Question

Adam wants to buy a new basketball, which costs $30 at a local store. When he goes to buy it, he notices a price increase to $40, but there is a special offer that brings it back down to $30. Despite the price being the same as before, Adam hesitates to buy it.

How did anchoring affect Adam's financial outcome?

Anchoring to the original price of $30 made the increased price seem like a loss.
Anchoring made him question the true value of the basketball based on fluctuating prices.
Anchoring to the pre-sale price led him to believe the post-sale price was not a good deal.
Anchoring made him perceive the discount as less beneficial, despite matching the initial price.

Answer 1

Anchoring to the original $30 caused him to treat the $40 price as a loss and the “discount” back to $30 as not a real bargain. So statements 1, 3 and 4 are accurate. Statement 2 is plausible (fluctuating prices can increase skepticism) but isn’t a direct description of anchoring itself.

Net financial effect: by anchoring to $30 he perceived no benefit from the sale and hesitated — meaning he gained no monetary advantage from waiting (and possibly incurred an opportunity cost if he wanted the ball and ended up not buying it or paying more later).