# Stupid Pricing **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 1, 2005, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-pricing/315126 "2005-08-01T13:15:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![MizGrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@MizGrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizGrand)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-pricing/315126/61 "2005-08-06T12:31:15Z")
How funny this would appear. Just yesterday @ Mickey D’s I was in the drive-thru and ordered a cheeseburger and a small fry for my 4 y/o boy. Cashier told me that they had taken the single cheeseburger off their $1 menu and that it’s now $1.09, but the double cheeseburger is still $1. Huh? :dubious: So…I ordered the double cheeseburger and went away happy but confused. I’m assuming (and the cashier agrees) that since so many people order the single burgers for their kids and such that the extra dime on them will generate millions. If you’re actually smart enough to be looking at the menu for a deal though, the cheeseburger is not a financially sound decision. haha. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-pricing/315126/62 "2005-08-06T13:06:41Z")
> [@cazzle](#): > > I went to buy some files this afternoon, and had the choice of 10 for $9.95, 24 for $19.95 or 30 for $19.95. They were all the same brand and identical to each other. Surely you didn’t go for the 24 bargain. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-pricing/315126/63 "2005-08-06T13:15:50Z")
> [@iamthewalrus(:3=](#): > > It could also be that people are just in the habit of automatically refusing any suggestion from the order taker, on the assumption that it’s an attempt to upsell them. Hardly thinking about it, they come up with a polite excuse. Or maybe they actually, really, aren’t that thirsty. ---
**Author:** ![LucyInDisguise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucyindisguise/32/18064_2.png) [@LucyInDisguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LucyInDisguise)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-pricing/315126/64 "2005-08-06T16:54:57Z")
How’s this for stupid pricing: Pilot Truck Stops sell 64 oz. coffee refills for $0.79 32 oz. thermos refill is $3.99 – even though I just bought $450 in fuel! Justification: shape of the container? :smack: Result: I take my fuel business to Flying J. They let me refill my thermos, and my 20 oz. mug, for free. (and I don’t necessarily even need to buy fuel …) Dumb + Incredibly Stupid = Pilot. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-pricing/315126/65 "2005-08-06T17:12:01Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > One other thing that bugs me is cold drink pricing: > > 10 oz. cola – 65c > 20 oz. cola – 75c > 40 oz. cola – 85c > > What? Does the cup cost them 50c? They do this so you think, “I just need a 10 oz…oh, wait, I can get double that much for only a dime more! And double THAT for just another dime! Might as well get that 40 ouncer.” Soda is so cheap that even quadrupling the amount they give you, that 20 cents extra is almost entirely pure profit. ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-pricing/315126/66 "2005-08-06T17:42:19Z")
My husband always falls for the way they price meat. The label will show something like $2.49 / lb And he thinks…“Wow, only $2.49 for this pack of yummy tasting dead animal carcass that we can char over a roaring fire! Methinks this is a bargain!!” He will rush home excitedly from the hunt and will tell everyone within earshot what a great deal he found. However, since he doesn’t look at the receipt he misses the fact that he actually bought 3.57 lbs of meat! :rolleyes: He does this all the time, I’ve stopped pointing it out to him and just let him bask in the glory of the hunt. He is also a sucker for the “10 for $2.00” pricing type stuff. Especially when I ask him to “get me a couple of XXX”. If I needed 10 I would ask him to get 10!!! I’m limiting his unsupervised grocery store trips these days… ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-pricing/315126/67 "2005-08-06T17:48:10Z")
Maybe it was Dollar General Store or some shoe outlet that used to run radio ads that messed with my sanity (I may not have recovered and can always blame that) with something like “two for the price of one plus a dollar” as though this was better than just giving you a free one of whatever it was. I always thought that would work well with candy bars, chewing gum, soft drinks, etc. A bargain at half the price! BTW, how do chewing gum companies justify advertising at the Super Bowl? ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-pricing/315126/68 "2005-08-06T19:29:45Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > I’ve noticed this several times. Not sure if pricing has changed in recent years. > > Wriggly Gum: > small pack of 5 sticks: $0.25 > large pack of 17 sticks: $1.00 It’s $0.35 now… ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-pricing/315126.md?page=3)