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How companies think we see prices

A two-panel meme comparing consumer reactions to prices as perceived by companies. The top section displays the text '20$' alongside a close-up image of Michael Scott (from The Office) making an angry and displeased facial expression, implying companies believe consumers view $20 as expensive. The bottom section shows '19.99$' with Michael Scott looking shocked and excited, humorously suggesting companies think consumers perceive $19.99 as significantly cheaper than $20 despite the minimal 1-cent difference.
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20$
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19.99$

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How companies think we see prices

Overview

A two-panel meme comparing consumer reactions to prices as perceived by companies. The top section displays the text '20$' alongside a close-up image of Michael Scott (from The Office) making an angry and displeased facial expression, implying companies believe consumers view $20 as expensive. The bottom section shows '19.99$' with Michael Scott looking shocked and excited, humorously suggesting companies think consumers perceive $19.99 as significantly cheaper than $20 despite the minimal 1-cent difference.

Origin notes

The meme uses repurposed screenshots from the US TV show 'The Office' featuring Michael Scott (portrayed by Steve Carell). The images are likely edited together using basic image editing software (e.g., Photoshop, mobile editors) to create a comparison format. Such reaction image collages are common on social media platforms like Reddit, Twitter/X, and TikTok, where they humorously critique everyday phenomena like marketing tactics. This meme specifically satirizes the psychological pricing strategy of using '.99' endings to make prices seem lower.

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A meme satirizing companies' perception of customer reactions to pricing. The top text reads 'How companies think we see prices'. On the left side, two price labels are displayed: '20$' (top) and '19.99$' (bottom). On the right side, two screenshots of Michael Scott (Steve Carell) from 'The Office' are shown: the top image features him with a displeased, frustrated expression (reacting to '20$'), while the bottom image shows him with a shocked, excited expression (reacting to '19.99$'). The meme humorously critiques the psychological pricing tactic where $19.99 is perceived as significantly cheaper than $20 despite the minimal 1-cent difference.

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