14 Apr 2003 | Chris said...

Yes, unfortunately, it does work on me. I suppose it has to do with the massive amounts of transactions that I see and make every year that after a period of time you don't think about it as much.

14 Apr 2003 | hurley#1 said...

I hate it with a passion, but it works. It doesn't factor into my comparison shopping, because I convert every $199.99 to $200.00 in my head while comparing prices, but it does frequently work for my impulse buying.

That said, if a company were brave enough to offer items for sale in round numbers, like $200.00 or $130.00 instead of $199.99 or $129.99, I would probably go out of my way to buy from that company to show my support for that kind of honesty.

14 Apr 2003 | p8 said...

I'm still a bit confused by the euro and my 'x euro = y value' sense still isn't tuned. I'm lazily multiplying prices with a factor 2 instead of 2,20371 (euro/guilder) when I'm not sure about a price. So 95's make some stuff look cheaper especially on small figures. It is even harder with 67's or other figures.

14 Apr 2003 | Mr. Nosuch said...

I always adjust in my head, mostly out of spite.

When I see round prices, instead of stupid 99 prices, I see this as a sign of integrity from the vendor.

$9.99 = not clueful.
$10.00 = clueful.

That said, I prefer clueful vendors.

14 Apr 2003 | Steven Garrity said...

I've always hated that - though I suspect it might be effective (depending on the service/audience?). However, since it is now so common to see a $X.99 price, I think a straight $10.00 can stand out in a positive way.

14 Apr 2003 | alice said...

I read something recently that said $X.95 is significantly more effective than $X.99. Personally, I just find "95" more aesthetically pleasing than "99" :)

14 Apr 2003 | Michael S. said...

I think the .99 cheapens the product, and makes the price seem arbitrary. But that said, I think it does work on me. It's like a magic barrier has been crossed when you go below a round number. Like $9.99 is in another price category than $11.25.

And I usually round up when I tell other people the price, or comparison shop.

14 Apr 2003 | Steve said...

Usually I just round up, and find the whole thing stupid. But, given how many people out there who will buy something just because it's on sale, regardless of whether they need it or not - not realizing the concept that if they didn't buy it in the first place they would have saved even more money - I'm sure it remains effective.

One area it seems to work on everyone, however, is gasoline prices. If the sign says 2.15.9, I never hear anyone say gas costs 2.16. Always 2.15.

14 Apr 2003 | Benjy said...

Reminds me of an episode of "Married with Children" where the next door neighbor wanted to petition for a 99 cent coin, but everybody told him it was stupid because sales tax means nothing's actually $xx.99. While $9.99 may seem like less then $10.00, do we view $10.69 as much different from 10.70? I guess the bigger question is whether we caclulate taxes into purchase price.

14 Apr 2003 | Don Schenck said...

I find it interesting that we pronounce of money differently than most of the rest of the world.

We say "Five ninety" or "Five dollars and ninety cents" where the rest of the world drops the "and" and says "Five dollars ninety".

Interesting.

14 Apr 2003 | Dan Budiac said...

I think "$10" appears less than "$9.99," psychologically. Fewer digits.

I also appreciate it when vendors price their items to eliminate change after sales tax is added. My morning bagel costs $1.90 plus tax, which magically works out to $2.00. I love that.

14 Apr 2003 | Don Schenck said...

Dan -- Yes, agreed on the idea of pricing to eliminate changes. Wish more would do it.

14 Apr 2003 | JF said...

I also appreciate it when vendors price their items to eliminate change after sales tax is added. My morning bagel costs $1.90 plus tax, which magically works out to $2.00. I love that.

But what if you added Coffee to that? It's tough to nail the prices when there are so many options and combinations of items.

14 Apr 2003 | alisha said...

I'm still a bit confused by the euro ...
---
Talk about non-functional design! the euro coin is the most difficult money Ive ever dealth with. We got screwed. The 10, 20 and 50 cents look indentical, except a slight differnce in size. The 1 and 2 euro pieces look the same - except for a slight difference in size. The little stuff like 1s 2s and 5s also look all the same. The 1s and 2s are these worthless, microscopic pieces of copper that I can hardly find in my wallet. I have never lugged around so much change in my life, as its too much of a P.I.T.A. to deal with it when you buy anything. The older people have a horrific time trying to figure out whats what.

A guy named Luc Luycx (of the Royal Belgian Mint) won the competition to design the coins; my question is, did he also decide on size and color because Im just about ready to go postal on the guy for hours of lost time searching for coins.

"Milled edges have been introduced to make it easier - especially for those with impaired sight - to recognise different values."
You cant even see the the frigging edges and I have 20-20 vision.

Sorry, I needed to let that out. Its been building up since Jan. 1, 2002.

14 Apr 2003 | p8 said...

Alisha I totally agree. I think they made a big mistake by not increasing the size with the same ratio but with the same length.
I also must say I prefer 0.25 2.5 25 250 over 0.20 2.0 20 and 200.

Plus we had to give up the most beautiful notes designs for the new dull euro's. (check out the lighthouse 250).

Don, we say say five ninety for $5,90. But we say 'seven and thirty' for 37 which very confusing and I still get it wrong sometimes (I always have to remind myself to mentally switch the two numbers).

14 Apr 2003 | hurley#1 said...

Once after I rented a vacation cottage for a week, I took all the sheets and towels to the local laundromat to drop them off for cleaning. The bill came to $9.80. I gave the woman behind the counter a $20 bill. She gave me back two dimes and a $10 bill, saying as she did so, "Twenty makes 10 and 10 makes 20." I had to think about that one for a while.

14 Apr 2003 | Steve said...

Don: I'm with you. Once I started traveling, I found that a bit odd. And it's certainly not an English thing, since things in the UK cost 5 pounds 20.

Other money oddities, and the way I'd like to see things: I like different-sized notes (or bills, if you want to be American about it). When I moved to Germany, it was so easy to pay for stuff even though I hadn't learned to recognize the different denominations by sight, because the 10 mark note was smaller than the 20, smaller than the 50, etc. I find it strange that the US insists on hanging onto the $1 note. I want a coin. And preferably two-toned. I like those.

Alisha and p8: I was pretty unimpressed by the euro when I visited Germany last fall. I did like the 1 and 2 euro coins, though, but the small coins were terrible for the reasons you cited. Although, anything's better than the 1 and 2 pfennig coins Germany had. And it's a shame that some beautiful currency went by the wayside in favor of bland uniformity. The newer-generation 10 guilder note was a thing of beauty. I hope the Swiss never go to the euro, because their money is beautiful as well.

Alisha: I usually noticed Germans saying 10 mark 20, not 10-20. And you have my sympathies on the number thing. I was luckly that my flat's street number was 33. Tough to screw that up.

p8: I think the 2.5/25/250 v. 2/20/200 preference is just what you're used to. Since I grew up with a 25-cent piece and a $20 note, that's what I'm used to. The 25 guilder note didn't mess me up too much when I visited the Netherlands, but the 2.50 one completely screwed me up.

14 Apr 2003 | Mark Nichols said...

When the first cash registers were introduced the problem was in getting the clerks to use the thing. With whole dollar prices, the clerk could make change out of previous sales that day. Changing the prices to include cents forced the use of the cash register, which also created a "tape" copy of the sale.

14 Apr 2003 | pb said...

JF, if *all* the products were priced such that tax rounded well, it shouldn't be an issue.

The problem is, by charging 1.90 instead of 1.99, the shop owner is giving up fully 4.5% of revenue.

The gas thing is more absurd considering that 1/10 of a cent doesn't even exist.

I don't believe people who claim they'd seek out or buy more from a merchant who priced in round numbers.

15 Apr 2003 | Don Schenck said...

To be honest, with the debit card, I don't really pay that much attention.

Interesting, though; when purchase fuel for my VW-killer SAAB 900, I NEVER allow it to come out to a even dollar amount; I make sure it's an unusual number ... for example, $26.09 instead of $26. That way I recognize it when Microsoft Money pulls it down from the bank.

15 Apr 2003 | hurley#1 said...

Speaking of using debit (or credit) cards for buying gasoline: be sure to ALWAYS take your receipt, even if you don't want it. Some gas stations don't give you the option; they always print out a receipt. Last Thursday I fueled up at a Shell station here in Montreal and left without taking the receipt for my credit card purchase. The receipt must have included more than the usual amount of information, because within a few hours my credit card company noticed a flurry of charges and they shut down the account. Someone apparently picked up my receipt and distributed my account number and expiration date to 100 of his closest friends.

15 Apr 2003 | MadMan said...

Not a chance in hell

23 Apr 2003 | cough said...

*cough*

14 Aug 2003 | Steve Gerke said...

Hello everyone. I've been reading the comments about ".99 vs $1" with interest because I have been pushing our company to do the same thing: to treat potential customers with a level of respect and not try any silly advertising tricks.

The problem that I'm running into is that most people are aware of the luring affect of .99 even though I personally appreciate even numbers. I'd like this company to have that kind of integrity even though ".99" apparently works.

Is anyone aware of any studies or surveys regarding the positive affects of "$1-type" pricing? (I suppose you would call it "rounded-amount" but there might be another term.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated and might affect our pricing models.

Thank you for your time,

Steve Gerke
Rochester, NY