Guru or screw-you?

There are a number of high-flying online marketers who just don't seem to fail.
They create a new ebook, script, video, course etc., set a high price on it, and people flock in droves to buy them - usually without ever seeing the product first.

They get caught up in the hype of the "guru". If that guy wrote it, it must be absolute dynamite - must buy it.

Personally I've never been caught in the hype of the high-priced products, and I've never bought them. I couldn't actually afford them in the first place, but more importantly, are they really worth $997 to me?
If I walked into a book store and found a book and/or set of DVDs priced at $997, there's no way that I would buy it. Yet, many people go online, read the sales pages and part with their cash without even being able to browse what's in it.

I can't help thinking that the $997 might be better spent paying a professional to create a new product to sell, or on advertising an existing product.

Given the age-old statistic that more than 95% of would-be online marketers never make any money, how many of the people who buy those $997 products ever recover that money?

I suspect that the "gurus" are exploiting their perceived status and are just trying it on. "Let's see how much we can screw out of the punters this time!"

What amuses me most about many of these high-priced items is that a few months down the line, somebody else writes a $27 ebook or even posts on a blog, with a comprehensive summary of what the hype is all about.

Copycat scripts appear for $7, and you find that you can set yourself up with effectively the same things as the $997 package, for about $50. Ok, it's 6 months later, but it still works.
And sometimes it turns out to be something that marketers have been doing for years, and the "guru" has just discovered it and given it a fancy name.

Cynic? Maybe. Envious of these rich marketers who are making money hand-over-fist? Of course. I'd love to be in a similar position, financially. But I don't think I'd treat my position as a licence to print money.