Brain Teaser

stooken · 02-01-2008, 01:25 AM

A customer buys a widget from a vendor for $3. The cusomter gives a $10 bill. The vendor does not usually deal with cash, so he goes to the business next door to get change. The vendor then gives the customer the widget and $7 in change. After the customer leaves, the business next door determines that the $10 bill is counterfeit. Embarassed, the vendor gives the neighboring business a genuine $10 bill from his wallet. How much has the vendor lost in the transaction?

ChineseGuy · 02-01-2008, 01:37 AM

20 bucks?

BMWE90 · 02-01-2008, 01:51 AM

He lost $3 (or the cost of the widget).

rbehniwal · 02-01-2008, 02:03 AM

lost $10 total ($7 cash and $3 from the widget)

Ray · 02-01-2008, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWE90

He lost $3 (or the cost of the widget).

I'm not so sure about my answer anymore

ZuerstBMW · 02-01-2008, 03:24 AM

He lost 20.00 total. 7.00 cash he gave the customer back, 10.00 he gave the other vendor and 3.00 ( price of the widget)

shiggy · 02-01-2008, 03:24 AM

$20

txusa03 · 02-01-2008, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChineseGuy

20 bucks?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZuerstBMW

He lost 20.00 total. 7.00 cash he gave the customer back, 10.00 he gave the other vendor and 3.00 ( price of the widget)

Quote:

Originally Posted by shiggy

$20

Taittinger · 02-01-2008, 08:40 AM

$17 - Assuming the change he received from the other person is genuine.

Taittinger · 02-01-2008, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZuerstBMW

He lost 20.00 total. 7.00 cash he gave the customer back, 10.00 he gave the other vendor and 3.00 ( price of the widget)

He received the 3.00 for the widget since the other vendor supplied the money for it.

truong321 · 02-01-2008, 09:04 AM

fi dolla

no jk $20

Hawkeye · 02-01-2008, 09:54 AM

Haha, $10

He traded the fake 10 for a real 10 and then gave 7 of it and a widget to the customer. At this point he has not lost any money.

He then has to give the vendor $10 because the other 10 was fake. Therefore he lost $10.

If this would have made him lose more than 10 he wouldn't have made the transaction in the first place.

We got some smart people over here in these bimmer forums!

stooken · 02-01-2008, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbehniwal

lost $10 total ($7 cash and $3 from the widget)

closest answer.

$7 + the COST of the widget. $3 is what he's selling the widget for.

for those wondering, the vendor profited $3 from the sale of the widget. he went to the neighboring business and got exchanged a $10 bill for $10 in change. so the vendor kept $3 and gave the $7 back to the customer.

then he gave $10 to the neighboring business for that fake $10.

so $3-$10 = ($7)

txusa03 · 02-01-2008, 03:42 PM

this is crazy. I like to correct myself and say he lost $10 or $13.

Buyer scam him of $3, he lost a widget (meaning his inventory has decreased by $3), and he gave buyer $7.

Remember all this started out with a fake $10 so every transaction from the seller is a deduction from his overall total.

$10 or $13 is my final answer. I think I used up all of my lifeline

BMWE90 · 02-01-2008, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stooken

closest answer.

$7 + the COST of the widget. $3 is what he's selling the widget for.

for those wondering, the vendor profited $3 from the sale of the widget. he went to the neighboring business and got exchanged a $10 bill for $10 in change. so the vendor kept $3 and gave the $7 back to the customer.

then he gave $10 to the neighboring business for that fake $10.

so $3-$10 = ($7)

Dude I thought about this right before I went to bed last night. But then my computer was already off so...

My reasoning was this: he went to get change so that was $10=10. He gave the guy back 7 and kept 3 for the widget. And then he gave the guy 10 because the other one was fake. But he made some profit on that widget so it wasnt the whole $10. So then I figured it was 7 + cost of widget. But yeah, it was too late.

Hawkeye · 02-01-2008, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stooken

closest answer.

$7 + the COST of the widget. $3 is what he's selling the widget for.

for those wondering, the vendor profited $3 from the sale of the widget. he went to the neighboring business and got exchanged a $10 bill for $10 in change. so the vendor kept $3 and gave the $7 back to the customer.

then he gave $10 to the neighboring business for that fake $10, or put another way $7 and a widget.

so $3-$10 = ($7)

This is wrong actually. The price of a widget is $3 for a reason, it is most likely the minimum price that he would accept to cover his losses for the purchase of the widget and the time and effort he spent trying to sell that one widget. He does not make a straight $3 profit from selling a widget or even $3 - cost of the widget for that matter.

The correct answer is he lost $10.

pacman · 02-01-2008, 04:21 PM

7 dollars + cost price of the widget.

gadget · 02-01-2008, 04:45 PM

he exchanged fake $10 for 10 singles, he kept $3 and gave the $7 as change. So now remove these elements form the eqution. The $7 in change are gone, so is the widget but he still has the real $3 to cover for the widget so it a valid sale bought with real money. At this point the transaction is complete using real money. The seller got real money for the widget and gave real change.

However, when the seller is appraoched be the other store, he gives them $10 new dollars from his wallet. This is his only loss

Answer is 10 bucks, I'll send $20 to the first person to prove me wrong

Hawkeye · 02-01-2008, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadget

he exchanged fake $10 for 10 singles, he kept $3 and gave the $7 as change. So now remove these elements form the eqution. The $7 in change are gone, so is the widget but he still has the real $3 to cover for the widget so it a valid sale bought with real money. At this point the transaction is complete using real money. The seller got real money for the widget and gave real change.

However, when the seller is appraoched be the other store, he gives them $10 new dollars from his wallet. This is his only loss

Answer is 10 bucks, I'll send $20 to the first person to prove me wrong

Some would say he made money on the sale of the widget so it counteracts the $10 he ACTUALLY LOST.

But then again, some people are just dumb.

FirstClass · 02-01-2008, 05:54 PM

Wait.

FirstClass · 02-01-2008, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stooken

closest answer.

$7 + the COST of the widget. $3 is what he's selling the widget for.

for those wondering, the vendor profited $3 from the sale of the widget. he went to the neighboring business and got exchanged a $10 bill for $10 in change. so the vendor kept $3 and gave the $7 back to the customer.

then he gave $10 to the neighboring business for that fake $10.

so $3-$10 = ($7)

This does not make sense. He did not profit on the sale of the widget $3, it's not free. He lost a widget, $10 from his wallet and $7 he gave back to the customer. He retained $3 from the change of the fake bill. $7 cannot be the answer the way you explained it, but I'm open to a better worded response.

BMWE90 · 02-01-2008, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FirstClass

... I'm open to a better worded response.

I'll give it a shot here.

So he the change that he got was for the fake $10 bill. So instead, he took a real $10 bill from his wallet and gave it to the neighbor. So in essence he's exchanging that fake $10 bill with the real $10 bill. So really he's only lost $10 (the real one). The $7 change that he gave was from the $10 which he swapped. So again, just $10 there. Then we come to the widget which has a retail price of $3 which means that there was some profit in there. Thus he didnt lose the whole $10 because he made some profit from the widget. So it makes sense that the answer is $7 + cost of widget.

02-01-2008, 01:25 AM	#1
stooken Brigadier General 186 Rep 4,243 Posts Drives: E70 X5 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: NOR*CAL iTrader: (2)	Brain Teaser A customer buys a widget from a vendor for $3. The cusomter gives a $10 bill. The vendor does not usually deal with cash, so he goes to the business next door to get change. The vendor then gives the customer the widget and $7 in change. After the customer leaves, the business next door determines that the $10 bill is counterfeit. Embarassed, the vendor gives the neighboring business a genuine $10 bill from his wallet. How much has the vendor lost in the transaction? __________________ 2010 E92 BSM 335i \| M-Sport \| ST Coils \| Linea Corse Lemans \| Cobb AP \| BMS DCI \| Cyba Tips
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

02-01-2008, 01:37 AM	#2
ChineseGuy QuickShifter 144 Rep 1,499 Posts Drives: Black E90 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: North Pole iTrader: (2)	20 bucks?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-01-2008, 01:51 AM	#3
BMWE90 Major 91 Rep 1,153 Posts Drives: E90 335 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (1)	He lost $3 (or the cost of the widget).
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-01-2008, 02:03 AM	#4
rbehniwal Private 3 Rep 83 Posts Drives: 2018 M4 ZCP, 2015 x5 50i Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Wenatchee, WA iTrader: (1) Garage List [0.00]	lost $10 total ($7 cash and $3 from the widget)
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-01-2008, 03:24 AM	#6
ZuerstBMW ¡Viva España! 392 Rep 7,803 Posts Drives: 24 G20 330i Skyscraper Gray Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tampa, FL. iTrader: (68)	He lost 20.00 total. 7.00 cash he gave the customer back, 10.00 he gave the other vendor and 3.00 ( price of the widget) __________________ 24 G20 330i Skyscraper Gray Metallic Black, Open Pore Fine Wood Oak Grain Interior Trim MODS Clear Guard, 15% Ceramic Tint, Floating Caps
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-01-2008, 03:24 AM	#7
shiggy Major 66 Rep 1,305 Posts Drives: BMW 2009 M3 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: vancouver iTrader: (2)	$20 __________________ 2009 Jet Black E92 M3, DCT, Nav, Novillo Leather, PDC, EDC, BBS CHR's 20", Yokohama Advan Sports Tires, Eiback Pro-Kit Springs, Dinan Pullies and Dinan Stage1 software, black grills, black side gills, alcantara shift and ebrake boot.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-01-2008, 08:40 AM	#9
Taittinger Major 57 Rep 1,019 Posts Drives: Monaco Blue E92 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NJ iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 335i Cpe [0.00]	$17 - Assuming the change he received from the other person is genuine. __________________ '07 Monaco Blue 335i ordered 9/4 built 9/21 shipped 9/28 arrived 10/12 at dealership 10/18 vroom 10/19 christened 11/3...
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-01-2008, 09:04 AM	#11
truong321 Second Lieutenant 54 Rep 271 Posts Drives: bmw Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: CA iTrader: (0)	fi dolla no jk $20 __________________
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-01-2008, 09:54 AM	#12
Hawkeye Brigadier General 2065 Rep 4,365 Posts Drives: '07 Z4 Coupe, '21 X3, '16 GMC Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Iowa iTrader: (0) Garage List 2016 GMC Sierra SLT [10.00] 2008 Yamaha R6 [9.00]	Haha, $10 He traded the fake 10 for a real 10 and then gave 7 of it and a widget to the customer. At this point he has not lost any money. He then has to give the vendor $10 because the other 10 was fake. Therefore he lost $10. If this would have made him lose more than 10 he wouldn't have made the transaction in the first place. We got some smart people over here in these bimmer forums! __________________ 2007 Z4 3.0si Coupe • 6 MT • Black Saphire Metallic • PP • SP 2016 GMC Sierra SLT Z71 Premium Plus 4x4 2017 Harley StreetGlide • Denim Black • V&H Tune 2021 BMW x30i • Phytonic Blue Metallic • Fully loaded
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-01-2008, 03:42 PM	#14
txusa03 Major General 577 Rep 6,563 Posts Drives: TS330iPPSP6MT Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Planet Earth iTrader: (3)	this is crazy. I like to correct myself and say he lost $10 or $13. Buyer scam him of $3, he lost a widget (meaning his inventory has decreased by $3), and he gave buyer $7. Remember all this started out with a fake $10 so every transaction from the seller is a deduction from his overall total. $10 or $13 is my final answer. I think I used up all of my lifeline __________________ under construction! Last edited by txusa03; 02-01-2008 at 04:00 PM..
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-01-2008, 04:21 PM	#17
pacman Lieutenant Colonel 40 Rep 1,913 Posts Drives: 325i Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bay Area,CA iTrader: (4)	7 dollars + cost price of the widget. __________________
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-01-2008, 04:45 PM	#18
gadget Major 112 Rep 1,159 Posts Drives: 09 e92///M SSII DCT Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: US iTrader: (0)	he exchanged fake $10 for 10 singles, he kept $3 and gave the $7 as change. So now remove these elements form the eqution. The $7 in change are gone, so is the widget but he still has the real $3 to cover for the widget so it a valid sale bought with real money. At this point the transaction is complete using real money. The seller got real money for the widget and gave real change. However, when the seller is appraoched be the other store, he gives them $10 new dollars from his wallet. This is his only loss Answer is 10 bucks, I'll send $20 to the first person to prove me wrong
	Appreciate 0 Quote