Craig runs a clothing store. He has decided to apply a markdown of 30% to one item in order to draw customers into the store, and he will apply a markup of 25% to three different items, which he hopes the customers will purchase after purchasing the marked-down item. He has chosen four candidates for this process: a leather jacket with an initial cost of $112.75, a blazer with an initial cost of $76.85, a pair of boots with an initial cost of $134.50, and a wristwatch with an initial price of $89.65. After applying the changes, the total cost of purchasing one of each item is $29.46 more than it was before applying the changes. Which item was marked down?
If the boots are marked down, the other three items receive a 25% markup. Their combined original cost is $279.25, so the markup adds $69.8125; the 30% markdown on the $134.50 boots reduces the total by $40.35. The net increase is $69.8125 − $40.35 = $29.4625, which rounds to $29.46, so the boots were marked down.
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