[ExtremePopcorn]

Dan Ariely gives a related TED talk: "Are we in control of our own decisions?"

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_asks_are_we_in_control_o...

Look around 11:30 for a few examples of how comparing options affects us more than looking at each individually.

On a side note, it also seems inexpensive because it's $499 and not $500! Psychological pricing is one of my larger pet peeves...

[orangecat]

On a side note, it also seems inexpensive because it's $499 and not $500! Psychological pricing is one of my larger pet peeves...

Ditto. That's why I round up when somebody asks me how much something costs. The mathematical error resulting from using $500 instead of $499 is much less than the psychological error induced by the smaller first digit.

[mcantor]

It really drives me crazy when I'm discussing products with a salesperson and they consistently "correct" me every time I mention the rounded-up price. It goes like this:

Sales: So it looks like the $299 point-and-shoot might match the features you're looking for, moreso than this $399 video camera.

Me: OK. I'm really leaning towards the $300 one.

Sales: $299.

Me: Yeah, sure. Because I don't know if I'm really going to get my money's worth, paying an extra hundred for the $400 one.

Sales: $399.

Me: (uppercuts salesperson into the stratosphere)

[ugh]

Is that really something you experienced? That didn’t ever happen to me. If a salesperson treated me like that I would pretty much immediately lose all respect for them.

[gaius]

That's what they've been told to do, it's not their fault. It's like if you go into a Pepsi venue and ask for a coke, they will always say "Pepsi". Now I just want some sort of cola-flavoured beverage, I'm not that fussed, and they know that, but I don't think "this person is such a pedant" or think I'm being disrespected.

[mcantor]

Believe it or not, I actually appreciate this, since if I ask for a Coke and I get a Pepsi, I can tell and my tastebuds are disappointed. So if they say, "Oh, we only do Pepsi," I can say, "Then, I'll have a water," or something.

[paraschopra]

Dan Ariely's book Predictably Irrational is also highly recommended! It contains numerous such examples.

[Shamiq]

I have a copy if anyone wants to take it off my hands. Just pay the shipping :)

[hugh3]

This doesn't bother me as much as the movie-popcorn pricing system, which seems to be rapidly spreading to everything (Cold Stone and Jamba Juice are two particularly egregious offenders). You can have the miniscule size for $5, the "medium" size for $5.75, or the insanely large size for $6.95. Of course they never even expected to sell the other two sizes, they're only there to make the medium size (which is still way more than I wanted to eat) look cheap.

While I'm on the subject, here's a fun fact: a chocolate-peanut-butter flavoured milkshake from Cold Stone, in their largest size, contains over two thousand calories.

[nitrogen]

While I'm on the subject, here's a fun fact: a chocolate-peanut-butter flavoured milkshake from Cold Stone, in their largest size, contains over two thousand calories.

Sounds like a great way for a highly active person to put on weight.

[eru]

By the large one and share it.