https://dealskabaap.com/ Price literacy for ordinary shopping — how discounts are constructed, when things genuinely get cheaper, and how to tell a real saving from a well-designed one. en © 2026 Marked Down Media Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/the-anchor-price-still-works-after-you-have-named-it/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/the-anchor-price-still-works-after-you-have-named-it/ Knowing that a crossed-out number is a persuasion device does not switch off the comparison it starts in your head. How Pricing Works Imran Shaikh Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/cost-plus-and-value-pricing-put-two-different-tags-on-one-object/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/cost-plus-and-value-pricing-put-two-different-tags-on-one-object/ A price can be built up from what the thing cost to make, or worked backwards from what a buyer will part with. The two methods rarely agree. How Pricing Works Bhavesh Ranka Sun, 09 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/where-a-recommended-retail-price-comes-from-and-what-it-is-for/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/where-a-recommended-retail-price-comes-from-and-what-it-is-for/ The number a manufacturer prints on the box was never a prediction of what shops would charge. It is a reference point with a job to do. How Pricing Works Charu Sanghvi Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/prices-ending-in-nine-outlived-the-reason-they-were-invented/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/prices-ending-in-nine-outlived-the-reason-they-were-invented/ The nine on the end of a price is one of the most tested devices in retail, and the popular story about where it came from is probably wrong. How Pricing Works Bhavesh Ranka Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/the-machine-is-priced-against-the-refill-it-will-need/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/the-machine-is-priced-against-the-refill-it-will-need/ When a product only works with something you must keep buying, the price on the box is a deposit rather than the cost of ownership. How Pricing Works Charu Sanghvi Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/one-product-three-prices-and-why-that-is-the-design/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/one-product-three-prices-and-why-that-is-the-design/ Charging different people different amounts for the same thing is not a glitch in retail. It is the reason ranges, coupons and channels exist in the shape they do. How Pricing Works Imran Shaikh Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/landed-cost-the-number-a-shop-is-actually-working-from/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/landed-cost-the-number-a-shop-is-actually-working-from/ The price a retailer pays a supplier is only the start of what the item costs before it reaches a shelf. The gap explains a lot of pricing behaviour. How Pricing Works Imran Shaikh Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/two-shops-one-street-one-product-two-prices/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/two-shops-one-street-one-product-two-prices/ Identical goods sold within walking distance of each other routinely carry different prices, and the reasons are structural rather than accidental. How Pricing Works Charu Sanghvi Sun, 19 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/dynamic-pricing-is-a-rule-somebody-wrote-in-advance/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/dynamic-pricing-is-a-rule-somebody-wrote-in-advance/ Prices that change through the day are not being adjusted by a person watching you. They are the output of conditions set before you arrived. How Pricing Works Imran Shaikh Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/good-better-best-what-the-middle-option-is-for/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/good-better-best-what-the-middle-option-is-for/ Three-tier ranges are not built so you can find your level. They are built so the middle one looks like the sensible choice. How Pricing Works Bhavesh Ranka Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/markup-and-margin-are-different-numbers-and-shops-think-in-one-of-them/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/markup-and-margin-are-different-numbers-and-shops-think-in-one-of-them/ The same price expressed as a markup and as a margin produces two very different percentages, and confusing them makes discounting look easier than it is. How Pricing Works Charu Sanghvi Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/every-price-contains-the-cost-of-the-stock-that-never-sold/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/every-price-contains-the-cost-of-the-stock-that-never-sold/ Full-price shoppers pay for the markdowns, the returns, the theft and the damaged cartons. That is not a scandal, it is how the arithmetic has to work. How Pricing Works Imran Shaikh Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/a-loss-leader-is-an-advertising-budget-spent-through-the-till/ https://dealskabaap.com/pricing/a-loss-leader-is-an-advertising-budget-spent-through-the-till/ Selling something below cost is not a mistake or a gift. It buys a visit, and the visit is what the seller is actually purchasing. How Pricing Works Charu Sanghvi Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/timing/end-of-line-stock-does-not-behave-like-a-seasonal-sale/ https://dealskabaap.com/timing/end-of-line-stock-does-not-behave-like-a-seasonal-sale/ Two things marked down on the same day can be following completely different logics, and only one of them will still be there next week. When to Buy Imran Shaikh Sat, 27 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/timing/the-successor-announcement-is-the-event-that-moves-the-old-price/ https://dealskabaap.com/timing/the-successor-announcement-is-the-event-that-moves-the-old-price/ Outgoing models do not get cheaper because they got worse. They get cheaper because a date was announced and the shelf now has to be emptied. When to Buy Bhavesh Ranka Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/timing/clearance-runs-to-a-schedule-not-to-a-mood/ https://dealskabaap.com/timing/clearance-runs-to-a-schedule-not-to-a-mood/ The reductions that appear at the end of a season are usually planned in advance, in steps, with dates attached. You can shop the schedule. When to Buy Imran Shaikh Mon, 22 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/timing/seasonal-goods-are-priced-by-how-long-a-shop-can-hold-them/ https://dealskabaap.com/timing/seasonal-goods-are-priced-by-how-long-a-shop-can-hold-them/ The cost of storing something until next year is what decides whether it gets discounted now or quietly put away. When to Buy Imran Shaikh Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/timing/the-sale-calendar-is-a-manufacturing-calendar-wearing-a-bow/ https://dealskabaap.com/timing/the-sale-calendar-is-a-manufacturing-calendar-wearing-a-bow/ Most annual sale events sit where they do because of factory schedules, shipping windows and quarter ends, not because of anything cultural. When to Buy Bhavesh Ranka Tue, 16 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/timing/waiting-has-a-price-and-it-is-the-thing-you-do-not-own-yet/ https://dealskabaap.com/timing/waiting-has-a-price-and-it-is-the-thing-you-do-not-own-yet/ Every strategy that involves holding out for a better number has a cost attached. Counting it stops patience turning into paralysis. When to Buy Imran Shaikh Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/timing/a-pre-order-has-nothing-pushing-its-price-downward/ https://dealskabaap.com/timing/a-pre-order-has-nothing-pushing-its-price-downward/ Paying before a product exists removes every mechanism that normally makes a price fall, and adds a few risks that have nothing to do with money. When to Buy Bhavesh Ranka Mon, 08 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/timing/perishables-reprice-by-the-hour-and-durables-by-the-quarter/ https://dealskabaap.com/timing/perishables-reprice-by-the-hour-and-durables-by-the-quarter/ How fast a price can move depends on how fast the goods lose value. That single fact sorts almost every category into a rhythm. When to Buy Bhavesh Ranka Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/timing/why-off-peak-prices-exist-and-what-they-are-really-sorting/ https://dealskabaap.com/timing/why-off-peak-prices-exist-and-what-they-are-really-sorting/ Charging less at quiet times is not a favour to early risers. It is an attempt to fill capacity that would otherwise be wasted. When to Buy Lavanya Subbu Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/timing/prices-move-when-stock-arrives-not-when-the-calendar-says-so/ https://dealskabaap.com/timing/prices-move-when-stock-arrives-not-when-the-calendar-says-so/ A delivery bay does more to set prices than any date on a poster. Watching what is coming in beats watching what is advertised. When to Buy Imran Shaikh Fri, 29 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/timing/buying-ahead-for-something-you-will-certainly-need/ https://dealskabaap.com/timing/buying-ahead-for-something-you-will-certainly-need/ Forward buying converts a price you like today into a supply you will use later. It works exactly as well as your storage and your certainty. When to Buy Imran Shaikh Sun, 24 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/timing/the-week-before-a-deadline-is-the-worst-week-to-buy/ https://dealskabaap.com/timing/the-week-before-a-deadline-is-the-worst-week-to-buy/ Anything bought against a fixed date is bought at the moment your flexibility is lowest, and prices are extremely good at noticing that. When to Buy Lavanya Subbu Fri, 22 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/tactics/unit-price-is-the-only-number-on-the-shelf-that-compares-like-with-like/ https://dealskabaap.com/tactics/unit-price-is-the-only-number-on-the-shelf-that-compares-like-with-like/ Pack prices are designed to be incomparable. The small print showing price per unit undoes most of that work in a second. Shopping Tactics Rajat Oberoi Mon, 18 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/tactics/price-history-turns-a-discount-claim-into-something-you-can-test/ https://dealskabaap.com/tactics/price-history-turns-a-discount-claim-into-something-you-can-test/ A percentage off tells you nothing without a series behind it. A series turns marketing into evidence you can read yourself. Shopping Tactics Rajat Oberoi Sat, 16 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/tactics/total-cost-of-ownership-is-a-comparison-not-a-slogan/ https://dealskabaap.com/tactics/total-cost-of-ownership-is-a-comparison-not-a-slogan/ Two prices are only comparable when they cover the same period, the same consumables and the same eventual disposal. Most comparisons do not. Shopping Tactics Lavanya Subbu Tue, 12 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/tactics/stacking-offers-why-two-discounts-rarely-both-apply/ https://dealskabaap.com/tactics/stacking-offers-why-two-discounts-rarely-both-apply/ Combining a code, a card and a promotion looks like arithmetic. It is actually a set of rules written specifically to stop you doing it. Shopping Tactics Bhavesh Ranka Sat, 09 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dealskabaap.com/tactics/asking-for-a-better-price-without-becoming-a-nuisance/ https://dealskabaap.com/tactics/asking-for-a-better-price-without-becoming-a-nuisance/ Negotiation works where the seller controls the number and has something to gain. Knowing where that is true saves everybody a great deal of time. Shopping Tactics Bhavesh Ranka Tue, 05 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT