Last night I went to pick up a few groceries to replace items for the week. While moving through the cereal aisle I saw a box of a generic brand of granola bars that I wouldn’t normally purchase. But the price had been reduced to $1.99, so I decided I would grab a box. Later at home I was putting them away and I started to wonder why I had gotten the things in the first place. I didn’t especially like them, and while my kids would enjoy them they were so packed in sugar that I wouldn’t normally give it to them.

I had fallen for an old sales trick that researchers say is a highly effective on in today’s market. Studies have shown again and again that when a customer sees the tell-tale $.99 ending on any price, they are more likely to buy than if there is a cent more in price, pushing the tag to show $.00. This is such an extreme compulsion that someone might even spent $1,299.99 on a television without considering the price as closely as the same person who would reject buying a similar television for $1,300.00.
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