I just read the story of Gary Dahl, who made 15 million dollars in 6 months selling rocks, that’s right… rocks! In 1975 he worked as an advertising executive and had this crazy idea. He probably picked up a rock or something and wondered if people would buy it if he made a good “package”. His gimmick was that the rocks could be used as pets and the “pet rock” was born. Now my first thought reading this amazing story was: “Why the hell would people buy rocks and keep them as pets?” I can just imagine the scene with little Billy getting a rock for his birthday. I can’t believe it worked.
The rocks didn’t look like anything but a rock either which adds to the mystery. I suppose it wasn’t a huge investment for people because the pet rock sold for $3.95. Dahl sold over 5 million in the first 6 months. He imported the rocks from Rosarito Beach in Baja, California, Mexico. It cost about 30 cents per rock; packaging and delivery cost about 65 cents so he had a profit of over $3 per rock.
His sales pitch was that keeping a real pet like cats, dogs and fish was just too much work, and too messy, too much of a hassle, plus it would cost so much money for food and things like that. In the package he sent to his customers was a pet training manual which contained instructions on how to care for your pet and teach it tricks like sit, stay, roll over and play dead. It sounds unbelievable to me, but this guy was a marketing genius.
His marketing strategy was simple. He sold the idea that pet rocks give use more pleasure than we know. He convinced the consumer that although the items itself doesn’t give joy to a child, but the idea of it does. The pet can be anything in your imagination. So he basically sold an idea, feeding on kids vivid imagination. People who bought the pet rocks gave them names, talked to them, petted them and had them do simple tricks.
Pet rocks are still alive and well, and you can buy them on the internet now, there are collector’s items and special editions, spin-offs and memorial pages. Not many gray pebbles are sold anymore, but you can buy rocks that are inscribed and painted.
It is an amazing and inspiring story that just goes to show that “anyone” can do something to change their lives. Every idea is potentially a winner given the right “package” and advertising. I think I will start selling toilet roll pets. Anyone interested? Only $4.95!
