My dad, who passed away in 2020, was a real comedian. The guy seemed to have a story or a joke for every occasion and I’m pretty sure I heard ’em all. That never stopped Dad from sharing his repertoire over and over again anyway.
What I really loved about Dad is that even when he was repeating a particular joke that I had heard 76 times before, he told it with all the verve and gusto of somebody reciting it for the very first time.
For example, I probably played 500 rounds of golf with him over the years. And it was no coincidence that was also the same number of times I heard him repeat the joke about the duffer who was so cheap that, instead of yelling “fore” after each errant golf drive, he insisted on shouting $3.99!
Dad usually told that one right after a member of our foursome finishes slicing a long shot into an opposing fairway.
Here’s something else that’s kind of funny: I read this article in Psychology Today pointing to research confirming that establishments should always price their products with a 9 at the end, rather than so-called ’round’ numbers that end in zero. Why? Well … because the number nine actually “sounds” cheap. No, really.
In fact, the article goes on to explain that:
Sounds pronounced with the front of the mouth (for example, long a, e, and i; or fricatives like f, s, and z) trigger associations with smallness. (Think of words like tiny and wee.) The vowels pronounced at the back of the mouth, like the ‘oo’ in foot or goose, are linked to largeness. (Think of huge crowds ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing.’)
Of course, after reading that, I know exactly what you’re thinking: What the heck is a fricative?
Beats me.
The important thing to note is that, ironically, if the theory is correct, prices ending in 9 subconsciously signal to buyers that they’re looking at a great deal, while prices ending in 0, 1, and 2 are perceived to be more expensive.
I think that’s a complete crock. I don’t need a PhD in psychology to know that, when it comes to closing a deal, consumers are influenced much more by sight than sound.
Let’s face facts: Merchants price items at $3.99 instead of $4.00 simply because most people, naturally, tend to focus on the most significant numeral. That is, the ones farthest to the left, closest to the dollar sign.
Take gasoline prices, for example: Almost every gas station advertises their prices to the nearest nine-tenths of a cent. Why? Because $4.999 per gallon looks a whole lot cheaper than $5.00 per gallon. Sound has absolutely nothing to do with it.
That’s my story anyway — and I’m sticking to it.
By the way, if my dad was still here I’d give him a call right now — just to see if he had any old jokes about fricatives he’d like to share.
Photo Credit: Violette79
The gas example works in another way too. If the price is $3.759 everybody says gas is $3.75. But it’s really $3.76. I catch myself doing it with products that for example are $19.95. I’ll tell everyone that I got the product for $19 even though I really paid closer to $20.
I think you make a better point that the linguists that analyzed the sounds of numerals. 😉 The whole dollar amount makes people think it’s “cheaper” when it’s really just one penny less than the next whole dollar amount. Pennies count, damn it!
I totally agree with you, Len. I can’t tell you how many times my nieces and nephews have begged for something saying “but it’s only a dollar” when the price is actually $1.99, essentially two dollars. And gas pricing drives me up the wall too. Why do we even have the 9/10 anymore? I mean, REALLY???
We still have the 9/10 because no one wants to be the first to raise prices to the whole cent.
Yeah, the effect is definitely stronger at the big anchor numbers -$100s, $1,000s. Who wants to buy a $1,000.00 TV? There’s a $999.99 one next to it!
I wonder how you decide “sound” matters in priceing? How do the social scientists test that one? Wonder how big the NIH grant was?
Ugh. I have a friend who always tells me about these great deals she gets, “it was only a dollar!!”, then come to find out it was A DOLLAR AND NINETY-NINE CENTS… plus tax no less!!
And I tell anyone who will listen that I should get a penny off for every 10 gallons of gas that I buy, given that it’s advertised with that funny 9/10 of a cent on the end. It’s the principle!
Actually, this would only hold if you were purchasing 1 gallon at a time; 1 gallon at $2.999 actually costs you $3.00. Do that 10 times and it will cost you $30.00.
However, if you buy 10 gallons all at the same time, the $2.999 X 10 = $29.99.
I suppose the trick then, is to only purchase gas in exact increments of 10 gallons at a time to ensure that we’re truly getting exactly what we’re paying for.
Len, I hate that as smart as I am. I still fall prey to the marketers!!
I had helped a friend buy something. And when I handed him the item, he asked me how much it was. So I told him it was $9.50, but he gave me $9.
Maybe this situation is how the “sound” matters, but I still don’t buy what the psychology study says. Instead, I agree with you that many people focus on the more significant digit (or some may just focus on the first part of what they hear or see).
I whole heartily agree with you on this one – the psychology is on the leading significant digit, not some friggin’ fricative.
9/10 cent on gasoline make some marketing sense back in the days when gas 35.9 cents a gallon. But today that tactic is way past its sell-by date.
I used some number psychology when I bought my current house. The owner was asking for something like $205,000 (this was 10 years ago in the Atlanta suburbs). I “translated” that to mean they probably wanted a good $200,000 for the house. I initially thought to counter-offer $197,000, but decided the leading “2” was probably a psychological barrier. So instead I offered $200,000 plus the owner to cover the first $3000 of my closing costs. That worked, and the contract was signed.
I like the sound of fricative. Sounds tasty, like a fricassee…
Good one Len! Hey, sorry I forgot to add you in my link roundup this week; just added this one in!
The $1.99 prices simply do not make sense in a no-sales tax state like Oregon. Just make it a whole number and get on with it.
Jerry the rounding to a whole number would raise consumer resistance, that’s the whole point of charging a price ending in “9”. After almost 50 years in retail I can assure you that you make a lot more sales at $1.99 than $2.00, odd as it sounds to you. I sell stuff with porch pick up and always end in a 9. Most times people leave the rounded up number, like charging $39. and they leave two twenties. Partly this is because many people do not HAVE cash and get it from the ATM before coming for pick up so they don’t have singles.
Fricative: Characterized by frictional rustling of the breath as it is emitted;-said of certain consonants (f,v,s,z, etc.) Now there is a $.99 word for you! Still enjoy your posts after all these years.
Thirty years ago, I was working my way through school at a tire/hardware/applicance store. I would have people call and ask how much something was. If the price was $1.99, being too practical and logical, I would say $2.00, because that’s how I saw things. The general manager heard me doing this and the next thing, I’m staring down the business end of a hissy fit. I received a nice lecture about how the price ending in 9 made people think they were getting it much cheaper than they actually were, blah, blah and so forth.
They really didn’t like, when I would mention that the Wal Mart fifty feet away from us, had the same thing and their price ended in 5!
Thus ended my promising career in retail sales.
I’m happy with this, especially when it comes to 99p vs 1. In this scenario, I’m saving 1% on everything I buy, which is about the same as interest rates in savings accounts.
Whether its a psychological trick or not (by sight or by sound), I say long live the 1% saving!! 🙂
Some people don’t even pay attention to the price at all. They just buy what they want and move on. I had that disturbing realization when I went shopping with some family members a couple of weeks ago.
So that’s what you call it. Fricative. I always thought that its just the “look” that makes it look cheaper. Thanks for this tidbit!
I’m with you on the first number (or two) being the most important. I am a landlord and the last time my place was for rent I couldn’t get any interest when I listed it for $1,200/ month. However, at $1,175 I got more emails than I could handle.
I know that I always hear people say “it’s only $3 or $4, etc…” when it’s actually $3.99 or $4.99. I also know that Walmart did studies on this and that’s why they decided to offer products for X.98 instead of X.99. Of course now I think it’s lower, like X.96 or something. Oh, psychology. It’s really interesting though.
BTW, love the joke. lol. Yes, I’m corny.
I used to ponder on that idea. Why does number 9 have a huge effect on us buyers especially when things are on sale? There are lots of “what if” and “instead of”. That .01 to make .99 a 1 can really make the difference. For instance, instead of paying $3, you only pay $2.99. I believe people are more focus on the whole number than the decimal (3 vs. 2). See the difference.
Haha, interesting viewpoint about that $3.99 – $4.00 distinction!
Jonathan Winters had a character in his repertoire named “Ma Frickert”.
If he were still alive and reading Len Penzo.com, I bet he’d add “Pa Frickative”.
Mr. Dave, are we the only two that remember Maudie Frickett? She was a naughty old lady.
I always laugh when I see the 9 and sometimes don’t bite because of it. Regardless, we outlawed the penny eons ago and if you pay cash they round up or down to the nearest nickle. Now if you think this means you get hosed on the 9, not at all as there is a sales tax and GST involved. It balances out.
The best psychological tip in the consumption arsenal is pay cash and lose the credit card. You’d be surprised how fast the bank account climbs and how early retirement looms. Points and air miles…loyalty cards? Not worth it imho.
I always had the impression that highway fuel prices always ending in 0.009 was some kind of Federal Highway Tax requirement.
But I checked, and found the Federal Highway Taxes are currently 0.184 for gasoline, and 0.244 for un-dyed #2 diesel fuel. Who gets the other 0.005?
(Home heating oil is #2 diesel fuel with a dye added to indicate no tax paid. It works fine as a highway fuel, but heaven help you if the tax man dips your tank(s) and finds dye in them.)
I know if I owned a ‘filling station’ I would price fuel to whole cents if allowed to do so. The fact that no one does so makes me think there is some requirement. There has got to be more to the story.
I am almost certain there is no requirement, Tom. It’s just that 100 years ago, when gas was selling for a dime a gallon, pricing in tenths of a cent made a real difference. At some point, pricing to the nearest tenth of a cent kind of just became ingrained in the pricing scheme.
By the way, isn’t there also tax free diesel fuel (with dye in it) that can be used for farm equipment (tractors, etc.) that is sold at some gas stations?
Ssssh You are telling the trade secrets of merchants from frugal cultures. Years ago, a penny was a lot of money. Our brains are still programmed that way. I had to find five pennies on parking lots to get a candy bar.
I saw fruitcakes being sold with the 9 on the end. I resisted the buy.
LOL! 🤣 Keep those fruitcake jokes coming, Bill.
Oh! I want a hippopotamus for Christmas! Only a hippopotamus will do!
Mom said they don’t eat fruitcake. So, it’s a no go.
ok