Mechanicorp’s newest product costs so little to make that it appears doubtful the company will be able to sell it without increasing the markup the company usually allows for profit: potential clients would simply not believe that something so inexpensive would really work. Yet Mechanicorp’s reputation is built on fair prices incorporating only modest profit margins.
The statements above, if true, most strongly support which of the following?

(A) Mechanicorp will encounter difficulties in trying to set a price for its newest product that will promote sales without threatening to compromise the company’s reputation.

(B) Mechanicorp achieves large annual profits, despite small profits per unit sold, by means of a high volume of sales.

(C) Mechanicorp made a significant computational error in calculating the production costs for its newest product.

(D) Mechanicorp’s newest product is intended to perform tasks that can be performed by other devices costing less to manufacture.

(E) Mechanicorp’s production processes are designed with the same ingenuity as are the products that the company makes.









In this problem, I chose E, however the OA is A. How come??? Why should the company face difficulties in adjusting their rates when no customer is going to know about the increase in markup? I think that Mechanicorp can raise its price however much it chooses to as long as the price is still considered low enough to keep its reputation uncompromised. How can it be compromised when the customers still perceive the price to be really fair and low? I chose E because it basically says that Mechanicorp's products are pretty much consistence in the standards that they want to convey. I felt that was a pretty fair statement. what do you think? thanks

yeah, I agree that because of the company's reputation, people generally know about the company's general markup pricing. However, it is doubtful that the market will already know about the markup of the NEWEST product before it's even out there for sale. I'm just confused of where or when do we set the boundaries when it comes to assuming things like this. any insight? The problem I have with this question is that it contradicts my logical understanding, which disrubts my understanding of this problem. thanks

hmmm....i like that comment. That surely solves my problem. thanks! i'm still reviewing some critical reasoning questions that i have in hand. i will be posting some of them in few minutes. stay tuned!