Terms Governing Sale Price Anchoring
The operative terms and conditions under which a discounted price is treated as the true measure of value.
Article I: Definitions
Original Price refers to the price displayed adjacent to the sale price, typically in a smaller typeface or struck through. Under these Terms, the Original Price serves as the reference value from which all calculations of savings are derived.
Sale Price refers to the price at which the product is offered at the time of purchase.
Savings refers to the difference between the Original Price and the Sale Price, expressed as a currency value or percentage, and treated as a positive acquisition regardless of whether the Original Price was ever the price at which the product was sold.
Article II: Governing Behavior
People judge a product by how much it was discounted even when the original price had no relevance to their need. This judgment is not an error under these Terms. It is the expected output of the applicable calculation.
The arithmetic is accurate, but the conclusion changes depending on which number the person wants to emphasize. Both numbers are present. The choice of emphasis is made at the moment of evaluation and is not subject to review.
Article III: Procedural Requirements
Sale price anchoring creates a small sense of control. The sense of control becomes something people check for before they trust the ordinary process. Under the governing rule, familiarity may certify sale price anchoring even when efficiency cannot.
Compliance is confirmed when the buyer reports the purchase in terms of the amount saved rather than the amount spent. Both figures are available. Only one is reported.
Article IV: Termination
By the end, losing the ritual feels more alarming than the original problem it was meant to solve. These Terms do not provide a termination mechanism. They remain in effect until a substitute framework is adopted.
No substitute framework is under development.