this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2023
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chapotraphouse

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Seriously, there's no way they didn't choose that shit on purpose.

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[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 35 points 11 months ago (3 children)

They do odd incremental pricing with a lot of things. I don't know that it's nefarious so much as it is nefarious. They know $14.99 is read by consumers as $15. $14.98 is a ratfucked $14.99. By the 0.80s we see it as $14.xx and it's perceptibly cheaper.

[–] YellowParenti@hexbear.net 21 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

At a few of my retail jobs, the .xx system was shorthand for pricing types: .95-open box, .90-clearance, .97-manager's sale, whatever. Doubles are just easy on the eyes, too.

[–] GaveUp@hexbear.net 12 points 11 months ago

This is the answer, the last 2 digits are a code to categorize items

[–] GriffithDidNothingWrong@hexbear.net 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It can also be an item that's 14.89 at another retailer and they want to be able to claim they have the lowest price

[–] 2Password2Remember@hexbear.net 14 points 11 months ago

this is exactly what it is, and walmart does it all the time. op is seeing ghosts

Death to America

[–] Adkml@hexbear.net 7 points 11 months ago

Shit should have read one comment farther before posting this exact same thing.

[–] Hestia@hexbear.net 25 points 11 months ago (1 children)

i was looking for hidden signs in the pictures and didnt realise what the price was

[–] Alaskaball@hexbear.net 12 points 11 months ago

Same. I was wondering if I was just too tired to see shit, but nope it's gotta be the numerological dweeb's symbology

[–] Outdoor_Catgirl@hexbear.net 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Nah Walmart just prices things at .88 instead of .99 because psychology or whatever. They're not any more fascist than other capitalists.

[–] Tachanka@hexbear.net 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

well the whole psychology of choosing 99 cents was to make you think it's a dollar less than it actually is. Not sure what the utility of the 88 would be

[–] WaterBowlSlime@lemmygrad.ml 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Makes it even more difficult to sum up your purchases, I'm guessing

[–] Tachanka@hexbear.net 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

there we go. that makes sense. could also be a nazi dogwhistle. come to think of it, summing up purchases these days is mostly a matter of whether you have a phone on you and can use the calculator app. The smart thing to do though is look at unit prices and not prices. With food/drink at least. You can have something that looks cheaper but the package is just oversized and the price per gram or whatever is the same or higher.

[–] WaterBowlSlime@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah but I don't think many people take their phone out and add up every individual item they're buying as they buy them. I think it's more common to guesstimate the total price based on how much things usually cost and then bite the bullet if it's a bit higher.

[–] Tachanka@hexbear.net 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

i do the former just so I don't overdraft by accident, because an overdraft fee will just wreck my shit, but yeah talking to other people, you're right

[–] WaterBowlSlime@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Gotta make sure to avoid the poverty fine. Hope you're doing well

[–] Tachanka@hexbear.net 4 points 11 months ago

I'm doing OK. Thanks for asking! Same to you.

[–] thirstywizard@hexbear.net 16 points 11 months ago

Walmart's had half the shit in store at that sus price since I was in highschool, rumor back then Walton himself or one of his heirs had neonazi ties of some sort.

[–] mustGo@hexbear.net 16 points 11 months ago

Take it down to $14.53 inshallah-script

[–] candle_lighter@lemmy.ml 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] VILenin@hexbear.net 18 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] stigsbandit34z@hexbear.net 15 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Seems like quite a reach tbh

[–] LeylaLove@hexbear.net 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Fun fact (anecdotal, but still) most big corporate places my friends work for have code to disable things being priced at $6.66. Maybe it's because I'm in a particularly conservative area of the US, but most big box stores and restaurants around here will literally have a discount built in to prevent a ticket coming out to 6.66. 14.88 being a price in that context just feels really odd to me. They know about edgy numbers and don't want to piss off customers. They make money by being as agreeable and sanitary as possible, so not having 14.88 blocked off in pricing seems weird.

[–] Kuori@hexbear.net 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

i worked at a gas station for a few months once upon a time. even in that brief span i had multiple people literally pay me more money/go buy another thing so the price wouldn't come out to $6.66

fully embarrassing behavior tbh

[–] Tiocfaidhcaisarla@hexbear.net 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I always just say "oh, sick"

[–] Kuori@hexbear.net 1 points 11 months ago

ngl i'm kind of a bitch so i found it pretty hard not to just make fun of them to their faces. your option would definitely be the more normal thing to do i guess

[–] usernamesaredifficul@hexbear.net 2 points 11 months ago

entirely possible that they are less aware of 1488 though

[–] 420blazeit69@hexbear.net 8 points 11 months ago

Probably 50-50, with no reason to give them the benefit of the doubt, in light of shit like this:

Another screenshot of the inside of 88 Tactical’s shooting range shows an elevation map with the highest point at an elevation of 1488 feet. But according to Peak Bagger, a website that tracks elevations, Omaha’s highest point is around 1,270 feet.

https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2022/08/22/emails-show-omaha-police-planned-deal-far-right-linked-gun-shop

[–] SerLava@hexbear.net 13 points 11 months ago

14.88 on pricing is actually a common discount on a normal original price. One possible one is 15% off 17.50 - there are some others. If it's not some weirdo little chud store it's probably just that.

[–] StellarTabi@hexbear.net 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I have been seeing these prices at gets-the-wallmart for years, it's weird af

[–] zifnab25@hexbear.net 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Could be some kind of algorithmic pricing, where some machine decides "We noticed people will pay $14.88 more than any other price in the $10-$20 range" and assigns that value by default. Just a self-reinforcing cycle of stupid consumerism.

[–] Adkml@hexbear.net 16 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Yea I can see this being an extension of some data driven bullshit more than a dog whistle.

"People think 14.99 is less than 15. Wait now people recognize that as the same let's go to 14.89 then people will see its not just a cent off. Wait the data says people reaction to the number 9 is an extension of the original trick better go down to 14.88."

Not saying it's definitive but seems more likely than trying to appeal to the festive fascist demographic.

[–] fox@hexbear.net 7 points 11 months ago

I've worked with algorithms that are designed to undercut competitors' pricing on Amazon and I'll confirm this isn't some dog whistle, it's just a weird outcome of computers trying to undercut each other and maintain marketing tricks in the pricing number.

[–] roux@hexbear.net 6 points 11 months ago

This is what I think it is. Another store is selling the same thing for 14.99 and Walmart has the overhead to undercut by a few cents. Alot of their stuff is priced at $xx.88.

[–] SpiderFarmer@hexbear.net 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Someone's order rang up as that today at work. I used to chuckle at people buying an item or tipping to avoid $6.66, but in an instance like this I'd also be buying a muffin.

[–] GeorgeZBush@hexbear.net 2 points 11 months ago

This reminds me of the time that a coworker of mine at the deli weighed something for a customer and it came out to 6.66 pounds.

The customer was a priest.

[–] Evilphd666@hexbear.net 9 points 11 months ago

They shall not [undercut] us.

[–] Grimble@hexbear.net 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] Tachanka@hexbear.net 5 points 11 months ago

Santa Klaus Barbie kelly

[–] usernamesaredifficul@hexbear.net 5 points 11 months ago

I highly doubt walmart decided to officially endorse Hitler. That would be a baffling decision for them