THE
1 RUPEE SCANDAL
By Muskan Jain
 |
| It is not just 1 rupee. |
Isn’t
it a trick to treat! A trick where the buyers instead of paying rupees 99 pays
the entire amount of rupee 100 and treat this business of 99! Now if you are
wondering what do they gain or why do they do these sort of pricing on the
first place, so here is your answer, according to consumer behaviour
experts, it is a trick that helps move more goods. It is a marketing strategy
known as the psychological pricing or price charming based on the theory that
certain prices have a psychological impact on people and thus sales or movement
of items in goods.
We
the people, tend to pay a round-off amount that is, rupee 100 for the item
priced 99, 1000 for an item priced rupee 999; as the remaining amount of a rupee
doesn’t make much difference on our pocket, but we don’t realize that every
single rupee of ours makes a huge money for the seller.
Some
days back, I went to a nearby store and received a bill of 299. On demanding a
rupee back, I was told that no change is available but on trying hard I
received something, not that one-rupee coin but a candy or a toffee.
Did
I ask for that? Nah? Then why?
Stores
like these gain 1 rupee directly into their pocket, and this is not just a
rupee, its 1 rupee per buyer and if they have a hundred buyers a day that amounts
to pocketing of rupee 100 on a daily base which later on turns to be rupees
36500 approx. per year and this is when we are stating a single business or
firm and we have thousands of business who are selling the items with prices
like these and pocketing lakhs or crores of rupees. And this pocketed amount is
non-taxable. Also the toffees they give instead of giving you your rupee, in
warming their pockets with the profit of some paisa as buying these candies in
bulk costs them less than their actual price.
Basically,
not all earned is the white money and it is we who, as the consumers or as the
buyers, are encouraging and motivating them. It’s not just about a rupee or two
but when we are stating ourselves as sensible and aware consumers it is our
right as well as our duty to ask and take that coin back. And let’s make the
toffee our one rupee and exchange it the opposite way by paying the bill of 201
as rupee 200 and a toffee.
Asking
for a rupee back doesn’t make anyone stupid but not taking that rupee does
makes you naïve! As it is said “it’s the drops that make an ocean” similarly it’s a rupee that makes a note.
