Hi All,
We're told that a seller sold two shoes at the SAME selling price; the percentage profit on one of the shoes was 30% and the percentage loss on the other shoe was 30%. We're asked for the overall percentage profit or loss made by the seller. This question can be solved by TESTing VALUES - and the answer choices are sufficiently 'spread out' that we don't have to worry about trying to find the 'perfect' numbers to TEST: the number 100 will be fine.
To start, we have to create two equations to figure out the individual profit and loss described (we can set the selling price for each shoe at $100):
The shoe that was sold for a 30% profit:
X + .3X = $100
1.3X = $100
X = 100/1.3 = 1000/13 = about $77 --> this is a PROFIT of $100 - $77 = $23
The shoe that was sold for a 30% loss:
Y - .3Y = $100
.7Y = $100
Y = 100/.7 = 1000/7 = about $143 --> this is a LOSS of $143 - $100 = $43
Thus, the 'net' of the two sales is $23 - $43 = - $20 --> a LOSS of about $20
Since the total sale price of the two shoes is $100 + $100 = $200, we know that $20 is 10%, so the LOSS was about a 10% loss. There's only one answer that makes sense...
Final Answer:
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich