Why are so many product prices filled with 9s? Ie £5995 £1.99 £49.99 etc

The thinking in the old days was that this would cut down cashier
fraud because having to give a penny change would ensure that the
transaction was 'rung up' on the till - which might not have happened
for a round £ amount.

Now, it's a tradition to suggest that it's a keen price and less than
it might have been.

Hmmmmmmmmmm

Now, why did you price your question @ $5.99?

This pricing is done to avoid pricing the item at the next high first digit.
4.95 or 4,950 appears to be significantly less than 5.00 or 5,000,
perhaps especially in comparison with a competitor's price that is
above the "5" first digit.  This is not just an American custom.

I've always heard that this is because it tricks your mind into
rounding the price down so you think the price is cheaper than it
really is.  Another interesting merchant manipulation I've heard is
that restaurants keep the climate cold because it makes people more
hungry so they eat more.

Marketing studies have consistently shown that $0.99 is viewed quite
differently than $1.00:
http://www.marketingprofs.com/Faqs/showcategory.asp?CatID=6

Even today, when discussing gasoline prices, my spouse will tell me
that gas is $1.995 a gallon when the sign says $1.9999 or $2.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

I answered a very similar question earlier this year. Check it out.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=461008
Q: prices just shy of a whole or round number

> Hmmmmmmmmmm
> Now, why did you price your question @ $5.99?

;)

Thanks people. I will check out these links.

You see, it works the other way too, researchers saw your question in
passing as five dollar question and didn't want to take the trouble to
answer it. ;)
Actually, I think they have a nice sense of ethics that precludes them
from "answering" questions that have already been answered.