# Increased by X percent?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increased-by-x-percent/286913
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 27, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increased-by-x-percent/286913 "2005-01-27T14:06:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increased-by-x-percent/286913/1 "2005-01-27T14:06:18Z")
I am doing an analysis of old prices vs. new. If an old price is $1.36 and the new price is $1.97, then there’s an increase of 44.85%, right?
The factory said it’s not 44.85%, but 20%. Perhaps they have a different original price than I do or I’m going crazy.
So, am I going crazy?
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increased-by-x-percent/286913/2 "2005-01-27T14:16:50Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#):
>
> I am doing an analysis of old prices vs. new. If an old price is $1.36 and the new price is $1.97, then there’s an increase of 44.85%, right?
>
> The factory said it’s not 44.85%, but 20%. Perhaps they have a different original price than I do or I’m going crazy.
>
> So, am I going crazy?
No, you’re right.
% increase = (change/original price) x 100
So the increase is 61c, and the percentage increase is 61/136 x 100 = 44.85%, as you said.
I have no idea where the factory is coming from - even if they did the calcualtion wrong and divided by the new price, it would still only be 30.96% (i.e., The old price is 30.96% lower than the new price).
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increased-by-x-percent/286913/3 "2005-01-27T14:17:18Z")
100 plus 10% is 110, however, 110 less 10% is 99 - I suspect it’s something to do with this.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increased-by-x-percent/286913/4 "2005-01-27T14:31:29Z")
> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> 100 plus 10% is 110, however, 110 less 10% is 99 - I suspect it’s something to do with this.
It doesn’t seem to be - as I said, even using the calculation for a reduction you still come out with over 30%.
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### Author:  [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increased-by-x-percent/286913/5 "2005-01-27T14:50:09Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#):
>
> I am doing an analysis of old prices vs. new. If an old price is $1.36 and the new price is $1.97, then there’s an increase of 44.85%, right?
>
> The factory said it’s not 44.85%, but 20%. Perhaps they have a different original price than I do or I’m going crazy.
Is it possible that one of you transposed digits on the original price? If the original was **$1.63** , then the increase is 24 cents, or 20.8% of the original price.
Or else whoever you’re talking to at the factory is an idiot. Either way.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increased-by-x-percent/286913/6 "2005-01-27T14:51:44Z")
This is a pet peeve of mine. Nobody seems to get percentages right. The problem is so pervasive that I never trust %age figures until I do the calculation myself.
Anyhow, I have no idea whence the 20% figure came. They must be using some really new math to come up with that one.
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### Author:  [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increased-by-x-percent/286913/7 "2005-01-27T14:52:43Z")
At least the company appears to accept the word “increase”.
My cable company has not had an “increase” in twenty years. But they have had many, many price “adjustments” – all upward by the way.
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### Author:  [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)
#### Post date: [January 27, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increased-by-x-percent/286913/8 "2005-01-27T14:53:56Z")
Whew. I just checked and there’s no transposition of the numbers, according to the spreadsheet they sent me. You had me scared for a minute there.
So I guess that it’s Kathy at the factory who’s the idiot. Thank Jebus!
Thanks everyone.