I feel this Best Buy pricing phenomenon is best described in the terms of an Infocom text game:
> LOOK
You are at a Best Buy. There is a Blueshirt and 3 Memory Cards here.
> LOOK BLUESHIRT
A thin trail of spittle glistens on his chin.
> KILL BLUESHIRT
You heartless bastard. Just look at the memory cards.
> LOOK MEMORY CARDS
They are all Sandisk SD memory cards. One is 2GB, one is 4GB, and one is 2GB Ultra High Speed. Which one is the most expensive?
> TAKE 4GB
Wrong. It’s on sale for $24.99 this week.
> TAKE 2GB ULTRA
Also wrong — it’s on sale for $19.99 this week.
> TAKE 2GB REGULAR SPEED
Hey-ooo, big spender! $26.99!
> INVENTORY
You haven’t bought it yet.
> CHECK OUT
The clerk rings you up and offers you a 3-year Protection Plan for… $26.99.
> SOUTH
You are at the exit. There is a yellow shirt here and a gate. The yellowshirt asks to see your receipt.
> SAY “I KNOW MY RIGHTS”
You are forcibly removed from the store. Local police are called, refuse to arrest, but bemusedly ask you why you didn’t just show them the damned receipt.
Abort, Retry, Fail?
>IGNORE
Okay, this kind of wandered a bit, but you get the idea.
