Question

Instead of a metre scale, a cloth merchant uses a 120 cm scale while buying, but uses an 80 cm scale while selling the same cloth. If he offers a discount of 20% on cash payment, what is his overall profit percentage?

• A. 20%
• B. 25%
• C. 40%
• D. 15%

Hint:

Account for both dishonest length changes and discount adjustments when calculating profit.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Buying: Pays for 100 cm but gets 120 cm → cost per m = $\frac{100}{120}$.
Selling: Charges for 100 cm but gives 80 cm → price per m = $\frac{100}{80}$.
Without discount: Gain factor = $\frac{100}{80} \times \frac{120}{100} = 1.5$ → 50% profit.
With 20% discount on SP: Effective SP = $0.8 \times 1.5 = 1.2$ → 20% over CP. Actual profit ≈ 40%.