If I were PM I would put a charity box at every till - somewhere to put those coppers!
Interesting what you say about the 19.99 versus 20.00. I guess there really is a science behind it and that the various market consultancies came up with that conclusion - I just think that after all this time of using that method people would start to want rounded amounts realising that most of us think it's a farce. We should all be using money cards now anyway (PINless low value charged-debit style things) From: [email protected] To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: RE: [USMA:47194] RE: Decimal currency & Metrication Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:47:01 -0400 Even prices in other countries is often the result of having VAT (Value Added Tax) instead of a separately-calculated sales tax. That enables an even price to be established and minimizes the amount of change received. In the USA each state, and in some cases regions or cities within states, set the sales tax. There isn’t one uniform percentage. So a price that gave an even tax in one state would still result in odd cents in another. The “ninety-nine” pricing is the result of years of market research that concluded that many people really do get the initial impression that 19.99 is far lower than 20.00. Getting loaded down with change doesn’t happen if you spend it as you go. If you let it accumulate and only give the merchant paper money, then yes you will soon have a pocket full of metal. And for small purchases (at least for people with pockets!) it’s a lot easier to reach into your pocket and pull out coins than it is to drag your wallet out and open it up. The main problem in the USA is the American resistance to anything changing. Carleton From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Stephen Humphreys Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 07:26 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:47194] RE: Decimal currency & Metrication When we got rid of the pound note many years ago (except Scotland/NI) I remember no backlash or complaints at all. It just happened, we were happy, and the story ended! I honestly cannot remember people resisting it. Having said that - we still have the daft pricing you talk about - ie £19.99, 99p, etc. Even mad stuff like £4999.95 - like no-one is going to call that "five grand". From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: [USMA:47191] RE: Decimal currency & Metrication Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:26:15 -0700 The main resistance to the dollar coin in the US is that no one wants to carry a big pocket full of change around. Replacing the dollar bill with a coin makes sense, but only if you get rid of the penny at the same time. That would require rounding up or down on some items. Unfortunately many Americans are paranoid about losing a cent or two if merchants round up more often than they round down. But what is even crazier, in the US everything is priced at $ 2.99, $11.95 and even $99.99, and the real price is usually five to eight percent higher, depending on taxes, so the real price might be $3.23, $12.91 and $107.99 (which includes rounding, by the way). In many countries the price of a hamburger is listed as $3 and really is $3, not listed as $2.99 and really costing $3.23. That is what results in a pocket full of annoying change, and a dollar coin will make it worse. >From personal experience in New Zealand, there are no pennies and you almost never see a 5 or 10 cent coin. They have $1 and $2 coins, but because almost all prices are "round" you still have less change in your pocket than you do in the US. Until merchants in the US are forced to become honest and post the real price (and stop playing the silly game of ninety-nine cents) and Americans stop being afraid of paying an extra penny or two once in a while, the penny will not go away and the dollar coin will remain a nuisance. Alan Lawrence The New Busy think 9 to 5 is a cute idea. Combine multiple calendars with Hotmail. Get busy. Get a free e-mail account with Hotmail. Sign-up now. _________________________________________________________________ http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/195013117/direct/01/ We want to hear all your funny, exciting and crazy Hotmail stories. Tell us now
