Why aren't prices just even dollar amounts?

[嘟嘟嘟嘟]

'We probably don't think twice about buying something for $5.99 or $16.99, but it is a little strange when you think about iit. Why aren't prices just even dollar amounts?'
What does 'even' mean in this sentence? I only found a closer meaning like 'an even number can be divided exactly by two', but I don't think it matches the one in the sentence.

 

[GoesStation]

In this case it means "integer".

 

[嘟嘟嘟嘟]

But why can't I find this meaning about "even" in the dictionary?

 

[GoesStation]

You're asking the wrong person. I'm not a lexicographer.

Seriously, though, dictionaries don't always include every use of a word. You might want to consult some more dictionaries. Onelook.com will connect you to a bunch of them. The first one, Merriam-Webster.com, includes the definition you're looking for.

 

[Rover_KE]

嘟嘟嘟嘟, you've been a member long enough to know that we require the source and author of any text you quote.​

 

[Raymott]

an even ten/fifty/hundred, etc.

informal used to describe a number that ends in 0, not more or less than that number:

"Will you sell it for $45?" "Make it an even fifty and you got a deal."



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https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/even

 

[Tdol]

'We probably don't think twice about buying something for $5.99 or $16.99, but it is a little strange when you think about iit. Why aren't prices just even dollar amounts?'
What does 'even' mean in this sentence?

Here it means selling something for $6 or $17 rather than a number ending with 99. Apparently, the 99-cent, or pence in the UK, began to ensure that shoppers always got change, which reduced the risk of them claiming to have paid with a bigger note and asking for money back.

 

[GoesStation]

Apparently, the 99-cent, or pence in the UK, began to ensure that shoppers always got change, which reduced the risk of them claiming to have paid with a bigger note and asking for money back.

Were prices like 9s6d the pre-decimal equivalent in the UK?

 

[emsr2d2]

Here it means selling something for $6 or $17 rather than a number ending with 99. Apparently, the 99-cent, or pence in the UK, began to ensure that shoppers always got change, which reduced the risk of them claiming to have paid with a bigger note and asking for money back.

It also has a slight psychological effect. If a shop charges £9.99 for something, they can advertise it as being "under £10!" Even though it's only a penny under £10, some people will still see that as a positive.

 

[Rover_KE]

Were prices like 9s6d the pre-decimal equivalent in the UK?

No – 9s 11½d. (Halfpennies were not withdrawn until 1969).

And when I was taking my 11+exam in 1949, before farthings were withdrawn – 9s 11¾d.

A typical arithmetic question in those days was 'How much change would you get from £10 if you bought 5 articles at 4s 3½d each and 4 articles at 13s 10¾d each?'

Good times.:roll:

 

[GoesStation]

No – 9s 11½d.

Then there was the opposite habit of pricing luxury goods in guineas (21s; £1.05 in new money). I think it gave the vendor an easy way to offer a small discount ("Let's call it pounds then, shall we?"). Conversely, a purchaser might be able to clinch a deal by switching from pounds: "Guineas, of course, old chap."

 

[Raymott]

I always thought it was for tax purposes. Certain businesses didn't have to declare cents, only full dollars. So, you sell something for $9.99, get $10 income effectively, and only pay tax on $9.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

As I understand it, the practice got started when a shopkeeper who used movable number tiles for posting prices didn't have enough zero tiles. So instead of posting a price as $10, he posted $9.99.

Other nearby shopkeepers liked it (probably because it made things look cheaper than they were), so it caught on.

 

[GoesStation]

I always thought it was for tax purposes. Certain businesses didn't have to declare cents, only full dollars. So, you sell something for $9.99, get $10 income effectively, and only pay tax on $9.

Not in any American jurisdictions.

 

[jutfrank]

I'd always assumed it began as a deliberate psychological trick to make things seem cheaper than they really are.

 

[GoesStation]

I'd always assumed it began as a deliberate psychological trick to make things seem cheaper than they really are.

Occam and I agree with you.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Occam and I agree with you.

That's what it became. See #8. (I haven't found anything that backs that up, but I haven't found anything that doesn't.)

 

[SoothingDave]

They price gasoline in the US to 9/10ths of a cent. The price is given as, say, $1.999 per gallon. Less than two bucks!


It's never 2/10ths, or 7/10ths. Always 9.

 

[Tdol]

Not in any American jurisdictions.

Nor the UK.

 

[Tdol]

I'd always assumed it began as a deliberate psychological trick to make things seem cheaper than they really are.

It's a twofer- it does that and keeps us a bit more honest.