Why are we willing to pay a premium for trust? That’s the question I tackle in Chapter 4 of The Trust Premium. The answer lies in beliefs many of us have held since childhood, instilled by our parents and reinforced by life experience. These beliefs are so ingrained that we pass them on to our own children, often without even thinking. Among them are three that stand out:
You get what you paid for.
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
If something is too good to be true, it probably isn’t true.
You’ve heard these before, haven’t you? And whether you realize it or not, they probably influence your decisions daily. In 2024, I decided to test just how deeply people believe in these principles. I surveyed 426 participants—219 women and 209 men, aged 18 to 65. I asked them to what degree they agreed or disagreed with each of these maxims on a 7-point scale ranging from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree.” The results were fascinating, especially when broken down by gender and age.
You Get What You Paid For
The first belief—“You get what you paid for”—is a classic. It’s the idea that price is a reliable indicator of quality: the more you pay, the more value you receive. My survey revealed that 67% of participants agreed with this statement, while only 16% disagreed.
Here’s where it got interesting: Men were more likely than women to agree. While 72% of men supported the statement, only 63% of women did. My wife often uses this maxim when we shop, quoting her mother: “I’m never rich enough to buy a cheap [used] car.” So naturally, I assumed women would believe in this more than men. I was wrong.
As for age, I expected older participants to agree more strongly than younger ones, given that life experience might reinforce this belief. However, the difference between age groups was insignificant—statistically and otherwise. It seems this maxim is universally accepted, regardless of how much life someone has lived.
There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
Ah, the timeless warning: if something is offered for “free,” there’s always a catch. When I think of this saying, I can’t help but picture time-share sales events. You know the ones: you’re lured in with a free meal, only to endure hours of high-pressure sales pitches. That “free lunch” ends up costing you far more than you bargained for.
In my survey, 64% of participants agreed with this statement, while 21% disagreed. Once again, men were more likely to agree (69%) than women (58%), and age made a noticeable difference. Eighteen-year-olds ranked their agreement between “neutral” and “somewhat agree,” while 65-year-olds leaned closer to “generally agree.” The older we get, the more we’ve experienced situations where “free” comes with strings attached, and that wisdom shapes our perceptions.
If Something Is Too Good to Be True, It Probably Isn’t
We all love a good deal, but there’s a fine line between a bargain and a scam. How many of us have hesitated over a deal that seemed “too good to be true”? Whether it’s the infamous “Nigerian prince” email or a suspiciously cheap product online, most of us have learned to be wary.
This was the most widely accepted belief in my survey. A full 73% of participants agreed with the statement, while only 11% disagreed. Men were again more likely to agree (79%) than women (68%), and age had the biggest impact here. Older participants agreed with the statement 20.4% more than younger ones. With age comes a sharper sense of skepticism—and perhaps a longer list of times we’ve been burned by something that was, in fact, too good to be true.
Why This Matters
These beliefs are more than just sayings—they’re shortcuts our minds use to assess value and trustworthiness. When we see a price that seems too low, these maxims spring to mind: “You get what you paid for,” “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” and “If it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t true.” We rely on them to make decisions, often without even realizing it.
Here’s the critical takeaway: We equate price with value, and we equate value with trustworthiness.
To put it in mathematical terms:
Price ∝ Value ∝ Trustworthiness.
This means that when we see a higher price, we assume the product or service is of higher quality—and that the person or company behind it is more trustworthy. Conversely, when the price is too low, we hesitate.
Of course, this isn’t always true. Trust is contextual, and not everyone values the same things. Some people prioritize performance, while others value aesthetics, environmental impact, or customer service. But across the board, one aspect of value consistently stands out: trustworthiness.
Ultimately, this is the foundation of The Trust Premium. People are willing to pay more when they trust the person or business they’re buying from. And as I’ll show throughout the book, this principle holds true across industries, demographics, and contexts. Trust isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a powerful driver of value, and it’s worth every penny.
Want to hear the whole story? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s16e4-you-get-what-you-paid-for-and-why-customers-are/id1569249060?i=1000686214801
Dr. Yoram Solomon is an expert in trust, employee engagement, teamwork, organizational culture, and leadership. He is the author of The Trust Premium, The Book of Trust, host of The Trust Show podcast, a three-time TEDx speaker, and facilitator of the Trust Habits workshop and masterclass.
The Book of Trust®, The Innovation Culture Institute®, and Trust Habits® are registered trademarks of Yoram Solomon. Trust Premium™, the Relative Trust Inventory™, and The Trust Show™ are trademarks of Yoram Solomon.
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