The value placed on giving something up can differ from willingness to pay to acquire it.
ContestedReplications or meta-analyses disagree. Do not assume the effect.
Example
Consider wanting to keep settings made during a trial, while making export available from the start.
Why it works
Experiments with randomly endowed goods found valuation gaps between sellers and buyers. Trial use and attachment to user-created data are editorial applications, not the same experimental result.
On the web
Let users test settings and evaluate continued use. Explain retention, export and deletion before the trial ends.
When it backfires
Procedures and understanding affect results. Do not assume a trial causes more subscriptions or use fear of losing data to force continuation.
Sources
Reports valuation and trading differences between owners and non-owners of consumption goods.
Kahneman, Knetsch & Thaler (1990). Experimental Tests of the Endowment Effect and the Coase Theorem. Open source
Examines elicitation procedures and participant misconceptions, questioning the robustness of valuation gaps.
Plott & Zeiler (2005). The Willingness to Pay–Willingness to Accept Gap, the “Endowment Effect,” Subject Misconceptions, and Experimental Procedures for Eliciting Valuations. Open source