Why is discount more important than price?

Do you find the cartoon funny? Let me tell you something confidentially.

A while ago I picked up the vent of a talented purchasing professional who came across the situation I described.

I wish I could tell you that it is all a result of my imagination, but I would be lying.

Everything is sadly true, but you should not be too surprised.

The mistake made by the boss of the cartoon’s protagonist is probably driven by lack of time (impossible to deal in detail with all negotiations, especially if you are in charge of a company’s procurement department) and by the fact that the discount is a measure of effectiveness in positional negotiation, that is, when we are primarily focused on price.

We fall into the same mistake as consumers when, without any other information at the store, we anchor the purchase decision to the size of the discount: believing, because of this, to make a good deal…

In short, the size of the discount often ends up being more attractive than the price.

How do we get out of this?

With less laziness and more critical thinking, considering that the discount can grow tremendously while keeping the purchase price unchanged.

With the awareness that we risk satisfying the ego, and losing money: but, after all, money is not so important…

Am I wrong?