1316 Squeezing Cents

Remember when your mom used to encourage you to pinch pennies? You had that little piggy bank. And she told you that old chestnut from Poor Richard, “a penny saved is a penny earned.”
I always wondered why if he was so smart about money they called him Poor Richard.
Then again, I was always mystified by old time sayings. Like, “a stitch in time saves nine.” What the heck is that all about? I don’t know, but I feel fine.
Anyhow, it seems Mom was right. Little bits do add up, at least for the dollar store. That’s why they’re being sued. Actually, the company being sued is the “99 Cents Only Store.” And the reason they’re being sued is because they raised the price of their items to 99.99 cents.
Took a page from the gas pump book. Those nines add up. Clever. Eric Schiffer the chain’s CEO, says it’s a tiny tiny amount. But he had to admit that his company’s cash registers actually do round everything up when the item is scanned.
So even if he does say he’s only charging 99 ten-thousandth of a dollar more, his cash registers are charging the full penny. Isn’t Schiffer a German word that means mop-weasel? It’s something that just cleans out your pockets.
One of the lawyers for the plaintiffs summed up their legal strategy. “If they call themselves ‘99 cents Only’ it should be 99 cents.”
Makes sense to me.
Perhaps they should rebrand as “99 cent-ish.” Or “Barely Under a Buck.”
But here’s the amazing thing about pennies or in this case .99 pennies, adding up. That tiny tiny price hike netted his company $12 million dollars annually.
I’m guessing Eric Schiffer listened to his mom.
America, ya gotta love it.