Real Life Discounts.

If you wonder what happened to yesterday's entry, I am visiting family and took the day off to visit with them.  I'm back.

I am on a list which sends out daily e-mails suggesting eBooks I might be interested in purchasing.  These are books that might be $7.99 normally but are on sale for $0.99.

This is a perfect to use in the math class when discussing discounts.  The ads do not give the percent discount so it is easy to have students calculate it.

To take it one step further, students could go to various online sites such as amazon, wal-mart, or others to shop for items they'd like.  Most sites list the manufacturers suggested retail price and the price the item is being sold at.  Some even give a percent discount.  Students can calculate the percent discount if not listed, check the site's accuracy for discount, and compare which site is a better buy for each item, or see which site is the best site to purchase everything from.

Throw in a discussion of manufacturers suggested retail price(MSRP) vs the actual price charged, the items which are generally sold using the MSRP vs those that are generally offered at less than the MSRP.  Most books are sold at the cover price which is the manufacturers suggested retail price unless you belong to a plan which gives an automatic discount or things are on sale.

I love applying the MSRP to purchasing automobiles and other vehicles because the sales price is always compared to the MSRP but they never seem to give the discount as a percent, only as an amount.  I think most people are excited by the fact you get money off they don't look at the actual percent.

The reason I chose online is because they list more information on the ad than the stores have on the shelf.  In addition, it is fun to take the price the object online and compare it to the price the same item costs in the store.  It it really cheaper to order it or is it cheaper locally.  For me, in my situation, its often easier to order from someone than to try to find it in town but every situation is different.

Let me know what you think and I'd love to hear from you.