One tends to think (at least fifteen) that handsome have it all very easy in life, you have more friends, who succeed in job interviews, to get through the plane with excess baggage or can break the heart of anyone who put him ahead. But there is something handsome do worse than those who have a mediocre physical: sell.

This, a priori, may seem a little counter intuitive, the end of the day, everyone would think it is best to get behind the counter to the kind of person one would stop to look down the street. At the end of the day, its appeal can lead people to the store, and even buy spellbound by her beauty. But it turns out that consumers have enough to deal with their own complexes, and prefer not to be intimidated by any vendor, but to chat with him one on one.

And in fact, research by the University of Hong Kong, which are made echo in Telegraph, confirms, concluding that very attractive sellers may scare some buyers, especially the more timid, making them abandon their prospect of buying a particular product.

The study was conducted by analyzing the behavior of 164 men, socially little achievers and an obsessive interest in computer science (i.e. 164 geeks) who visited a store of miniature figures based on comics. They found that when it was run by an attractive girl, only 57% of them dared to enter compared with 80% who did it when she was a less striking woman who worked there. Likewise, those who managed to enter the store with a beautiful saleswoman were less likely to talk to her, and the talks ended, on average, 90 seconds earlier. Of course, all this resulted in fewer sales: consumers eventually bought only 38, compared to 56 who decided against the less pretty used.

As the authors of research explains, “Contrary to popular belief, attractive employees can lead consumers to feel embarrassed or more aware of their unattractiveness. This is especially true when the seller is the opposite sex, but even when it is the same, buyers may feel uncomfortable when compared with him or her. In any case, the consumer tends to avoid physically interact with the attractive employee, which makes it totally ineffective.”

The effect is multiplied when products are purchased shamefaced

One might think that this only happens to those most socially inept consumers, but the fact is that according to the findings of the investigation, is a much more common than we usually think phenomenon, and multiplies when we buy products that we are ashamed that we see purchase.

Thus, another experiment study showed that women were mostly directed to the seller less attractive when they should buy products considered embarrassing as buffers or diet pills. In the case of men, products that have that effect on them are, for example, condoms and hemorrhoid creams.

Specifically, several women who wanted to buy a belt, and while only 29 asked for her when she was a salesperson at the store attractive analyzed were 46 that they did when they put someone normal.

When buyers found an attractive seller and same sex during those “embarrassing” transactions, they tended to feel jealous and unhappy with their own appearance.

Yes, the research emphasizes that this only happens when transactions are face to face, where people want to make a good impression, and does not apply in the case of celebrities and models involved in advertising and other promotional campaigns.

As the authors explain: “Our research challenges the attractive as that sellers are more effective it may be so in some cases, but in many other intimidate buyers and make sales decrease.”