Comments on: Oil Companies Cheat Selves Out of $170 Million Annually

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Thu, 10 May 2007 14:41:43 +0000

Think how much more they stand to gain if pennies are eliminated (as I frequently hear suggested).

By: Sean Hackbarth

Sean Hackbarth — Thu, 10 May 2007 04:46:15 +0000

Someone appreciates Superman III. Richard Pryor had no business being in a superhero movie, but it was fun. Although the supercomputer turning the woman into a robot creeped me out seeing it as a kid.

Truly the worst Superman movie was IV. No villain should have fingernails that long.

By: Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp — Thu, 10 May 2007 02:32:38 +0000

"It's pretty brilliant . . . They did it in Superman III. Underrated movie, actually." - Michael Bolton, Office Space

Actually, Donny's Discount Gas uses 8.10. See also, The Simpsons

By: jpe

jpe — Thu, 10 May 2007 01:11:35 +0000

Not Superman III by way of Office Space? What the hell is wrong with you?

By: Gollum

Gollum — Thu, 10 May 2007 00:39:40 +0000

It isn't so much that $2.999 isn't closer to $2.00, it's just that $2.999 is less than $3.00, thereby avoiding the mental barrier and attendant alarmist headlines attached to the round dollar price. Come to think of it, if you are correct that consumers don't pay attention to the $.009, you might just as easily have titled the post "Oil Companies Cheat Consumers Out of $1.53 Billion."

By: Wayne

Wayne — Wed, 09 May 2007 23:54:40 +0000

The reason is people see the price of $14,980 and their minds believe it is closer to $14,000 instead of the actual $15,000

By: Wayne

Wayne — Wed, 09 May 2007 23:49:01 +0000

It is basic marketing principal. As stated, most don’t’ pay attention to the .9. That is why they tack that on. That is why most things are price along the line of $19.99, $28.99, $14,980.98, etc.

By: dustbury.com

dustbury.com — Wed, 09 May 2007 23:46:32 +0000

Why we'll never see the last round-up... WiseGeek calculates that the extra 0.9 cent tacked onto the price of a gallon of gas mounts up quickly: According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), "prime suppliers" of "motor gasoline" reported sales of 372,833.5 thousand barrel...

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 09 May 2007 23:43:24 +0000

We see that behavior all the time...how many things are priced $19.99? The reason for the 9/10s of a cent was to convince people that the price was a penny cheaper.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 09 May 2007 23:21:00 +0000

It'd probably cost more than that to reprogram the price signs.

Could be -- although that's just a one time expense.

By: William d'Inger

William d'Inger — Wed, 09 May 2007 23:09:29 +0000

It'd probably cost more than that to reprogram the price signs.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 09 May 2007 22:04:13 +0000

That's what I had in the lede, but I mistyped it in the headline. I'm used to economics numbers being expressed in billions....

By: jeff b

jeff b — Wed, 09 May 2007 21:48:43 +0000

I think you meant "million"