The “top-of-the-line” influence on the buyer–seller relationship

Abstract There has been anecdotal evidence that both manufacturers and retailers are using “top-of-the-line” (TOTL) models as a sales technique to sell higher-priced models in the rest of the product line. The purpose of this research is to empirically test whether this sales tactic effect exists. Related research works on assimilation contrast and anchoring and adjustment decision heuristics are discussed. An experiment is conducted using a compact disc (CD) player product line to evaluate product choice. Higher-priced product choices resulted from the presence of the TOTL model in the sales presentation. The TOTL effect produced a 10% increase in revenues.