Is there a specific reason why games sell products for 1 less than a number evenly divisible by 10?

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#1

I wonder if this has been posted about before. Let me know, been searching.

I’m trying to understand some monetisation trends that games are running with right now. A strange one that’s caught my eye is products being sold for one less than a number evenly divisible by 10. You can make any number of examples of where this is applicable.

  • $80 → $79
  • $1300 → $1299
  • $2600 → $2599

If you need a specific pictured example:
image

Is there a certain benefit towards pricing game passes this way that I’m not aware of, or is this a purely stylistic choice that developers have happened to pick up on? It doesn’t seem like the 30% tax actually affects your earnings and you earn more or less the same amount.

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#2

I think its done to make it look cheaper. On bigger numbers, one less looks like a huge difference.
I found this website explaining it.
Why Do Most Prices End in .99? | Live Science.

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#3

I believe this has already been covered in a previous discussion on charm pricing.

https://devforum.roblox.com/t/robux-charm-pricing/578018

In summary, some developers think that charm pricing will fool children into thinking a game’s product is less than it really is. I don’t think it’s effective, but apparently some developers think seeing that digit one place lower will help with their sales.

I, personally don’t think you should do this because it doesn’t really work, and it leaves your Robux amount with an odd number. An extra “1” tagged at the end.

TL;DR: Although not proven, some devs think charm pricing will trick users into believing their products are cheaper than they really are.

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#7

I know im a bit late to this but this is a trick you learn in economics. When you have something for sale that is say 199 it makes the consumer automatically think its in the 100 price range therefore they can buy it. Also most consumers tend to round down no matter if the price is high or low. Once you it that 200 price range the consumer will automatically think that it is 200 therefore it is out of the 100 price range.

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#8

Everyone so far is correct. A comsumer is definitely gonna buy a $.99 item. However, there is something I should add to this which will help you relized this is not a good idea at least for the player side.

Roblox does not tax Robux payments.

Yes, I do know that when the player buys an item, Roblox takes a percentage of that payment when it gets sent to the dev/group, however the player only needs to pay, let’s say the 200 Robux Auto Money Collection Gamepass in Restaurant Tycoon 2 in order to get that Auto Money Collection.

This is completely different in real life where purchases are tax (Depending on where you live). Now, I don’t remember how much tax would come with an item, or anything like that, but you are most likely going to end up with pennies. One time I went to subway to order some soda and Doritios (Don’t ask why because I don’t know either) and the price came up as $4.01 USD. Still don’t ask why for the same reason. In other words, pennies are still useful and (Unrelated to this) add up, which will be important for the next paragraph.

Let’s go back to the 200 Robux (2.5 USD) Gamepass, and let’s say it’s 199 instead. The player is gonna end up with 1 Robux left over. Now this isn’t a big deal… unless you want to remove the last Robux. If you’re poor and couldn’t afford to buy more Roblox gift cards at the moment, then you’re stuck with the 1 Robux. Yes, there are 2 items worth 1 Robux, but what if you don’t want them or already have them? Unless you are a dev (which you can even it out through premium payouts), you can only even it out the Robux by buying more 99 robux items.

Now if Roblox did tax player purchases (Which is a bad idea for the game side of things tbh), that 1 Robux could and most definitely add up without buying the 99 Robux items, mainly through the less than 1 Dollar value left over from purchases. Actually, 99 Robux items would be more acceptable as now you know you will taxed (If they are a decently smart consumer) and no matter what, you will end up with low amount of Robux at one point. That’s lucky not the case.

TL;DR Unless you buy more 99 Robux items or buy the 2 1 Robux items, you are stuck with the 1 Robux, unless you are a dev (Then premium payouts may fill that).

Please don’t do this. The Perfectionists like me will be happier which is what you want if you want to be a good dev with a good fanbase.

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