Today's consumer has no idea what is or is not a good price for things. I honestly think most people care more about how much they "saved" than how much they spent. My wife will occassionally come home with a big purchase of stuff and it's like clockwork. I ask, "How much did that cost?" and she ALWAYS responds, "It was a great deal, I saved $____." I could really care less how much you think you saved...the important question is how much money is missing from our checking account?
I blame the car dealers - I think this all originated with them back in the day. No one wants a $15,000 car selling for $15,000. Make that same car a $20,000 car selling for $15,000 and people will physically hurt each other to get one. Kay-Bee toys did this up until their dying breath. Everything there was stickered for $2 more than anywhere else, but they had red ink crossing out the price with a new amount that was (shockingly) $2 less.