A dishonest dealer claims to sell his goods at the cost price but uses a…
2026
A dishonest dealer claims to sell his goods at the cost price but uses a weight of 800 g instead of 1 kg. What is his gain percentage?
Answer: D. 25% — ConceptGain percentage is always measured against what the seller actually gives up, that is his own cost, and never against what the buyer hands over. A…
- A.
22%
- B.
20%
- C.
11%
- D.
25%
Attempted by 79 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
Gain percentage is always measured against what the seller actually gives up, that is his own cost, and never against what the buyer hands over. A trader who quotes cost price while under-weighing still profits, because his receipt matches the weight he claims while his outlay matches the weight he really delivers.
For an under-weighing trader this becomes Gain% = True weight − False weight/False weight x 100, where the true weight is the weight billed and the false weight is the weight actually delivered.
Applying it here
Price the goods at 1 rupee per gram, so 1 kg of goods is worth 1000 rupees.
The buyer asks for 1 kg and, since the dealer quotes cost price, pays 1000 rupees.
The pan actually holds only 800 g, so the goods that leave the shop cost the dealer 800 rupees.
Profit = 1000 - 800 = 200 rupees.
Gain% = 200/800 x 100 = 25%.
Cross-check
The shortcut formula gives the same number: 1000 − 800/800 x 100 = 25%.
Read as a ratio, 800 g of goods is billed as 1000 g, that is 100 : 125, so the buyer pays a quarter more than the goods cost the dealer, which is a gain of 25%.
A frequent slip is to divide the 200 g shortfall by the 1000 g the buyer pays for, which gives 20%; that measures the gain against the sale weight instead of against the dealer's own cost.