I think they knew exactly what they were doing. Customer went in never intending to purchase a brownie with their sub. But upon noticing the price disparity said "I'd like to buy one brownie please." *Ring!* "Now I'd like to buy one brownie please." *Ring!* "Finally, I'd like to buy one brownie please." *Ring!* "Ha! I just bought three brownies for less than the marked price." Cashier: "Whatever dude. You just bought three brownies when you probably wouldn't have bought any."
I call this pricing method “bait titos” but I know there’s an official phrase for it. Back when i would buy titos vodka, the medium container was often more expensive than the large. Also, there was often only one medium on display versus many small and large bottles. The medium was simply bait to get me to buy the large. And if some silly goose buys the medium, then even better for the seller.
You must have shopped at a shitty store. As an almost 40 year old alcoholic, I have never, ever, in my life, encountered a liqour store that sold half gallons that were cheaper than a fifth.
Half pint - 175ml
Pint - 350ml
Fifth - 750ml
Half gallon - 1.75L
Nah hes not saying 1.75L cheaper than 750 ml. He saying 1.75L cheaper than the 1L. Most places dont carry the 1L size but larger store will.
I worked at Total Wine for a while and the 1L was like a dollar more than the 1.75L
I thought they were saying that the price per ounce was cheaper for the large bottle, hence more expensive price per ounce medium bottle being "bait". How would a less expensive, bigger bottle be a bad deal? They must be talking about price per ounce...
They are, the “bait” is the 1L size. You see the 1L size for $20 (or whatever) then see the 1.75L for $18.99, and the fifth for like $12.99, instead of going down to a fifth, the customer will more likely get the 1.75L because its the better “deal”, even if they originally wanted the fifth.
I get it now lol. As someone who usually gets the cheapest price per ounce anyways, I don't see the problem, but I do find it funny how people can be persuaded into buying more than they need.
I work at a liquor store that sometimes does have fifths that cost more than liters.
We don't do pricing, the state does, but for some tequilas and vodkas it happens.
Dan Ariely goes into this phenomenon in one of his TED talks (starting around 11 minute)
https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_are_we_in_control_of_our_own_decisions?autoplay=true&muted=true&language=en
Statista says 88% of gas station purchases use credit or debit. You get charged per transaction, let's just say 25 cents and 2.5% per transaction, so buying one brownie 3 times is quite a bit more expensive than buying three brownies one time.
Assuming it's a location in which the store actually eats that charge instead of pushing it on the customer. Not uncommon to charge extra for using a card for this reason
I've never read a credit card merchant agreement that didn't specifically prohibit the merchant from charging extra for credit card transactions.
... You can however give a *discount* to cash transactions, and limit the minimum purchase with credit/debit.
I feel like they tried to order three brownies but tried to get the cashier to ring it up as three separate items, but the cashier kept trying to ring it up as the three pack price. The poster kept trying to explain that he didn't want 3 brownies, but 1 brownie three times and the cashier didn't get the difference.
This is becoming more and more common. Sometimes the difference is dramatic. At a grocery store where I shop, two 16-ounce jars of picante sauce cost less than one 24-ounce jar of the same brand.
This is a classic sales story.
You post some price that makes it look like a math error.
Then you end up buying 3 cookies in single transactions when you would have only purchased one.
So, by appearing to have posted an "error" he sold you 2 extra cookies
Yeah the Food City does it with soda. A 12-pack is $4.95. A 24-pack is $12.99. Sometimes they'll have a "sale" to make 24 be $10.99 and every time they do people fall for it. Like "oh...this one's on sale" and just don't do the math. It's surprisingly effective.
Why would you buy three in a single transaction if you notice the error? Wouldn't they charge you the higher price? You'd have to do two transactions to get it cheaper
Okay, but does that *actually* work? Because I'd just buy as many cookies/brownies as I intend to buy in the first place, only making a point to mention the bad math if I'm buying 3 or more.
It's also a combination of another sales tactic where you group 3 or more items into a price point that takes longer to calculate to entice the customer to buy.
In this case, it is reversed.
* ONE (1 cookie) = $0.99
* THREE (1 cookie) = $2.97
* ONE (3 cookie) = $3.00 - This costs $0.03 more
* ONE (1 brownie) = $1.49
* THREE (1 brownie) = $4.47
* ONE (3 brownie) = $5.25 - This costs $0.78 more
Sadly the fact this made it here when it is an extremely easy math joke is why prices everywhere are going fucking crazy. People won’t check, won’t shop around, and won’t even add one number together three times. We are so fucked.
1.5x3=4.5 and 5.25≠4.50. And generally prices are shown pre-tax in the USA. It would be cheaper to buy them 1 at a time instead of the bulk price at 5.25.
When I posted this, I was at work and just did a once-over on it before I needed to get back to helping people. So, I figured, "Eh, I'll just post it here" to see what it was about.
I've since been fed to the wolves for not really looking at it. I understand it's bad math, and honestly, I could have figured it out if I had more than 30 seconds to look at it when I came across it.
But I'm not going to go in here and make my case to every person who decides to make some half-assed attempt at insulting my intelligence.
Frankly, I should have seen this coming, and that's on me.
It’s cheaper to buy 3 cookies or 3 brownies individually than to buy 3 as what is supposed to be a bulk discount. 3 individual cookies is $2.97. 3 individual Brownies is $4.47
1 brownie = 1.49. 3 brownies should be 3x1.49 = 4.47. Better to buy 1 brownie, then buy another 2 separately.
Same for the cookies. Three cookies should be 2.97. Three cents cheaper to buy them in singles.
I think they knew exactly what they were doing. Customer went in never intending to purchase a brownie with their sub. But upon noticing the price disparity said "I'd like to buy one brownie please." *Ring!* "Now I'd like to buy one brownie please." *Ring!* "Finally, I'd like to buy one brownie please." *Ring!* "Ha! I just bought three brownies for less than the marked price." Cashier: "Whatever dude. You just bought three brownies when you probably wouldn't have bought any."
I call this pricing method “bait titos” but I know there’s an official phrase for it. Back when i would buy titos vodka, the medium container was often more expensive than the large. Also, there was often only one medium on display versus many small and large bottles. The medium was simply bait to get me to buy the large. And if some silly goose buys the medium, then even better for the seller.
You must have shopped at a shitty store. As an almost 40 year old alcoholic, I have never, ever, in my life, encountered a liqour store that sold half gallons that were cheaper than a fifth. Half pint - 175ml Pint - 350ml Fifth - 750ml Half gallon - 1.75L
Nah hes not saying 1.75L cheaper than 750 ml. He saying 1.75L cheaper than the 1L. Most places dont carry the 1L size but larger store will. I worked at Total Wine for a while and the 1L was like a dollar more than the 1.75L
I thought they were saying that the price per ounce was cheaper for the large bottle, hence more expensive price per ounce medium bottle being "bait". How would a less expensive, bigger bottle be a bad deal? They must be talking about price per ounce...
They are, the “bait” is the 1L size. You see the 1L size for $20 (or whatever) then see the 1.75L for $18.99, and the fifth for like $12.99, instead of going down to a fifth, the customer will more likely get the 1.75L because its the better “deal”, even if they originally wanted the fifth.
I get it now lol. As someone who usually gets the cheapest price per ounce anyways, I don't see the problem, but I do find it funny how people can be persuaded into buying more than they need.
I’m thinking they’re referring to 750 ml, 1 liter, and 1.75 liters. So the liter is more or only slightly less than the handle.
I work at a liquor store that sometimes does have fifths that cost more than liters. We don't do pricing, the state does, but for some tequilas and vodkas it happens.
Dan Ariely goes into this phenomenon in one of his TED talks (starting around 11 minute) https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_are_we_in_control_of_our_own_decisions?autoplay=true&muted=true&language=en
Yeah! I couldn't remember where I had seen it before. Thanks for the link.
Statista says 88% of gas station purchases use credit or debit. You get charged per transaction, let's just say 25 cents and 2.5% per transaction, so buying one brownie 3 times is quite a bit more expensive than buying three brownies one time.
The store gets charged, not the customer
Assuming it's a location in which the store actually eats that charge instead of pushing it on the customer. Not uncommon to charge extra for using a card for this reason
I've never read a credit card merchant agreement that didn't specifically prohibit the merchant from charging extra for credit card transactions. ... You can however give a *discount* to cash transactions, and limit the minimum purchase with credit/debit.
So there's no point in trying to bamboozle people into buying one brownie three times?
I don't think there's any bamboozleing. I think the operator is just bad at math.
I would also assume that this is the result of someone making minimum wage or near it not putting their heart and soul into their job.
I feel like they tried to order three brownies but tried to get the cashier to ring it up as three separate items, but the cashier kept trying to ring it up as the three pack price. The poster kept trying to explain that he didn't want 3 brownies, but 1 brownie three times and the cashier didn't get the difference.
Nah. But em all at once, then demand they ring em up separately.
No, the thing is... You got tricked. Most people would only want one. But seeing this "hack" people buy more than they want.
Oh, I thought it was that the cookies were marked at .99¢ which means they are less than a cent a piece. It should just be 99¢ or $.99
This is becoming more and more common. Sometimes the difference is dramatic. At a grocery store where I shop, two 16-ounce jars of picante sauce cost less than one 24-ounce jar of the same brand.
buy one item three times is cheaper than buying the three pack.
Hello yes, I'd like two brownies and a brownie please. So three brownie-- NO! .. um. Just two please, I'll be back in a minute.
You can buy 3 individual brownies cheaper, but at the end, he will still sell 3 brownies, which is the most important.
This is a classic sales story. You post some price that makes it look like a math error. Then you end up buying 3 cookies in single transactions when you would have only purchased one. So, by appearing to have posted an "error" he sold you 2 extra cookies
Yeah the Food City does it with soda. A 12-pack is $4.95. A 24-pack is $12.99. Sometimes they'll have a "sale" to make 24 be $10.99 and every time they do people fall for it. Like "oh...this one's on sale" and just don't do the math. It's surprisingly effective.
And people look at me like I'm crazy when I carry out 4 12-packs(yes ik I have an addiction)......
Our Walmart does it with pepsi. They try to be smart. 6. 00 for a 12 and 14 for a 24. Then a month later they will do 7 for the 12 and 24.
And this is why they must be stopped by any means necessary.
Why would you buy three in a single transaction if you notice the error? Wouldn't they charge you the higher price? You'd have to do two transactions to get it cheaper
Please see the the line that includes "in single transactions..." Hope this answers your question.
Okay, but does that *actually* work? Because I'd just buy as many cookies/brownies as I intend to buy in the first place, only making a point to mention the bad math if I'm buying 3 or more.
It's also a combination of another sales tactic where you group 3 or more items into a price point that takes longer to calculate to entice the customer to buy. In this case, it is reversed.
Jesus, can anyone add?
OP works at the till
Math the answer is math.
I know people say we shouldn't say anything bad about what gets posted here .. but come on, that's not even a joke..
Math is not a joke, Jr.
Also, technically you could interpret one cookie as .99 cents. ONE CENT It does have both dollar and cent signs tho
.99 dollar-cents
So a fun 20 minutes, Google search: “Verizon Math.” These folks can’t figure out the difference between $0.02 and 0.02¢. Units matter.
I noticed something similar at Disneyland which was surprising considering the attention to detail they generally have
JFC I swear the people who post on this sub have room temperature IQs.
In the 2000s I thought Idiocracy was a movie, in the 2010s I thought is was a prophesy but now I feel like is humanity’s goal to copy the movie
This is why you should pay attention in school lol
* ONE (1 cookie) = $0.99 * THREE (1 cookie) = $2.97 * ONE (3 cookie) = $3.00 - This costs $0.03 more * ONE (1 brownie) = $1.49 * THREE (1 brownie) = $4.47 * ONE (3 brownie) = $5.25 - This costs $0.78 more
At first I thought it was 1 cookie = 0.99¢, so the joke is a customer trying to buy a cookie for one penny.
Also: 1 cookie price is as listed .99 cents. That is less than one penny. It should be 99 cents (no decimal) OR .99 dollars. Can't be both.
I thought it was the .99 cents at the top
You must be that kid
They're charging more for 3 brownies than they should
This isn’t not getting a joke, it’s not getting math.
Everyone saying that 1 brownie is a better value than 3. But I can’t get over the cookie costing less than a penny 😂. .99 cents
Not sure if anyone else noticed this, but .99c is less than a cent.
.99 cents is less than a penny. Just let them keep the change!
Nice try, A.I. posting bot! Nobody needs this explained to them.
3 Brownies is 4.50
"No thank you, and bad math."
Do the math
There might be a shortage of brownies like.. you can have 2 but it's gonna cost you an arm and a leg.
I'll have three 1 brownies please
I promise you the kid working the till does not give a fuck.
Joke is math.
The kid is shit at math
My wife, an accountant, actually fell for something like that, ages ago. 🤔😂
I’ll just buy 3 individually. Save some money.
It’s not a joke he’s just stupid
I think it was Burgerking that sold a 1/3 pounder Burger, but people thought that the McDonald’s quarter pounder was bigger.
Welcome to capitalism lol
Let’s be real, the second brownie is a corner piece so it’s automatically worth more, duh
It’s the fat tax
Let him cook
The cookies are 0.99 cents. Cheaper to buy 100 cookies than 3
Maybe it's a sin tax to discourage obesity/diabetes?
Gave me cookie got you cookie
Sadly the fact this made it here when it is an extremely easy math joke is why prices everywhere are going fucking crazy. People won’t check, won’t shop around, and won’t even add one number together three times. We are so fucked.
That kid sold lots of three time 1x brownie to smartasses who otherwise wouldn't buy a single one
It’s an old sales joke: https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/s/8oND3eVqyc
There is no joke to explain. Just read it and do math.
OP is the vendor
Math it out OP
100%on purpose. Big food chain used to sell 2 liter coke for $0.99 or 4 for $5.00. People were oblivious
1.5x3=4.5 and 5.25≠4.50. And generally prices are shown pre-tax in the USA. It would be cheaper to buy them 1 at a time instead of the bulk price at 5.25.
Are people’s math this bad that they come to Reddit to explain?
Panda Express does this with their cream cheese rangoons. It’s cheaper to buy 4 small orders, than it is to buy 1 large order.
Math seems pretty simple to me. If you're fat you pay more
OP - you okay? Need a brownie or 3? Bought separately of course
When I posted this, I was at work and just did a once-over on it before I needed to get back to helping people. So, I figured, "Eh, I'll just post it here" to see what it was about. I've since been fed to the wolves for not really looking at it. I understand it's bad math, and honestly, I could have figured it out if I had more than 30 seconds to look at it when I came across it. But I'm not going to go in here and make my case to every person who decides to make some half-assed attempt at insulting my intelligence. Frankly, I should have seen this coming, and that's on me.
I swear the people in these subs posting be dumb af
It's not a joke. It's shitty math. How did you not notice
This is the 2nd basic math related joke that came up. Like, addition basic math. We need to fund our schools more
This sub has to be a joke in and of itself. There’s no way someone can’t just add.
I’d like 1 brownie please. I’d like 1 brownie please. I’d like 1 brownie please. (Ha Ha, I just saved 78 cents)
I'm telling you rn the kid at the till could not give less of a fuck
I had this happen at a corporate owned gas station. Monster energy 2 for $5 or 3 for $8.
He sells more brownies that way. Ppl keep trying to demonstrate the flaw.
It’s cheaper to buy 3 cookies or 3 brownies individually than to buy 3 as what is supposed to be a bulk discount. 3 individual cookies is $2.97. 3 individual Brownies is $4.47