why do they charge nine tenths of a cent on a gallon of gas?

Answer 1

It is just the way that the taxes are added in.
But hey, thank goodness they hit oil in the gulf of Mexico off the LA coast. Sounds like a lot of oil and this is really going to help the prices of gas and replenish our reserves.
Biggest hit since Alaska..........Yeahhhhhhhh

Answer 2

No one seems to know exactly where or when the practice originated, but everyone agrees gas was sold at the pump in fractions of a cent at least as far back as the 1920s or 1930s, when automobile culture really began to take off.

Some say that the fractional pricing was introduced in response to federal gasoline taxes that were themselves assessed in parts of a cent. Others say that tiny price changes of a tenth of a cent were more significant back when a gallon of gasoline didn't cost much more than a dime. And everyone agrees that pricing at nine-tenths of a cent gives the station owner the same advantage a grocer might get for charging $1.99 rather than a whopping $2.00 for a bottle of sparkling water.

Whatever its origin, the practice is now built in to the pricing system. Federal and state taxes on gasoline still work out to a fraction of a cent per gallon and get paid when distributors purchase fuel from the refineries. The distributors who sell to the filling stations often set their prices such that the total after tax ends with nine-tenths of a cent. The station owner who buys it can then just mark up the price by a few whole cents and pass along the nine-tenths to the consumer.

In the 1980s the government of Iowa abolished nine-tenths-pricing on the grounds that it was deceptive but then rescinded the ban four years later.

Answer 3

Same reason other things cost 99c. You see it at less than a dollar. They should sell it by the gallon so you'll get what you pay for. Did you ever notice how trying to get that pump on an exact number, such as $5, you click, click until its $5, but another click will sometimes still be the same price. It all adds up.

Answer 4

It's a ploy, when they charge $212&9 tenths it keeps your mind from saying $213 per gallon. Just like in a store when something is $!.99 you are still saying one dollar & not two dollars.

Answer 5

hey dave, nice answer. I bet you did a lot of research. It just to trick people minds dave, thats all the people really wanted to hear. But no, you gave her a whole story about it when a few words would of have dont the same thing. ITS JUST TO TRICK PEOPLE DAVE. HAHAHA, I am just messing with you dave. But, you are smart. oh yeah, about the answer, its just to make people think they are paying cheaper and to play with yalls mind.

Answer 6

Supposedly, this all started back during the "Great Depression" days, and it had something to do with taxes on gasoline.

Answer 7

because they dont want to waste a decimal polace because if u buy 10 gallons of gas then it would be 29.99 instead of 29.90

Answer 8

y are there 10 hotdogs in a pack & only 8 buns in a pack.

Answer 9

its a visual con-game that its less than instead of more like a car dealer selling a car for 9999.99 its not 10,000 dollars so its cheaper

Answer 10

The psychology of making it look like less cost, like $2.99 IS less than $3.00, so they get more sales that way.