If you have seen any one of the hundreds of ads that LeafFilter shows online asking, “What do gutter guards cost?,” the answer might surprise you!
- $12,000 Value to Final Offer of $3,500 (70% Discount)
- $26,000 Value to Final Offer of $6,500 (75% Discount)
- $10,038 Value to Final Offer of $7,228 (28% Discount)
The numbers above are three recent examples of starting and ending prices on LeafFilter’s plastic mesh gutter covers, as shared with us from homeowners who received quotes from the company.
To breakdown the numbers a bit more, LeafFilter was willing to sell the first homeowner 180-feet of gutter guards for $12,000 or $67 per foot. They were also willing to sell the same homeowner the same gutter guard on the same 180-feet of gutter for $19.44 per foot later in the conversation.
In the middle example, LeafFilter was willing to sell 330-feet of LeafFilter for $79 per foot, but 20 minutes later dropped the price to only $19.70 per foot.
In the final example, LeafFilter offered to install its plastic gutter cover for $72 per foot before lowering it to $51.63 per foot, at which point the homeowner asked the LeafFilter rep to leave. Not to be outdone, the homeowner told me that another LeafFilter rep — likely a manager — later reached out willing to lower the price even more because they had “leftover product from a commercial job down the street.” The homeowner did not return their phone call as he said that the entire experience was shady and upset him.
What's the Fair Market Value of a Plastic Gutter Guard?
When homeowners are presented with the offer of buying cheap, plastic gutter covers with an overinflated perceived value, why do they think they’re getting a great price on a mediocre product when the average price drops by 64%?
It’s likely because LeafFilter has reduced the entire conversation and subsequent “negotiations” to price. It’s all about price and really has nothing to do with the product. The product may be great, good, or junk, but since the focus is on price, the product quality and the ability of the gutter cover to fix the homeowner’s problems doesn’t really matter because the hook IS price!
For every one of the homeowners who shared these prices with us, there are likely hundreds more who paid LeafFilter’s average top price of $16,013 ($73.79 per foot), the middle average price of $10,878 ($50.13 per foot) or low average price of $5,743 ($26.47 per foot). If this is true, then the average LeafFilter customer is paying nearly $11,000 or over $50 per foot for gutter guards.
Yet, only homeowners who showed us LeafFilter’s prices had a chance of getting the middle or best deal possible. How many other folks paid the average top price of $16,000 for LeafFilter, and how many chose the bottom dollar price of just over $5,700 simply because the price was better than one of it’s competitors — irrespective of the quality or effectiveness of the gutter covers?
Essentially, LeafFilter marks its price way up and offers seemingly steeper discounts as a way to create the perception of a deal, and then they use “today only” pricing language as the way to create urgency. By offering progressively lower prices, they increase the likelihood of “hooking” the consumer once they get to a price that is within the range of what the homeowner is willing to pay. In fact, the price that LeafFilter offers and the homeowner accepts is often still above fair market value.
There’s nothing new about using this sales tactic. It’s been around for decades, if not longer. It’s called Price Anchoring with Staged Discounts. It is used to set a perceived value on the high end and then incorporates staged discounts designed to create urgency or the idea that if you don’t act now, you’re going to lose out on the deal.
Price Anchoring is an Old-School Retail Pricing Strategy
Another example I have seen is a boot shop located on Broadway Avenue in Downtown Nashville. They have made their name and fortune selling one pair of boots at their list price and the buyer getting two pair free.
It seems illogical and too good to be true. Whatever the case, it works, which is why LeafFilter incorporates this into every one of their sales pitches.
Nashville-based, Boot Country offers its customers Buy 1 Get 2 Pair of Boots Free. This store is located on Lower Broadway Avenue.
The same thing happens in window and door sales. It also happens with financing.
How many offers have you seen where you buy 2 windows and get 2 free?
To finance your window purchase, the dealer additionally offers you 5 years with 0% financing. The reality is that the dealer isn’t giving you two windows free and he’s paying over 20% to the bank just to be able to make you that financing offer.
That means that the prices have to be artificially inflated in order for the dealer to be able to offer these sort of “deals” and still make a profit.
We hate to see homeowners fall victim to these shady sales practices when there are so many better options available at competitive price points.
Lot’s of folks who encounter and dismiss LeafFilter’s sales tactics believe that they’re discriminating against them mostly because they’re older. I have determined that age doesn’t play a factor in LeafFilter’s sales approach. They apply the same, tired approach to all of their potential customers.
Why does LeafFilter continue these deceptive sales tactics even though many educated homeowners find it unappealing?
A 2021 National Retail Federation survey found that 70% of consumers say they’re influenced by discounts — showing how deeply discount framing matters. Dr. Robert Cialdini, a psychologist and professor emeritus at Arizona State University, says that the sales lift from creating staged price drops is approximately 20%.
And I suspect the sales increases are really two-fold: People who wait for the price to drop from super inflated to more realistic, decide to buy once the price gets into a range where they are comfortable. Second, the homeowner who is presented with the inflated price buys at the top price, not realizing that the price would have dropped substantially had they said, “No” or simply kept quiet for another 10-15 minutes.
Why highlight LeafFilter’s cost and pricing strategy?
It’s mostly because we hear from many homeowners who have tolerated and resisted falling victim to this sales approach, and we simply want to raise your awareness that “hard ball” sales tactics are alive and well and are being used against you by making you pay more than you need to.
It’s a pricing strategy that burns some and leaves others feeling like they got a sweetheart deal. The reality is more nuanced. There are some homeowners who truly paid below market value for their gutter guards while all those who paid above market value costs didn’t know any better.
The truth of the matter is that homeowners could have likely paid the bottom price every single time or selected a different contractor who offers better products and fair pricing without going through the hassle of getting to the low ball offer.
If you’re presented with this sort of a sales approach and you enjoy it and feel like you’re getting a great deal, all the power to you.
What LeafFilter Alternatives are Available?
Gutter Guards Direct consults with homeowners to find the best gutter protection systems to solve their gutter and water problems. We offer multiple guttering and gutter guards to achieve that objective. With nearly 30-years of experience helping homeowners and businesses solve gutter and water problems, we will make recommendations that will solve the issues and we offer a fair pricing model without artificial markups.
If high-pressure sales tactics make you uncomfortable or downright mad, then give us a call at 1-800-750-2131. We offer good-to-great gutter guards, including MasterShield and Klean Gutter, two top performing micro mesh gutter guards invented by Alex Higginbotham. We’ve tested gutter guards so that you don’t have to, and we know which gutters and gutter covers will work best for your home and environment.
But keep in mind, if you meet with the other guys who start high and go low — sometimes way low — think twice that maybe the “deal” you’re getting isn’t so good after all.
