Stores use all kinds of marketing tricks to separate you from your money, and you probably know about some of them . . . like how they put things on the ends of the aisles, even when the sale's not that good.

 

--But here are three more marketing tricks you might NOT know about.

 

#1.)  Bigger Shopping Carts.  When you're dieting, you're not supposed to use big plates, because it subconsciously makes you eat more.  And apparently that rule applies with shopping carts too.

 

--The bigger your cart is, the more food you buy.  One study found that when they doubled the size of shopping carts, people bought about 40% more.  And in the last two years, even the carts at Whole Foods have almost doubled in size.

 

#2.)  They Lower Prices on Popular Products, Then Raise Prices on Other Things.  For example, they might have a really good price on eggs . . . which everyone buys . . . but they make up for it by marking up everything ELSE.

 

--They get away with it because when you see a good price on something like milk or laundry detergent, you naturally assume they have low prices on EVERYTHING.

 

#3.)  They Put You in the Mood to Shop.  A lot of stores stack high-priced items near the front.  But it's not just because they want you to buy them.

 

--They know that even if you DON'T buy them, seeing high-end stuff when you first walk in makes you more likely to buy OTHER things.  (Yahoo)