Re:Price Anchoring, Or Why a $499 iPad Seems Inexpensive
by mcantor on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @04:19PM
(#1245519)
It really drives me crazy when I'm discussing products with a salesperson and they consistently "correct" me every time I mention the rounded-up price. It goes like this:
Sales: So it looks like the $299 point-and-shoot might match the features you're looking for, moreso than this $399 video camera.
Me: OK. I'm really leaning towards the $300 one.
Sales: $299.
Me: Yeah, sure. Because I don't know if I'm really going to get my money's worth, paying an extra hundred for the $400 one.
Sales: $399.
Me: (uppercuts salesperson into the stratosphere)
Re:Price Anchoring, Or Why a $499 iPad Seems Inexpensive
by ugh on Tuesday April 06, 2010 @05:43PM
(#1245748)
Is that really something you experienced? That didn’t ever happen to me. If a salesperson treated me like that I would pretty much immediately lose all respect for them.
Re:Price Anchoring, Or Why a $499 iPad Seems Inexpensive
by gaius on Wednesday April 07, 2010 @05:47AM
(#1246863)
That's what they've been told to do, it's not their fault. It's like if you go into a Pepsi venue and ask for a coke, they will always say "Pepsi". Now I just want some sort of cola-flavoured beverage, I'm not that fussed, and they know that, but I don't think "this person is such a pedant" or think I'm being disrespected.
Re:Price Anchoring, Or Why a $499 iPad Seems Inexpensive
by mcantor on Thursday April 08, 2010 @05:10PM
(#1250961)
Believe it or not, I actually appreciate this, since if I ask for a Coke and I get a Pepsi, I can tell and my tastebuds are disappointed. So if they say, "Oh, we only do Pepsi," I can say, "Then, I'll have a water," or something.
Ditto. That's why I round up when somebody asks me how much something costs. The mathematical error resulting from using $500 instead of $499 is much less than the psychological error induced by the smaller first digit.