99p goods

[MargeB]

Is this to make things look 'cheaper' or to stop fraud at the till years and years ago. Have heard conflicting reports.

[dave m]

saw this thing on tv bout .99p its plain and simple why this is, its tricks your brain into thinking a tv for eg 99.99pounds is cheaper than 100 pounds

[Tim Baxter]

Would like to know how this prevents fraud at the till?

[oligopoly]

From learning about advertising and marketing at university, from what i gather the main 2 reasons behind this are a) psychological pricing - as dave m states. The other relates to the 'fraud' suggestion. It ensures that till operators must open the till in order to give change back to the customer reducing the opportunity for dishonesty. I think the second reason stems from organisations set up in London. Not sure however

[MargeB]

On old tills. Apparently.

Product is �10. Customer pays �10, cashier accepts it, hands over goods, pockets �10.

Product is �9.99. Customer pays �10, cashier accepts it, has to enter figure into till to retrieve 1p change, thus registering sale, unable to pocket �10.

System was maintained, and 99p culture carried on.

[fly258]

It dates back to before supermarkets when small shops used .99p to stop fraud. If the owner was away, he knew that for each sale, the assistant had to ring up the price on the till (mechanical in those days) in order to give the customer the penny change, assuming a note was tendered. Otherwise, the assistant could easily pocket the note and the discrepency would not be found untill the next stock take.

At least that's how Steve Wright explained it on his show several years ago.

[fly258]

oligopoly and Marge B...........you BOTH beat me to it.......humphh :)

[Tim Baxter]

Better still, customer proffers �10, cashier gives customer gives 1p from own pocket, nothing rung up. no transaction recorded.  'Nuff said?

[Loosehead]

In the recent general election, one of the items in the manifesto for the Monster Raving loony party was apparently the introduction of a 99p coin!

[MargeB]

lol. I love those guys. I got a copy of an earlier manifesto:

-on Global Warming: Problem: Rising Sea Levels. Solution: slaughter all whales, thus reducing sea levels.

-on Road Kill (obviously a major issue for floating voters): install 'pedestrian crossing buttons' also 5 cm above ground level to allow hedgehogs to press them and thus cross the road safely. (Knew smudge would like that one).

[Loosehead]

Asylum seekers? Put big signs on all the asylums to help them out! Priceless

[MargeB]

<tears in my eyes>