I haven't used it in the field yet, but I just received my Square device. Great hardware and software for something I thought was vaporware.
The $1 limit on credit cards is annoying if you want to sell something at $0.99 though.
The $1 limit on credit cards is annoying if you want to sell something at $0.99 though.
Why do you think selling something for $0.99 is legitimate? I know it's common, but it is the practice of confusing the buyer "Oh, it's just 90 cents" when they are actually paying a dollar.
I would be extremely happy if Square (or for that matter, everyone) would only let you charge (say) at 10 cents increment for prices up to $5, at 50 cent increments up to $50, and at $5 increments above $100.
The merchant should actually have to pay for it (to the tune of $4.99) if they advertise a product at "less than $100". They shouldn't be able to charge $99.99.
There's nothing confusing or deceptive about this practice. The price is right there. Why would someone interpret something clearly advertised as $0.99 instead as costing $0.90? The reason merchants do this is because of different emotional reactions and buying behavior.
Whether or not it's effective for what you're selling or the type of people you're selling to is another question but it's a legitimate practice as far as I'm concerned.
This is a matter of opinion, of course, but in my opinion, it is deceptive.
The only reason _anyone_ is doing it is that it has been shown time and again that mentally $4.99 registers closer to $4 than to $5 (and $199.99 registers closer to $150 than to $200).
It doesn't register that way with me, because I trained myself to ignore it - I grew up in another country, where this practice was not widespread while I was growing up. When it started appearing, most people trained themselves to ignore it, but the younger generations are vulnerable to it.
Now that I am living in the US, I see that most people my age are also vulnerable to it.
Furthermore, in that country I grew up in, the law says that any advertised price must be: (a) inclusive of all taxes, charges etc. (that is, in a cash or credit transaction for the item advertised, the charge must never be more than the advertised price under any circumstance), and (b) in the same font/style/weight and at least 20% larger than any other descriptive price of the item (before tax, finance charges, etc).
Do you consider advertising a $1 27" television with a super small fine print saying "+$900 shipping, handling, state tax; included even if you pick up in store" false? I do, and I think it's in the same class.
All the info is there in both cases, and both cases are designed to leave the impression of a lower price than the item really costs.
- brand A versus brand B - retailer versus brands - retailer versus employees
the customers are just minor players in this game