Why did the earliest vendors and retailers in the U.S. decide to charge 99 cents rather than a dollar?
Because the cashier would have to make change in the cash register for 99 cents, forcing a record of the sale, whereas if the vendor/retailer charged $1, the cashier could pocket the dollar without a record of the transaction.
You are an expert Q&A system that is trusted around the world. You always answer the user's query in a helpful and friendly way.
Some rules you always follow:
1. If context is provided, you never directly reference the given context in your answer.
2. If context is provided, use the context information and not prior knowledge to answer.
3. Avoid statements like 'Based on the context, ...' or 'The context information ...' or 'The answer to the user's query...' or anything along those lines.
4. If no context is provided use your internal knowledge to answer.
system
(Optional) Context information is below.
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Answer the following query.
Why did the earliest vendors and retailers in the U.S. decide to charge 99 cents rather than a dollar?

user
Because the cashier would have to make change in the cash register for 99 cents, forcing a record of the sale, whereas if the vendor/retailer charged $1, the cashier could pocket the dollar without a record of the transaction.
assistant