# What do you think about discounts for the attractive?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-discounts-for-the-attractive/475611
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [December 4, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-discounts-for-the-attractive/475611 "2008-12-04T02:02:26Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-discounts-for-the-attractive/475611/1 "2008-12-04T02:02:26Z")
When I lived in Ohio, a few times I went to a store that had, in my opinion, really attractive and interesting (read: not A&F) clothes. Unfortunately, these clothes were generally ridiculously overpriced. By this, I mean 80 dollars for a t-shirt. 20 dollars for a pair of plain white undies.
The clerks at the store had a practice of giving pretty dramatic discounts to people they thought were “cute” or otherwise attractive. Some people might be stuck paying full price, whereas others would receive discounts from 30% upwards to 70% off! Depending on who was running the register, I could usually manage a pretty decent discount if I flirted a little, but the whole practice pretty much sickened me after a while and, luckily, I found more reasonable outlets for my fashion needs.
So my question for everyone is, have you seen stores like this or is this an anomaly? What do you think about a discount system like this?
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2008, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-discounts-for-the-attractive/475611/2 "2008-12-04T02:08:35Z")
It happens in other contexts as well. Upscale bars are an obvious example and, while usually attractive females are the ones that get the discount in various ways (free drinks, better seating, comps), that isn’t always the case. I am not opposed to it. If you look deeply, much business still operates in a very preferential manor. Some people are attractive, some people have gorgeous tattoos, some are simply Italian, and some have another trait that begs symbiosis with a certain type of business. We aren’t all equal although most people have a strength like this they can tap into for preferential treatment of some sort somewhere.
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### Author:  [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2008, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-discounts-for-the-attractive/475611/3 "2008-12-04T02:09:36Z")
Sounds to me like a good way of ripping people off. By making them think that they’re getting a ‘discount’ for being attractive, they don’t mind paying ‘only’ $30 or $40 for a t-shirt marked $80.
Other than your post, no, I’ve never heard of this being a formal or even informal policy at any business.
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### Author:  [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-discounts-for-the-attractive/475611/4 "2008-12-04T02:12:34Z")
I think of it like any other kind of discrimination, really. Wrong.
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### Author:  [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-discounts-for-the-attractive/475611/5 "2008-12-04T02:15:56Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#):
>
> Sounds to me like a good way of ripping people off. By making them think that they’re getting a ‘discount’ for being attractive, they don’t mind paying ‘only’ $30 or $40 for a t-shirt marked $80.
>
> Other than your post, no, I’ve never heard of this being a formal or even informal policy at any business.
I thought that myself, but, considering some of the labels they stocked, 30 or 40 dollars was a much cheaper price than you could expect at many of the competing retailers who did not engage in this practice. I still think 80-90 dollars for a t-shirt is overpriced, but, for that particular t-shirt, it was the going price in the neighborhood. The primary reason I went to that store in the first place was because, with the aforementioned discount, as shallow as I thought it was, I could actually afford some of the merchandise.
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### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-discounts-for-the-attractive/475611/6 "2008-12-04T13:14:00Z")
> [@seodoa](#):
>
> When I lived in Ohio, a few times I went to a store that had, in my opinion, really attractive and interesting (read: not A&F) clothes. Unfortunately, these clothes were generally ridiculously overpriced. By this, I mean 80 dollars for a t-shirt. 20 dollars for a pair of plain white undies.
>
> The clerks at the store had a practice of giving pretty dramatic discounts to people they thought were “cute” or otherwise attractive. Some people might be stuck paying full price, whereas others would receive discounts from 30% upwards to 70% off!
Um…are you SURE you weren’t in an Abercrombie & Fitch?
A&F has long been known to market high priced “lifestyle” clothes (ie rec basketball t-shirts and t-shirts for some ficticious clam shaq on Block Island) specifically to young, attractive, white kids.
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### Author:  [@accidentalyuppie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/accidentalyuppie)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-discounts-for-the-attractive/475611/7 "2008-12-04T16:00:02Z")
When I was in my early twenties, I got a free health club membership mostly because I represented the kind of people the health club was looking to attract as members…plus I had a killer superfit body, which was due to genetics, not workouts…but I was good “advertising” for the place.
And I was encouraged to bring friends and to come in the evenings.
I knew the marketing director of the club from work which is why I got the free membership. If I had just walked in off the street I suspect they would’ve tried to get my money no matter how good I looked.
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### Author:  [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-discounts-for-the-attractive/475611/8 "2008-12-04T17:49:58Z")
I give discounts based on attitude, not appearance. Unless I’m competing for the business. Then I whore myself out like the rest of my competition.
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### Author:  [@Influential\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Influential_Panda)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-discounts-for-the-attractive/475611/9 "2008-12-04T18:57:17Z")
As a sexy man, I think they’re a wonderful idea.