In a message dated 00-10-21 11:45:52 Elizabeth A. Moore wrote:

<< >  The rationale is that a place (or a piece of merchandise) that's
 >cheap can't be all that worthwhile.

 Does anyone have a reference for this concept?  I've heard it used/quoted
 many times but so far, every time I have questioned it, I have not been
 provided a reference.  I would like to see the research that backs this up,
 especially if any of this research has been done in a museum context. >>

This question has been asked before on this list and arguments have been
provoked by suggestions that "some people" regard with suspicion or apathy
things that are free or cheap.  A couple of years ago I took a lot of flak
for suggesting what I thought was common sense--that some people might
consider some free things of less value than those with a price tag, at least
in the sense of taking them for granted.  I suggested that "some" people,
when planning their leisure time, might value an experience which costs
money--such as a movie or a theme park--more than a free museum.  This should
be easy to verify empirically by anyone.  Just ask!  But I would be surprised
if anyone has ever undertaken a formal study which either validates or
invalidates this assumption.

This follows on the heels of the message from Mr. Thompson, who mentioned the
same aphorisms I was going to offer: "You get what you pay for" and "if it
sounds too good to be true, it probably is"?  This is what might be called
folk wisdom and sometimes consumer advice.  In the absence of specific
research, I think that the mere existence of such cliches proves something
about attitudes.  At the same time, there are people who go overboard in the
other direction and assume anything that's cheap or free must be a great
bargain--con artists depend on them.  Can I prove that such people exist?
Yes, I can find them and quote them.  Have I done exhaustive research or am I
aware of any by others?   No, but I could give you a list of friends and
acquaintances on either side of the "free or cheap" attitudinal divide.  That
demonstrates that "some" people have one mindset, and some have the other.
Statistics are another matter.

However, I doubt that people who have already decided to visit a museum would
reject free museums in favor of those with admission fees.  The reputation
and content of a museum will influence whether you think it's worth your
investment of time to visit, not just whether or not it has an admission fee.
 It's hard to imagine, for example, someone with a primary interest in art
avoiding a free art museum in order to visit a science museum just because it
has an admission fee--or vice versa.  But given the choice of a free art
museum vs. one with an admission fee, it's conceivable that some might
gravitate to the one with the fee, while others would select the free one,
depending on their assumptions about value.  "Some" people may misinterpret
fees as an index of value--one way or the other.

I'm sure market surveys and focus groups are used by businesses to optimize
prices, finding that low price levels for certain products and services
actually discourage sales.  Obviously, many variables interact, including
demographics.  In the museum field, I suspect that free admission would
seldom discourage many people, since risks are low (what can you lose except
your time?).  And many people think all public, tax-exempt and/or
tax-supported museums and their services SHOULD be free, as you indicated.
If there are no relevant research studies in existence, I should think that a
survey of attitudes toward admission fees would be a dandy idea for a museum
studies student seeking a thesis topic!  Since these attitudes may vary
geographically and demographically, such a study, probably of necessity
limited to a particular geographic area, might be very useful and provide a
model for further studies.

But this issue is quite complex.  With museums, it's not just a question of
admission fees per se.  If your museum is considered one of the prime
attractions of your community, tourists will come, whether admission is free
or not.  Some of the locals may not be interested in repeat visits to a
museum with an admission fee.  Others may take a "free" museum for granted
and not visit it, except when it does well-advertised special exhibitions and
events, especially those requiring advance tickets (with or without entrance
fees).  Such special attractions can revive local interest, and if a
reasonable fee is included, can create an aura of extra value over your
standard offerings.  I don't have formal studies to corroborate this, but can
tell you from my personal experience with museums in the Washington area that
this strategy seems to work well.  The upcoming special exhibition on the
Presidency in the National Museum of American History will implement this
idea through timed tickets.  The tickets will be free, but I suspect that the
numbers of visitors might actually increase if the tickets had a price tag.
Of course, there's probably no way to test my hypothesis reliably because of
the many variables.  I don't think a comparison between a run with free
tickets vs. a run with admission fees for the same exhibit would work very
well--the press would probably denounce it as an obvious experiment, with
visitors as guinea pigs.  You're stuck with a certain amount of conjecture
and guesswork in this area because there are too many uncontrolled variables
for a good scientific test.  Visitor surveys on the issue, I should think,
will be plagued by discrepancies between attitudes and actual behavior.

Just my opinion--and I think the experience of one museum with and without
admission fees may vary considerably from that of other museums.  In your
question about the Smithsonian museums, I see considerable variation in
attendance due to a number of factors.  Frankly, their success is due not
only to their presumed excellence, but to their concentration within a
comparatively small area.  Tourists can see a wide variety of "stuff" on the
Mall easily--especially in the three most popular museums, Air & Space,
Natural History, and American History.  And in this case, I have little doubt
that the LACK of admission fees is an important enhancement.  Many of us who
work there believe that admission fees would cut visitorship significantly.
The Smithsonian art museums on the Mall have a lower attendance, largely
because they appeal to a more specialized audience.  The National Portrait
Gallery and the American Art Museum in the Patent Office Building (currently
closed for renovation), are also free, but are handicapped by a poor
location, many blocks away from the Mall--many tourists who intend to "do"
all the Smithsonian museums never get there--nor will they get to the Renwick
Gallery, near the White House.  Important non-Smithsonian art museums, such
as the Corcoran and Phillips Collection, have admission fees but also have a
location problem, speaking relatively, so comparing them with free museums is
like comparing apples and oranges.

In summary, I'd have to say that there is no easy answer to this issue
because there's no easy way to make a valid comparison between museums with
admission fees and those without.  To reiterate and summarize all the
conventional, anecdotal wisdom--free and cheap things will attract some
people because they think they're getting a bargain, while spending money on
things which seem to have value precisely because they have a price tag
attracts others.  Most importantly, the same person, in my observation, will
at different times respond to both extremes.  Humans are capricious
creatures, I think.  Sometimes we want bargains and sometimes we want to
spend our money like drunken sailors.

David Haberstich

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