Pavlovian reactions and sale calculations ;)

amother

Wed, Jul 03 2019, 5:52 pm

I think I'm conditioned to stop thinking when the word sale is slapped on something. I just realized my big sale score ended with me paying more not less, and where I thought I lost out, I paid less.

Listen to this:

Today: I go to a store that has a sale: buy one, get 40% off OR get one free. Buy 2 [at full price] get three free. Obviously, u pay for the higher priced item/s and the rest are free.

I find an item that I want for 110. I decide to look for another because I'm conditioned to think its a better deal. Find a dress for 154. Pay 154 for both, plus 13$ in tax because anything over 110 gets taxed in NY.

Do u see the problem?
At 40% off I would have paid 158 for both and skipped the tax.

Furthermore, I was at first upset because on sunday, I was in a rush and didnt have time to look for longer, I bought 1 item at 58 and got a 52 dollar item free. I was upset because I figured, well I bought one item then and one now and I'm only getting 2 free. BUT

If I had gotten all 4 together, I would have paid 265 (plus tax on 2 items!) and gotten one more item, most likely priced around 60 to 70 dollars, essentially paying full price for that last item because as it stood now I paid only 208 (plus tax on one item).

Moral of the story: dont jump at the word sale!