Had occasion today to drop by the supermarket to replenish the beer frig. I drink Carlsberg and they were offering 12 packs at $18.99. Stacked right beside them were 24 packs of the same brand at $58.Source
Asked one of the staff standing close by how this could be so. He confirmed the $58 price tag was correct. Said to him that I didn't think they would be selling too many of these. His response ... "I wouldn't want you to bet on that because you would lose".
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
One reason to learn mathematics
At least their deficient maths mainly affects their own pocket.
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LOL, I've seen that in the store before, with snack crackers going for $0.30 a pack, and a $0.75 for two. I bet he's right that more people will buy the 58$ 24 pack than the $18.99. $58 has fewer digits.
ReplyDeleteIt blows me away how poorly some people do math. This is often the case with cashiers. For example, something costs $9.76 and you give the cashier $10.01. The cashier gives you a confused look as if to say, "What's the penny for?"
ReplyDeleteYour example is a pretty obvious one. What makes it tricky is a lot of times quantities are not doubled. In the States, this is often the case at Walmart. For example, they might have coke in a 12-pack for 2.99, and in a 20 pack for 5.29. It takes a little bit of figuring to know which is the better deal, and I wonder if they do the odd quantities just to make deal hunting more difficult.