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Comment by simulate-me | Hacker News Reader

Which interpretation is idiotic? Being able to take in complex signals from the environment and form an instructive opinion is the foundation of human ingenuity. Given that the bananas obviously aren't on sale for $0.0019, it seems idiotic to me ignore alternative explanations for the sign.

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>> Given that the bananas obviously aren't on sale for $0.0019, it seems idiotic to me ignore alternative explanations for the sign.

"It's a banana Michael. What could it cost, 10 dollars?!"

You say "obvious" but I don't think that means what you think that means. Why is it obvious? Why would it be impossible that a store sells bananas at a loss in order to pull people in (what people in sales call a "loss leader")? If you don't buy bananas regularly, why couldn't you assume this is just a great deal?

If there were a sign advertising 5 bananas for a penny (or whatever) with no asterisk, fine print, or mention that "terms may apply", I would be livid if I couldn't take advantage of that price.

I'm only speaking from my own personal experience, but I've never seen bananas priced at less than 1c each in the grocery store. I've also seen people misplace decimal points frequently. So, based on the thousands of times I've been to dozens of grocery stores, I'm using pattern matching to deduce that almost assuredly it's more likely that a banana listed as costing "0.19c" refers to $0.19 not $0.0019. If you ever encounter a true sub-cent banana in a retail supermarket, feel free to reach out to me and I'll be the first to admit I was wrong.

I've frequently (more than once a year) seen "Free pound of bananas" coupons as part of circulars/loyalty coupons at supermarkets I've been to (sometimes not even requiring further purchase). I've worked in advertising and marketing for checks watch years and am familiar with all sorts of different offer types and sales models. Free or Nearly Free bananas would seem relatively reasonable, and if I didn't frequent the store enough to know they always have a "cute" sign with nonsense prices, I would still be livid if the price wasn't honored.

If you would like links: Here's a 5 year old piece about Amazon giving away bananas: https://www.foodandwine.com/news/amazons-free-bananas-disrup...

Here's a 2 year old coupon for free bananas from some couponing blog: https://www.thecouponingcouple.com/free-bananas/

Another blog, more free banana coupons: https://spoonuniversity.com/how-to/10-food-budgeting-tips-i-...

TL;dr- Don't put up bullshit pricing signs and assume people will understand the "joke", you're coming from a place of different cultural awareness and it will burn you when people like me get involved.

Yes, I've seen free promotions before (of bananas and many other items). But I've never seen sub-cent bananas. Again, if you see those, let me know.

It’s incredibly obvious. Just ask yourself, “How would I pay for 1 banana if a banana was 0.19 cents?”

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