4 ms·

I bet in general it would save money. Many things price ends in .99 to trick people into thinking it is cheaper. All those things would switch to .95 in order t

I bet in general it would save money. Many things price ends in .99 to trick people into thinking it is cheaper. All those things would switch to .95 in order to preserve the trick.

wolco 8y ago
You are forgetting sale tax which changes the final price (if there exists tax is your region)
- jstarfish 8y ago
  That isn't the point; he's talking about the psychological difference we ascribe to seeing gas pegged at $4.00 a gallon versus a mere $3.99, since the first digit is the most significant. Tax is always going to be the same no matter which station in town you use, so it's not a useful metric for comparison shopping. (And actually gas stations take it a step further. The $3.99 you see on the sign isn't the actual price, it's $3.99 + 99/100 cents. If you look closely, you'll sometimes see the extra fraction of a cent in superscript.)
  - chatmasta 8y ago
    > Tax is always going to be the same no matter which station in town you use, so it's not a useful metric for comparison shopping. I grew up on the border of Maine (sales tax) and New Hampshire (no sales tax). There, tax is frequently used as a metric for comparison shopping. In fact there’s an entire street over the bridge into NH colloquially known as “gasoline alley.”
- curun1r 8y ago
  Then if we could pass a law mandating that prices be displayed inclusive of sales tax, that'd be great. One of my favorite parts about going to Europe is being able to add up prices in my head and have it match up exactly with the final total. The US system is nonsensical and shouldn't be used to justify other nonsensical policies like the continued use of the penny.
  - djrogers 8y ago
    The problem with all prices being shown inclusive of tax is that the amount of the tax becomes forgotten over time. By having tax added and called out on the receipt at the register, everyone is reminded many times per day how much sales tax they're paying.
    - macintux 8y ago
      Additionally, sales tax is sometimes not required, either because the product or the reason for purchase is exempt. Computers can deal with the latter, signage can't.
      - xyzzyz 8y ago
        Signage in Europe deals with this just fine.
      - notahacker 8y ago
        For bricks and mortar stores, if the majority of people due to pay the tax are capable of rounding up a posted price of $fee + tax, the minority eligible for tax exemptions are capable of rounding down a posted price of $fee - tax Might be a little different for online stores where tax can't be calculated until they know which of the many different local tax codes the sale is being made under, but as you've already noted computers can handle updating the price before people confirm the purchase.
        Symbiote 8y ago
        European online retailers that expect significant sales to both businesses and consumers (e.g. computer components) either show both prices with different fonts, or have a button somewhere to switch between with- and without-VAT prices. Except for businesses, there isn't the situation as in the US, where the retailer is responsible for verifying that a customer is tax-exempt. People on the equivalents of food stamps pay the VAT; yes the money just goes in a circle back to the government, but it's probably easier accounting for everyone.
      - 8y ago

I bet in general it would save money. Many things price ends in .99 to trick people into thinking it is cheaper. All those things would switch to .95 in order to preserve the trick.

wolco 8y ago

You are forgetting sale tax which changes the final price (if there exists tax is your region)

jstarfish 8y ago
That isn't the point; he's talking about the psychological difference we ascribe to seeing gas pegged at $4.00 a gallon versus a mere $3.99, since the first digit is the most significant. Tax is always going to be the same no matter which station in town you use, so it's not a useful metric for comparison shopping. (And actually gas stations take it a step further. The $3.99 you see on the sign isn't the actual price, it's $3.99 + 99/100 cents. If you look closely, you'll sometimes see the extra fraction of a cent in superscript.)
- chatmasta 8y ago
  > Tax is always going to be the same no matter which station in town you use, so it's not a useful metric for comparison shopping. I grew up on the border of Maine (sales tax) and New Hampshire (no sales tax). There, tax is frequently used as a metric for comparison shopping. In fact there’s an entire street over the bridge into NH colloquially known as “gasoline alley.”
curun1r 8y ago
Then if we could pass a law mandating that prices be displayed inclusive of sales tax, that'd be great. One of my favorite parts about going to Europe is being able to add up prices in my head and have it match up exactly with the final total. The US system is nonsensical and shouldn't be used to justify other nonsensical policies like the continued use of the penny.
- djrogers 8y ago
  The problem with all prices being shown inclusive of tax is that the amount of the tax becomes forgotten over time. By having tax added and called out on the receipt at the register, everyone is reminded many times per day how much sales tax they're paying.
  - macintux 8y ago
    Additionally, sales tax is sometimes not required, either because the product or the reason for purchase is exempt. Computers can deal with the latter, signage can't.
    - xyzzyz 8y ago
      Signage in Europe deals with this just fine.
    - notahacker 8y ago
      For bricks and mortar stores, if the majority of people due to pay the tax are capable of rounding up a posted price of $fee + tax, the minority eligible for tax exemptions are capable of rounding down a posted price of $fee - tax Might be a little different for online stores where tax can't be calculated until they know which of the many different local tax codes the sale is being made under, but as you've already noted computers can handle updating the price before people confirm the purchase.
      - Symbiote 8y ago
        European online retailers that expect significant sales to both businesses and consumers (e.g. computer components) either show both prices with different fonts, or have a button somewhere to switch between with- and without-VAT prices. Except for businesses, there isn't the situation as in the US, where the retailer is responsible for verifying that a customer is tax-exempt. People on the equivalents of food stamps pay the VAT; yes the money just goes in a circle back to the government, but it's probably easier accounting for everyone.
    - 8y ago