Why High Mall Prices end in 99 Cents?

Why Do All Prices End in 99 Cents?
Why do prices end in 0.99 It is a mystery. Isn’t it? They do not make sense to us so we decided to offer straight prices instead of playing on someone’s psychology and create illusionary discounts. Here are some explanations from various sources. The following are excerpts from http://www.straightdope.com/

The Story of the Dollars + 99 Cents Price
The most elaborate explanation comes from Scot Morris's Book of Strange Facts & Useless Information (1979): "In 1876, Melville E. Stone decided that what Chicago needed was a penny newspaper to compete with the nickel papers then on the stands. However, there was a problem: with no sales tax, and with most goods priced for convenience at even-dollar figures, there were not many pennies in general circulation. Stone understood the consumer mind, however, and convinced several Chicago merchants to drop their prices--slightly. Impulse buyers, he explained, would more readily purchase a $3.00 item if it cost "only" $2.99. Shopkeepers who tried the plan found that it worked, but soon they faced their own penny shortage. Undaunted, Stone journeyed to Philadelphia, bought several barrels of pennies from the mint, and brought them back to the Windy City. Soon Chicagoans had pennies to spare and exchanged them for Stone's new paper."

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