Anchoring
Anchoring changes how a price feels by planting a reference point before the buyer evaluates it. ₹499 can seem like a bargain beside ₹1,000 and expensive when judged on its own.
A product priced at ₹499 can trigger two opposite reactions without changing by a single rupee. Put “₹1,000” beside it and ₹499 looks irresistible; show ₹499 alone and it may suddenly feel too expensive.
E1The first number becomes the yardstick
You rarely evaluate a price in isolation. The first salient number establishes a comparison point, and the next price is interpreted as a gain or loss relative to it. Once ₹1,000 is planted, the question quietly shifts from “Is this worth ₹499?” to “How much am I saving?” The crossed-out price therefore shapes judgment before the product’s value has been assessed—a tactic that becomes especially misleading when it is a Fake Reference Price.
E1A comparison is not a valuation
Anchoring explains why ₹499 can feel cheaper after ₹1,000; it does not establish that the product is worth ₹499, that ₹1,000 was ever a genuine market price, or that the purchase is good value.
E1Remove the crossed-out number
Before buying, hide or ignore the claimed original price and write down the amount you would pay for the product on its own. Compare that figure with ₹499; if the deal disappears when the ₹1,000 anchor disappears, the discount—not the product—was doing the selling.
E1Episodes that teach this
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The Dirty Tricks Behind Amazon & Flipkart Sales - Future IQ
· explained at 6:15
61,201 views
"This was rupees 1,000 but now you're getting it for 499... if the same thing was shown to you directly as 499, you would say hm that seems like a little too much."