<RANT>
Why do people always have to set their prices at $something.95?

Ok, I can see that it is customary for small items to be priced that way -- $5.95/month, $29.95/month, etc. -- so I don't find those quite so annoying. When I see advert for a dedicated server costing $1399.95 though... do the five cents really matter? Can't you just keep things simple by calling it $1400?
</RANT>

Why do you even care?
:confused:

This is about business strategy, the price is somehow playing in your mind.

For example, $9.99 - Your mind telling you that it is less than $10.00. This physological effect affect your buying decision. That is you see many people price their goods or clothes at $19.99 & etc.

Like your server example, it is telling your mind that it is one thousand three hundred ++. If they price it at $1400, it seems too expensive already like a hundred dollars more but reallity is that it is only 5 cents more.

the thing with the .95 is that when you see .99 you think 1 since you see it so much. but if you see 19.95 you dont say oh its 20 you really think its 19 which is less then 20. so you might think 20 is too much but you dont think 19.95 is too much because its still under 20 but if you say 19.99 you just say 20 right away. and also 95 is a nicer number people are just tired of the 99. well thats what i think it might be wrong.

just my 95 cents...:D

It's just a marketing strategy......

Don't let it get you down!! ;)

Rob M.

Just think, if you pay like $19.95 a month for 5 years it's 3 bucks cheaper than $20!
Now you have enough to buy a coffee and a doughnut... :nuts:

This originated from a very long history, where you didnt actually have to pay tax on items less than $1. Therefore, ppl used to charge $0.99 or less, rather than $1 ... so they could avoid tax. The habit has just stayed around, even though the law has changed.

But DJ is right, it also has a psychological effect.

Originally posted by one_web
and also 95 is a nicer number people are just tired of the 99.

And if they ever become tired about .95 we will market .97
;)

Originally posted by Walter
And if they ever become tired about .95 we will market .97 ;

Wal-Mart is already nutorious for using the .97 :D ;)

and I already was on my way to copyright the .97 :(

In the UK the same happens but you find the following happens in some stores eg) dixons

XX.99 - normal
XX.98 - implies the product is going to be discontinued soon
XX.97 - product is discontinued

but all the posts above are also true

I was gonna type what rmartin said... heh. yes, around here in the states, same thing applies in some stores. The end price is a code (sort of), though I can't recall which stores use it and which don't.

I do know that Target puts the discontinued stuff on the back of the top shelf and they seem to remove it from the computer, so you have to ask them the price. $60 discontinued baby mattress for $9.67, we were happy...

LOL... i know wholesale clubs like Sams and BJ's use that pricing code

Originally posted by Chicken
$60 discontinued baby mattress for $9.67, we were happy...


Yes, but WHY was it discontinued? :eek:

Okay...I'll just take my paranoid thoughts elsewhere now. :D


--Tina

Originally posted by AffordableHost
Yes, but WHY was it discontinued? :eek:


No, you don't understand... "Discontinued baby mattress" doesn't mean that the mattress was discontinued... it is a mattress designed for discontinued babies. ;)

Yeeeek... yeah ya' gotta wonder why it was discontinued, though at the time when we found out we were about to save $50, that thought didn't cross my mind (bad Chicken). I think it was just last year's model, and they improved it a bit, made it more springy, etc. I figure a 7-30 lb. baby doesn't need a serta perfect sleeper, though I think that's what it was. Something like that... they all look and seem pretty darn similar.

Originally posted by Chicken
I figure a 7-30 lb. baby doesn't need a serta perfect sleeper, though I think that's what it was.

Let me get this straight... you think the baby isn't going to have trouble sleeping?

No I don't think a slightly more springy or firm or whatever is better or worse is going to make a difference either way.

Hey Chicken --

Shouldn't this thread be in the lounge? Even the original post had more to do with someone's rant than with hosting and now we're on baby mattresses... :D

Just a thought...:)

Originally posted by Chicken
No I don't think a slightly more springy or firm or whatever is better or worse is going to make a difference either way.

I hear some hay in a potato sack makes a pretty good mattress. Just make sure you set your son up with a good back specialist when he gets to age 6. :D

What's the smallest value coin in the U.S? In Australia they threw out the 1c and 2c coins about 10 years back, which I think is generally why smaller items went from *.99 to *.95. Of course, in grocery stores and the like when you're buying many items, they toss things around at *.97 and the like.

A heard that the idea is a psychological thing with the customer getting change. If they purchase something for $2.95 they're likely to at least give $3, and receive 5c change (which apparently has some sort of overwhelming psychological affect... in my case it's frustration of trying to get that tiny little coin back into my wallet when I've already put it away).

If that's the case, then I'm not sure why Internet companies would be charging at *.95, you don't get change on a credit card after all!

Originally posted by BravoComm
Hey Chicken --

Shouldn't this thread be in the lounge?

Well seeing as how I've accidentally completely made the thread go into a baby mattress tangent (whups), I'll stick it here.

Originally posted by Chicken
Well seeing as how I've accidentally completely made the thread go into a baby mattress tangent (whups), I'll stick it here.

If it makes you feel better you've just discovered that once you become a parent, you can subconciously subvert *any* converstation into something about your newborn :D

re: the money issue we just look at it as it being what people expect to see, so that's what they get. I think the world is slowly turning to rounded figures though and eventually you'll see more .00 amounts (eg, 9.00)

Greg Moore