Am I the only person that feels that their intelligence is being insulted by Naim’s silly price list that has almost every product price ending in a 99 or 999? Surely, the people that have decided this can’t believe that it doesn’t take even the dumbest amongst us to know within a micro flash that £999 is a thousand quid? Really, I mean would a wealthy person buying the Statement NAC S1 preamp at £84,999 not think instantly, “That’s £85 grand!” So why not say so? Rant over.
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This pricing strategy is everywhere and yes it is annoying.
Linn never used to do it and I think they still don’t.
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The marketing bods, whose opinions hold sway, probably think that the punters will believe that they’re getting a bargain. But it’s a pretty common practice - Marks & Sparks always used to do it, as do most of the big food retailers.
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You bored today?!
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I 99.9% agree with you
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My Rega cost £188 back in the day. Always thought that was a strange amount too !
Well if everyone wants it rounded up………?
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Okay, that made me laugh.
Walking round the Collect exhibition at Somerset House today I was surprised by a sculpture priced at £18,090. A British artist, so not an artefact of currency conversion or duty.
that is odd. My first thought was maybe that it was originally priced in Guineas, but 18,000 English guineas would be £18,900 - maybe they just put the 9 in the wrong place.
16,750 with an 8% markup?
Could be £15,075 + VAT
The £75 still seems odd in a £15,000 sculpture. I’m sure there’s a good reason, maybe the shipping fee. 
It might be apocryphal, but one theory is that “X.99” prices originated in the late 19th century, during the early days of department stores. The belief was that, if the customer paid for an item with a banknote that was the same value as the item, the clerk at the register might slyly pocket the note, whereas if the customer expected change, then the clerk would have to open the register, and it would be harder to get away with the theft. My only source for this is a reference to a book called Pricing Strategies for Small Business by Andrew Gregson.
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Why this is done, who really knows?
List price is there for negotiation - some of us are more skilled than others, best to remain silent on deals…!
Just been looking for a new box…seems from one dealer, not a comprehensive sample, Arcam, Dali and several others all do the ‘9’ thing, so not confined to Naim
Try buying exactly five litres of fuel - long time since it was ever priced in uk at anything other than four places of decimals - i.e. £1.4999 or 149.99 pence as usually displayed. At least you can pay £*9 as a price - logic goes out of the window with pricing a single unit, in a form that cannot be paid.
Marketing and for that matter HR are more often than not, too far removed from reality.
Train pricing is another that is incomprehensible to all but the dedicated enthusiast.
The pricing that really doesn’t sit well imho is pub menus - pubs mind, where there is a service charge of 10% or 12.5%, written at the bottom of the menu, in a much smaller type face.
Various supposed justifications are made - simples - put the price for each item as the price to be paid and pay the staff appropriately.
It’s a phycological con to make punters think it’s a pound cheaper than it is.
When I had a shop I was generous I made the numbers end in 95. 
Occurs to me that psychological factors come into play around pricing and psycho-acoustic factors relate to the perceived sound of the equipment. We’re all susceptible to some degree…
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I bought a pomegranate in our local veg shop today. The price wasn’t on the shelf so I asked how much it was. £1.99. Why not just £2? It’s all most odd.
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Not sure why one would care if it cost £1.99 or £2. I’m sure the store knows best which number sell most pomegranate.
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