The Crossed-Out Price

You see a jacket tagged "Was $200 — Now $49." Your brain screams deal. But here's the thing: that jacket was never meant to sell at $200. The original price exists only to make $49 feel like a gift. This is anchoring — the most powerful pricing trick in retail.

Anchoring works because your brain latches onto the first number it sees and uses it as a reference point for everything that follows. The "real" price becomes irrelevant. All that matters is the gap between the anchor and the offer. Retailers have known this for over a century.