If you’ve ever been to the movies, you know the feeling: you walk up to the concession stand craving popcorn, glance at the prices, and suddenly you’re debating whether to go for a small, medium, or large. At first glance, the medium looks reasonable—until you realize something strange.
The medium costs almost as much as the large. For example:
Small: $5
Medium: $7.50
Large: $8
Why would anyone pay $7.50 when just fifty cents more gets you nearly double the popcorn?
That’s not an accident. It’s a psychological trick called “decoy pricing.”
