99p

You are making a whole lot of assumptions here about the intelligence of older people.

1 and 2 pences are not very useful, and 5 pences are a ridiculous size, but I think the only ones to abandon would be the ‘coppers’.

i suppose it’s old people who want to keep them
Putting aside your snidy comment, it’s psychological. But there again, assuming you’re a younger person you wouldn’t understand psychology.
This might, just might help you to understand.

www.rd.com/article/why-prices-end-in-99/#

I understood that the reason for prices being just below around number was so that they had to be put through the till to allow the till drawer to open and change taken out.

Round amounts could just be pocketed by unscrupulous shop assistants.

You win today’s prize for the most patronising comment.

kittylester

I understood that the reason for prices being just below around number was so that they had to be put through the till to allow the till drawer to open and change taken out.

Round amounts could just be pocketed by unscrupulous shop assistants.

Correct!
My late uncle was a shop keeper and this was his explanation when I once questioned items being priced in other than whole pounds.

kittylester

I understood that the reason for prices being just below around number was so that they had to be put through the till to allow the till drawer to open and change taken out.

Round amounts could just be pocketed by unscrupulous shop assistants.

That was what I was always led to believe too - although I suppose it could be argued that is becoming redundant too now as fewer and fewer people actually pay for things in cash.

petra

^i suppose it’s old people who want to keep them^
Putting aside your snidy comment, it’s psychological. But there again, assuming you’re a younger person you wouldn’t understand psychology.
This might, just might help you to understand.

www.rd.com/article/why-prices-end-in-99/#

Unless we have a brand new watermeadow, she’s a long standing member and the same age bracket as most of us.

kittylester 👍

I don't mind the 10p at all but the "coppers" and 5p are annoying. I am reluctant even to put them in the charity box often found on the shop counter as they must be a pain to count and then find a bank to pay them in.
I feel sorry for small children who like mine loved playing with a till and counting out the money. Good counting practice and use of fingers. I expect young children have no idea what the coins mean, like my children viewed a 3 penny bit or old penny.
I round up in my mind anyway as am too busy working out which is a better buy between a special offer and a large size.
I expect OP counts herself in with the oldies as I reluctantly do now especially after catching myself in a shop mirrorn this week. OMG who was that!,

Must say I often appreciate the 99p Kindle reads that are frequently offered to me by Amazon.
No stray pennies to bother about, either. I hardly ever pay cash for anything anyway, though having said that, I will need to buy a handful of £1 coins from the Bocketts Farm shop on Sunday (taking the Gdcs) since they all love the coin operated diggers.

kittylester

I understood that the reason for prices being just below around number was so that they had to be put through the till to allow the till drawer to open and change taken out.

Round amounts could just be pocketed by unscrupulous shop assistants.

Yes, this is what I have always understood.

I have heard the other explanation, but it had nothing to do with old people falling for it but the main body of the population falling for it.

I suspect that both are true, because I have noticed that in £shops and sales, 0.99 prices will be used, with the £ amount in a huge font with the 99p element in a tiny font, so that at a glance you only notice the £s, only when you stop and look do you see the 99p

I hardly ever use cash these days either, so can’t remember the last time I got or used any coppers. DH picked up a Betty’s Jar at Whitby RNLI - they’re tiny jam pots that you pop any 5p coins in - and we still haven’t filled it two years later, despite him valiantly shaking it at every visitor as they leave the house . The Betty’s scheme has raised over £350,000 in eight years though, so it shows that there is still a use for the spare change.

My dad used to call it shrapnel.

This is a little on the patronising side too I feel...
But there again, assuming you’re a younger person you wouldn’t understand psychology.

I also try and have £1 or 50p coins in my pocket as the Scouts often pack shopping in my supermarket at the weekend. Otherwise I mostly pay by card.

I like 2p coins for amusement arcade.

I still use cash, well half & half. I use my spare change to buy a book off the charity stand on my way out of the supermarket.
I have a small jar of loose change, which I put a couple of quid under my saucer for my local coffee house.

I love the copper and 99p things as I drop them in the animal charity collection boxes along with other bits of change in the shops.

people see £2.99 as cheaper than £3

But it is cheaper. One penny cheaper.

Nobody is fooled. It's just psychology. Applies to clothes, sofas, cars, anything we might buy.

I do the 1p savings challenge each year.

It works like this. Save 1p on day 1. Save 2p on day 2. Save 3p on day 3 ... and so on throughout the year.

By the end of the year, I have saved £667.95.

I started doing this when I did use cash, putting the coppers in an old pasta jar. I no long do. I just transfer the month's savings equivalent into a separate bank account.

Some people just do it for part of the year, stopping by say end of October (£463.60) and using the money for Christmas shopping.

I am old and find older people tend to cling to what’s familiar, I didn’t mean old people are stupider than others.

I do not seem to use cash at all these days and doing online banking I can easily keep track of spending.

Doesn’t bother me either way!

We always used to save coppers, we used the 2p for the arcade’s with our grandson!

Now we have coppers in a big plastic pot and I keep meaning to take it and put it through one of those machines in the supermarkets which change loose change into notes or £1 coins

Grandmabatty

You are making a whole lot of assumptions here about the intelligence of older people.

Yes, it's ageism - on a site for older people.

Older people have coped with the transition from £sd to decimal currency.
We remember when prices would be 19s 11d instead of £1.
We're not easily as fooled as you may think, watermeadow. Many of us can do mental arithmetic too, having been drilled in it at primary school.

What puzzles me, though, is the price of fuel. If I put just one litre of fuel into my car, how could the garage charge me 147.2p or 139.9p? Just why?

I always round up in my head, as in £4. 50 to £5, so am pleasantly surprised to find I have a little money left, my daughters round down and are frequently astonished to find they have less!