Selling prices ending with odd cents

[7794heather]

Is there a selling advantage to add some change onto your asking price? Ex: $3.00 vs $3.06

I see odd prices and always wondered that. 

My parents who were long time sellers on ebay always insisted on putting .99 at the end of their prices. 

Whenever I did that, I would get offers of what the price was, plus the missing cents to round it up to the dollar amount so I stopped putting .99 at the end. 

Even now that I round up to the dollar, offers include cents so their total is rounded up (I guess they figure up their shipping price and try to pay a rounded up amount), but they forget the tax they are charged so its never .00 (HA!)

Thoughts and experience?

😃

[kensgiftshop]

A retail chain I used to work for, they always ended their price with a 3, 7 or 9.

Never did know why?

[coolections]

My guess is they figure the "exact" cost and charge accordingly. Some people are what is called "penny pinchers" and just naturally live that way. I really don't think it matters one way or the other as long as you have a competitive asking price.

[redmodelt]

Starting price, I do even numbers. Now bidding I do odd ending numbers. .77, .97

[carolynnq]

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@coolections wrote:

My guess is they figure the "exact" cost and charge accordingly. Some people are what is called "penny pinchers" and just naturally live that way. I really don't think it matters one way or the other as long as you have a competitive asking price.

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About 20 years ago, another seller said she had "odd" amounts on her prices so buyers would think her prices were mathematically determined and she felt buyers were less likely to try to beat her down. I price that way occasionally. One, of course, has to price competitively. If I'm pricing something by "feel" when there's no direct competition and think that $10 might be the right price, I sometimes  make it something like $10.27 or $10.57 just to get a few extra cents.

[vintage-camerastuff]

I always do odd numbers ending in 5.  Such as 99.95.  The reason I do that is because I want to.  I could care less about anyone else's opinion on this subject.

[fashunu4eeuh]

There are advantages to be gained when choosing what to sell one’s items for. Certainly there are different strategies for pricing. Below is an article discussing some of those methods that may be of interest.

https://www.podium.com/article/pricing-strategy/

[dhbookds]

retailers on most things have always used somewhere above 90c..........as the psychologists used to say people perceive 3.99 as much less than 4.........  I use odd cents......to perhaps appear better in the searches using lower priced.  ie.  3.87 will show up before 3.99........  all just a mind game. 

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@7794heather  I don't know, some people swear by it. When I was running the B&M antique shop, we did very good at putting prices like $42.47. The owner swore by it, I thought it was a joke till I seen it work. On Ebay, no I always used either 00 or 50 at the end. In my booth/store I use only the whole dollar amount $47, I never use .99. At the thrift shop we use only whole numbers too.

    Now when I was a Nurse in a Hospital, we would use $100,567,45.98 on your bill! All sorts of fun numbers for you to enjoy!

[releasethekraken_1]

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@7794heather wrote:

Is there a selling advantage to add some change onto your asking price? Ex: $3.00 vs $3.06

I see odd prices and always wondered that. 

My parents who were long time sellers on ebay always insisted on putting .99 at the end of their prices. 

Whenever I did that, I would get offers of what the price was, plus the missing cents to round it up to the dollar amount so I stopped putting .99 at the end. 

Even now that I round up to the dollar, offers include cents so their total is rounded up (I guess they figure up their shipping price and try to pay a rounded up amount), but they forget the tax they are charged so its never .00 (HA!)

Thoughts and experience?

😃

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Pricing just above a round number seems more like a currency conversion effect than a marketing strategy.

[katzrul15]

I have always used $20.69, $20.87, $20.89 - mostly because others do not and when you search for the lowest + pricing, I am often a few pennies under due to the .69/.87/.89

Have done it for years and I favor $20.87 for some reason.  When I do a 5% off sale, it makes it some weird number like $19.83/.84 or something.

Goofy, I know.  

[bbravo65]

...consumers fall for the less $1...it's easier to attract a buyer with $1.99 than $2...people forget the cents when looking at price tag...

...definitely an item priced $99.95 is friendlier than $100...

...it's also an advantage for business owners when submitting sales tax...(please ask a CPA for further explanation...)

[evry1nositswindy]

Most of my listings end in .97.  When I send an offer or lower a price, it ends in .00.  This is shorthand for me.  If I see a .00 price, I know I have reduced the price and it is the next to be donated or taken to the flea market. 

When I bid, I tack on .14, my lucky number.  

[simba6]

I once was told it was done in the days before credit cards so the salesman would have to ring the cash register to get change  and thus could not pocket the proceeds.  Don't know if that was true but it makes a cute story.

[a_c_green]

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@7794heather wrote:

Is there a selling advantage to add some change onto your asking price? Ex: $3.00 vs $3.06

Are you sure you're not looking at final auction prices? If bidding in an auction here where you want to bid only, say, $3 to win, but you think a competing bidder might offer the same, you would add a few pennies to your bid just in case, such as $3.06 instead. That way, if someone tries to snipe the auction at the end by bidding $3.00 at the last second, you'll still win. Auctions here are won by the highest bid, not the latest.