I am wondering if anyone could explain to me why all of the prices that I see in the United States are always ending with .99 or .95. I guess it is because of taxes but I do not understand why!! Any explanation is welcome! Thanxalot!
2006-08-08 13:12:15 · 14 answers · asked by fwrs 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
Two commonly attributed reasons:
(1) psychology ... sounds like a lower price
(2) traditionally, many merchants avoided 'round number' prices so that clerks would have to make change ... this was done to make it harder for their employees to pocket the proceeds of the sale ... since they had to open the till to make change ... and the till usually had a bell or other sound so they would know when staff was handling cash.
2006-08-08 14:26:57 · answer #1 · answered by one_observation 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Many years ago items in stores were priced at even dollars, but store clerks could easily steal from the store because they would not even ring up the sale. They would just pocket the money and the business would lose out on the merchandise and money. By making it 99 cents, the clerk would have to open the register to make change and the sale would be recorded.
2006-08-08 13:20:04 · answer #2 · answered by Jerry L 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tax has nothing to do with it.
It is all mental games played by the retailers. For instance:
If you can buy a gallon of gas for $2.99 a gallon it's less than $3.00 a gallon yes? Even though the $2.99 is $2.99 and to the right is 99/100 which means it's 1 one hundreth of a cent away from $3.00. It's still less than $3.00 and that's all that matters to consumers.
Price of a car? $19,999.00. Less than $20,000 so it looks more like a discounted price.
$9.99 looks less than $10.00
That's all that it's about. Marketing
2006-08-08 13:20:40 · answer #3 · answered by almondjoy_1000 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It makes it look cheaper. People see a big 19 and a little 99 so it gets stuck in their minds that it costs $19 instead of $20.
2006-08-08 13:17:56 · answer #4 · answered by DonSoze 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a marketing ploy (albeit a lame one) to make a consumer feel like they're spending less. The ploy has been so overused, though, that it is virtually worthless. I can't imagine why any retailer even bothers with it anymore. How stupid do they think we are?
2006-08-08 15:40:16 · answer #5 · answered by SuzeY 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wal-mart started the process mostly for advertising purposes. Seems $23.99 sounds cheaper than $24?
2006-08-08 13:20:51 · answer #6 · answered by dt 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They were tryng to get rid of the penny so they try to make it where its a even amount
2006-08-08 13:19:01 · answer #7 · answered by newpastorofgod 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You know I was thinking about that the other day. The s*hit beats da f*uck outta me and I guess nobody knows cause no one is answering.
2006-08-08 13:17:31 · answer #8 · answered by whos_tat_grl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To make it look like your getting a better deal than you really are.
2006-08-08 13:19:11 · answer #9 · answered by mybluemax1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think because they just want to get 1 cent for themselves, but actually it's dumb for real
2006-08-08 13:17:38 · answer #10 · answered by lola 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋