Why are most things at the store the price plus 99 cents or 98 cents?

Question

like $19.99 or $15.98

That trick doesent work for me when I see $19.99 I just think $20 not $19, and if someone where to ask me the price I would say $20.

Answer 1

In addition to my agreed comments by those that have already posted, here's one more tip. Some stores use these as internal codes for their employees and for inventory. For instance, you might notice that one particular store has many many items for $x.99. This may be a "normal" price for the store. In that same store, some items might strangely be priced at $x.98. This may be because anything tagged at $x.98 is a secret clearance item that they are trying to get rid of for various reasons (new item/model coming, not selling, etc).

Answer 2

Most people keep the mind set of the nature of it being just a way to confuse people in buying things that look cheaper.

The real reason this even started was simple. To get the cashier to open a register for change instead of pocketing the money.

Back when there was nothing called a sales tax, what you seen for the product price was the price. If the Item said it was $1 all you gave them was $1. To avoid getting ripped off by their own employees, someone came up with the idea to have at as change. Therefore, a product would cost $1.99 instead of $2 and they would get a penny back. Forced them to open the register which in turn would let everyone know a sale was actually made.

Now it is done for almost the same reason. If you see something for $5 on the shelf. Some criminal minds would just say.. $5 please.. pocket the money and the product would be gone. So the owner lost $5 in product and uncle sam lost his 8.25% tax. (Here in Houston that is)

Hope that makes some since...

Answer 3

Taps into psychology pricing (sometimes called 'magic pricing'). Academic research has actually shown that prices ending in 9's are interpreted more as a bargain (and anything ending with 0 is interpreted as a quality product; which is why notebooks are priced at, say, $1435.00 and not $1434.99).

So, pricing an item a $14.99 instead of $14.12 could yield +3% more unit sales. For a company that usually sells 800 units, that's an extra 24 units sold = +$360 in their pocket. Mo' Money... that's the reason!

Answer 4

that's authentic, you get what you pay for. yet i love the ninety 9 cent in ordinary words shops and bypass there in a lot of circumstances. I in ordinary words purchase issues that i understand are strong - I received't purchase maximum of their produce, or any merchandise i ought to locate questionable. I easily were burned some circumstances, yet ordinary, I easily have kept a kit. you're acceptable - they're having difficulty keeping multiple their products on the shelf because of inflation. Many products at the instantaneous are not accessible and they are thinking elevating expenditures above ninety 9 cents.

Answer 5

Everybody is right. It's a sales trick.

Another sales trick stores will do when something has a sale price of 10 for $10.00, is have you thinking you have to buy all 10 in order to get the sale price of $1.00 per item.

You can buy only one of the sale items and only pay $1.00 for it, instead of buying all 10 and paying $10.00.

You will be surprised as to how many people don't know that.
Sale tactics...........buyer be ware!!

Answer 6

It is a trick to get you to have the lower amount in your mind as you decide whether to make your purchase. The idea is a person sees 2.99 and they think its two dollars and change, not three dollars. I am amazed it works, but since just about every store does it, particularly auto dealers it must work to some degree.

Answer 7

it makes the price seem less to some people because we have a tendency to only look at the first couple of significant digits

hence, we see $17.32 as about the same as 17.98 so, the smart pricer will charge $17.98. If it were marked $18.01 it would be about the same price but would "seem" (mostly unconciously) much more to many people

Answer 8

To trick the mind of the shopper into thinking it's a dollar less (almost) than it really is.

When people see "18.98," their brains think "18" not "19." It works at a subconscious level.

18.99 is more attractive than 19.00 :)

Answer 9

Most people pay the most attention to the beginning part of the decimal. So it if says 14.98, it looks WAY cheaper than $15.00

Answer 10

It is for tax purposes, by upping the price just a little they profit immensely.