>> There's some interesting psychology in there. I mean, like, "buy 1, 
>> get one free". Sounds great, right?
>>
>> So how about "buy 1, pay for 2 even though you only bought 1". 
>> Suddenly it doesn't sound so great, does it? :-P All they're really 
>> doing is doubling the marked price of the individual item.
> 
> Uh..."buy 1, get 1 free" doesn't mean "buy 1, pay for 2".  it means buy 
> one, pay 1/2.  at least, that's how it works at the local grocery store.

I don't follow.

>> Apparently it's a well-known fact that whether something is presented 
>> as a cost or a discount has a large effect on consumer behaviour. If 
>> you say "buy 10 and get a 10% discount", people think that's great. If 
>> you say "buy less than 10 and get a 10% surcharge" it's not so great. 
> 
> Except that's not the same thing at all.  Things *cost more* in small 
> amounts.  When you buy in bulk, you can get a reduced price because the 
> cost of production *really is* less.

Sure. But your local Tesco is going to buy (and transport) 12,000 tins 
of beans (or whatever) no matter what, so how many of them *you* buy is 
irrelevant. And yet, if you buy 10 of them, they give you 10% off the 
price. (Or, more accurately, if you buy less than 10 they charge you extra.)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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