exposing those that don’t tell the truth.

It’s also why I like to work with people that are referred from others. Nobody wants to go on a treasure hunt and feel they’ve been bamboozled. 

Have a great week.