The Lady, The Shopkeeper And A Fake Note - Find the Loss

The loss is 1000.

Since he sold 200rupees of goods and got original 200 from other shop keeper so there is no loss.

Next comes he gave 800 away to the lady who deserves.

But when the note is fake, he has to give back 1000. so I think answer is 1000.

Most people believe that the answer is Rs. 1200. If you consider giving out an item worth Rs. 200 results into loss of Rs. 400 [you bought the item for Rs. 200; assuming that the selling price is equal to buying price].

My answer would be Rs. 1000 too.

Am I right here!!

If initially shopkeeper had 2000 in his pocket then after selling the product he would be having 2200 in his pocket ,when other shopkeeper got to know that the 1000 rs note was fake ,first shopkeeper had to return him 1000 ,now all that first shopkeeper got is 1200 rs. so, 2200-12000=1000 rs.

A lot of people have confirmed the answer to be Rs. 1200.
Because the cost of item sold is considered separately.

Ankita KatdareBecause the cost of item sold is considered separately.

I am considering sold Item value also . The table I given is clearly showing this.
I know explaining this orally is difficult that's why I calculated on totally math based.

Mine :1200

@#-Link-Snipped-# - I read your chart and I think it still considers that if the shopkeeper 1 has given the item worth Rs. 200 to the lady, his loss is still Rs. 200. Now if you consider that the buying price = selling price; the shopkeeper 1 himself paid Rs. 200 from his pockets to stock that item in his shop. By not getting Rs. 200 after give it to the lady, his total loss is [ Rs. 200 (value of the item) + Rs. 200 (he paid from his pocket for stocking the item) ] = Rs. 400. In that case, the overall loss of the shopkeeper 1 would be Rs. 1200.

However, like you showed in the chart; if we do not consider the transaction that happened before the lady entered the shop; the total loss is equal to Rs. 1000; as your table points.

SarathKumar ChandrasekaranMine :1200

Write an explanation please 😀

In 1st transaction I am showing that lady gave 0 bucks to shopkeeper1 (As note is fake). and shopkeeper given the goods that is why in 1st transaction-
Lady is +200, shopkeeper1 is with fake note (0 bucks) and -200 (value of goods).
Here, the main confusion is goods, if we replace goods by a 200 bucks note then the whole thing will be clear.

Lady exchanged her fake note: so lady got +1000
Shopkeeper2 is in no loss no profit : +-0
To equalize this shopkeeper1 must go into loss of total : -1000.

Kaustubh KatdareWrite an explanation please 😀

total loss-200(product price)+1000(given to neighbor shopkeeper)=1200.

I agree with those who says that loss is 1000/-

Ankita KatdareA lady buys goods worth Rs. 200 from a shop. (shopkeeper is selling the goods with zero profit).
The lady gives him Rs. 1000 note. The shopkeeper gets the change from the next shop and keeps Rs. 200 for himself and returns Rs. 800 to the lady.

actual intake -- 1000 /- (lady had given fake currency and next shop has given 1000 in change)
Spend -- 1000/- lady (800/ - 200 goods), 1000/ - next shop

Total loss - intake - spend

= 1000/-

-CB

so what is the final answer ?

Unfortunately we don't have a final answer. Those who say the answer is 1000 or 1200, I fear, are making some unknown assumptions.

Correct me if I am wrong.

Ankita KatdareA friend asked me this question, the other day -

A lady buys goods worth Rs. 200 from a shop. (shopkeeper is selling the goods with zero profit).
The lady gives him Rs. 1000 note. The shopkeeper gets the change from the next shop and keeps Rs. 200 for himself and returns Rs. 800 to the lady.
Later the shopkeeper of the next shop comes with the Rs. 1000 note saying "duplicate" and takes his money back.
How much LOSS did the shopkeeper face?

The answers that people came up with were - Rs. 1000, Rs. 2000, Rs. 1800, Rs. 1200 and Rs. 800

If you are going to reply with an answer, please provide a detailed solution.

This question is bit twisted, so that's why some people are confused,
So lets modify the question to make it simple:

• Shopkeeper of next shop gave Rs 1000 and then took back Rs 1000, so we can safely assume that he did nothing.
• Lady gave a fake note which has zero value, so we can assume that lady gave nothing.

So the new question statement becomes:
"A Lady buys goods worth Rs 200 and shopkeeper returns Rs 800"
So clearly the shopkeeper gave Lady 200 (goods) + 800 (cash)
And hence the answer is 1000.
Hope it clears all the doubts 😀

The answer is 1000

Hi Everyone,
I am giving the answers with proper assumptions.
First Answer - 1200
Assumption Made- Shopkeeper returned 200 rs to the other shopkeeper.
Explanation-
200 rs worth goods + 800 rs returned to lady (Real currency taken from another shopkeeper) + 200 rs returned to the first shopkeeper( assumption) = 1200 rs loss.

Second Answer - 1000
Assumption made- Shopkeeper did not return 200 rs to the other shopkeeper.
Explanation -
200 rs worth goods + 800 rs returned to lady (Real currency taken from another shopkeeper) = 1000 rs.

Third Answer - 800
Assumption made- Shopkeeper's goods are insured in case of any theft or fraud 😁 and he did not return the money to the other shopkeeper
Explanation -
800 rs returned to lady (Real currency taken from another shopkeeper)= 800

I hope the above answers with proper assumptions will help.

Loss is Rs 1800.

Lets analyse the transaction from the instance the shopkeeper gets the change from the next shop !!!!!

Rs. 1000/- worth of change (genuine money) he brings and from that .....

Rs. 200/-.. shopkeeper keeps and it is his inflow of cash (A)
Rs. 800/-.. the Lady takes as change and is shopkeeper's outflow of cash (B)

Now comes the next door shop keeper and takes his genuine money back
Here Rs. 1000/- is shopkeeper's again outflow of cash (C)

So the net loss or outflow of cash is (B)+(C) which will be 800+1000 = 1800/-

Cheers
Asad 😀

1800 rs

-for 0 rupees he received from lady the shop keeper paid her 800rs
-he had to pay back the other shop keeper 1000rs
-cost of item is 200rs negates the 200rs he kept for himself

durga1800 rs

-for 0 rupees he received from lady the shop keeper paid her 800rs
-he had to pay back the other shop keeper 1000rs
-cost of item is 200rs negates the 200rs he kept for himself

Very good moderator ..... you are closing in !!!

1) shopkeeper gave the lady 200rs worth product
2) next shopkeeper has to return 1000rs to the second shopkeeper
3)200+1000 = 1200

ans: 1200

P.S the confusing factor here is the change the shopkeeper gave to the lady, the money the shopkeeper return back to the 2nd shopkeeper

Ankita KatdareA lot of people have confirmed the answer to be Rs. 1200.
Because the cost of item sold is considered separately.

The answer is INR 1000 only.

Lady gives 1000 rs fake note. Receives goods rs 1000 (200 product+800 rs cash).

Shopkeeper: Gives 1000 rs fake note to other shop keeper and receives 1000 real cash.

He gives 200 product and 800 rs. Keeps 200 rs with himself.
Then he returns 1000 rs to other shopkeeper.

Lady profits 1000RS, so lose for shopkeeper is 1000RS great👍

IssueThe answer is INR 1000 only.

Lady gives 1000 rs fake note. Receives goods rs 1000 (200 product+800 rs cash).

Shopkeeper: Gives 1000 rs fake note to other shop keeper and receives 1000 real cash.

He gives 200 product and 800 rs. Keeps 200 rs with himself.
Then he returns 1000 rs to other shopkeeper.

The point what you are missing here is you are not considering the 800 outflow to the lady as loss.

Technically the lady gave zero money and took product worth 200 and change worth 800.

INR 200 as you agreed, shop keeper keeps for himself.

The neighbor shopkeeper returns fake note (value of which is zero) and takes genuine 1000 cash

So the net loss is 800 + 1000 = 1800

micheal johnLady profits 1000RS, so lose for shopkeeper is 1000RS great👍

From lady's point of view the loss is 1000
But from shopkeeper's point of view the loss is 1800

micheal john1) shopkeeper gave the lady 200rs worth product
2) next shopkeeper has to return 1000rs to the second shopkeeper
3)200+1000 = 1200

ans: 1200

P.S the confusing factor here is the change the shopkeeper gave to the lady, the money the shopkeeper return back to the 2nd shopkeeper

Think in terms of inflow and outflow of genuine money and fake money
You will get the answer

Genuine cash outflow is 800 as change and 1000 returned to neighbor shopkeeper
200 in his pocket negates the value of goods

So total loss for him will be 1800

Anoop Kumar
Am I right here!!

When the shopkeeper gets change from the neighbor shopkeeper worth 1000 he gives 800 to lady (genuine change) and 200 he pockets. This 200 what he pockets is missing in your table.

So when neighbor shopkeeper returns fake note and takes real note that means the shopkeeper is facing a fresh loss of 1000 (genuine money)

So 800 change and 1000 fresh loss = 1800 loss

asadhlcThe point what you are missing here is you are not considering the 800 outflow to the lady as loss.

Technically the lady gave zero money and took product worth 200 and change worth 800.

INR 200 as you agreed, shop keeper keeps for himself.

The neighbor shopkeeper returns fake note (value of which is zero) and takes genuine 1000 cash

So the net loss is 800 + 1000 = 1800

The shopkeeper 1 took 1000 rs (+1000)from shopkeeper 2 and returned it after sometime(-1000). Hence the transaction between them should not be considered.

My answer would be 1000.

The duplicate money is Rs.1000. Getting the duplicate one, the shopkeeper has given a Rs.200 worth product and a change of Rs.800. The money got from the next shopkeeper has been returned. So, it need not to be considered. Now, the total loss would be Rs.200+Rs.800=Rs.1000.

All mixed answers. No one knows the correct solution it seems.

Ankita KatdareAll mixed answers. No one knows the correct solution it seems.

what is the right answer😕

The lady went away with a total of Rs.1000. The shopkeeper gave back RS.1000 for the bad note. Net loss to shopkeeper is Rs.1800 cash and Rs.200 goods.

Ankita KatdareAll mixed answers. No one knows the correct solution it seems.

Many people have come up with correct answer - you need to be able to see it logically.

Ans = 1000. Two ways to solve it - A and B.

A. Keeping the two transactions separate makes for easy solution -

• With lady, inflow is fake note, outflow is goods worth 200 n 800 cash, so net outflow is 1000, hence loss is 1000.
• With the other keeper, two deals happen -
  • first inflow is real 1000, outflow fake note.
  • second inflow is fake note, outflow real 1000.
  • therefore, net transaction is 0. so no profit, no loss there.

Hence, you see the only loss happened with the lady, which amounts to 1000.

B. If u insist on taking transactions as it happened then here it goes -

1. inflow from lady, fake note.
2. Went to other keeper, inflow is real 1000, outflow fake note.
3. Came back to shop, gave lady goods worth 200 n real 800. So outflow in cash value so far is 1000 n inflow is 200 which is still left.
4. Other keeper comes back, inflow is fake note, outflow real 1000. To give this 1000, first keeper uses 200 that was left (from above point) n HAS TO ADD 800 OF HIS OWN MONEY. so net outflow is 800.

As you can see, in the entire transactions, the first keeper NEVER USES HIS OWN MONEY UNTIL he has to give back 1000 to other keeper, that is when HE GIVES 800 OF HIS OWN MONEY n 200 which was left with him.

So, the first keeper's loss is goods worth 200 plus 800 given to other keeper, total of 1000. Remember that the 800 given to the lady was not his own money, it was the other keepers money! (IN THIS TRANSACTION CASE).

Therefore, net loss is 1000.

Hope I could get my points across. Think it over, even play act it if u want to 😀

the total loss to the shop keeper is Rs 1800/-

1. 800/- returned to the lady.
2. 1000/- returned to the second shopkeeper against fake note.

People are getting confused, 😴
I recommend to re-create this situation live with your friend and see what it actual loss.

TIP: Shopkeeper 1 only took out 800/- from his money-box☕

I think I've posted the simplest possible explanation of the problem.

Anoop Kumar, your mathematical explanation is excellent and I guess all of us should be comfortable with that 😀

What people fail to take into account is the 1000 Rs. inflow that first keeper gets while his outflow is 800 to lady n 1000 to keeper.

Net inflow = 1000.
Net outflow = 1800.
Cash loss = 800. (A)
Goods worth = 200. (B)
Total loss = A+B = 1000.

Kaustubh, you spoke about goods actual loss being 400 regarding goods; that is called as opportunity loss, the keeper losing the chance to sell the good to somebody else. BUT in this case, sale price is same as cost price so there is no opportunity loss. Anyway I know, you agree with 1000 😀

People commit two possible logical fallacies:
- Money has intrinsic value (it must represent the value of goods)
- Money is ONLY a medium of exchange
Play the same scenario with stones representing fake currency and gold coins representing actual currency. Then see what the second shopkeeper loses at the end of the day.

IssueThe answer is INR 1000 only.
Lady gives 1000 rs fake note. Receives goods rs 1000 (200 product+800 rs cash).
Shopkeeper: Gives 1000 rs fake note to other shop keeper and receives 1000 real cash. He gives 200 product and 800 rs. Keeps 200 rs with himself.
Then he returns 1000 rs to other shopkeeper.

You are right. Poor thinking on my part. Net result is that the first shop keeper got a bad note and gave away Rs.200 in goods and Rs.800 in cash. The rest is irrelevant.

I think ans is 1000 rs. The transaction between the two shopkeepers can be neglected. (because the shopkeeper gave a fake and taken the real cash and the same is performed in opposite way.So they are cancelled ).
So he lost 200 rs of goods and 800 rs cash making a total of 1000 rs.

ans; 1800
because, lady gave fake note that means she gave nothing

shopkeeper (1); took 1000 from shopkeeper (2). by giving fake note (zero)

shopkeeper (1) gave product worth 200 + 800 change (for fake 1000 note). so now in his hand 200

lady got 200+800=1000 (for a fake note)

later shopkeeper(2) came and asked 1000 back.

then shopkeeper (1) gave 200 (in his hand ) + 800 from his own money.

so that finally got loss 1800 ( 200 product + 800 change to lady + 800 to shopkeeper (2) from his own money)

as shopkeeper (1) gave 1000 but 200 in his hand is product fair .

and finally it correct answer (no doubt at all )

ur"s> MSN KRISHNA

the shopkeeper lost Rs 2000.
200 of the goods he sold
1000 he will have to return to the next shopkeeper
and 800 which he returned to the lady
that is how the total comes to Rs 2000

The answer to this is 1800 as he lost 1000rs because the note was fake and so 800rs paid to the woman. He had 200rs with him after giving the goods...

The shopkeeper lost 2000 rupees.......This can be cleared by three points....Firstly there is no need of thinking abt the secnd shopkeeper who gave change and took back his money from the main shopkeeper.... Now cmng to the points
Point 1: The goods that were given to the lady worth 200 ....
Point 2: The remaining amount given to the lady(assuming the fake note to be real one) ie., 800rs.and
Point 3: The fake note which remained with the shopkeeper....He cant add it to his account....
So 200+800+1000 makes a total of 2000rs loss to him......

Loss is Rs 1800
Loss on sale of goods as the note was duplicate =Rs 200
After getting real 1000 change from other shopkeeper, he returns Rs 800 to the lady.
which is loss of Rs 800 but he has real Rs 200 by the time he gets to know the note is duplicate.
Thus profit of Rs 200 but as soon as he gets to knw from the other shopkeeper he has to pay him Rs 1000
Thus total loss
= 200+800-200(Real money that he was left with)+1000
Thus,Total Loss = Rs.1800

@#-Link-Snipped-# , @#-Link-Snipped-# , @#-Link-Snipped-# , @#-Link-Snipped-# , @#-Link-Snipped-#
Did you guys tried solving this problem in real scenario using actual objects (let say real money). Do try it.

@#-Link-Snipped-# , @#-Link-Snipped-# , @#-Link-Snipped-# , @#-Link-Snipped-# , @#-Link-Snipped-#

A lot of people are making the mistake of not considering REAL 1000 that the first keeper got from the second keeper. He only uses 800 OF HIS OWN MONEY, so cash loss is only 800 n 200 loss of goods, so total is 1000.

Another way of looking at this is to consider inflow n outflow of each of the person involved in the case -

• total inflow is fake note from lady, real 1000 from other keeper.
• total outflow is goods worth 200 plus 800 cash to lady, 1000 cash to other keeper.
• Loss is inflow - outflow i.e. 1000 - (200+800+1000) = 1000.

As Anoop Kumar says, play act the events out. For instance, if I give you real 1000 in exchange of fake note n later return fake note and take back real 1000, do you make any loss??

My answer is 2000rs.

1.Shopkeeper lost 1000rs because of fake note.
2.He lost 200rs because of flow of goods.
3.He lost another 800rs.(by giving a change of 800 for fake 1000).

So I think he lost 2000rs in total.

I agree with loss to be Rs.1000

But another way would be-

shopkeeper gave Rs.800 to lady, she leaves.
Then the other shopkeeper comes(from whom change was borrowed) gives fake Rs.1000 note and his money back.
So, 1st shopkeeper gave Rs.800 to lady and Rs.1000 to other shopkeeper so loss is Rs.1800..!?