“That's way cheaper than it used to be — what a deal.”
What's happening
The first number you see becomes the reference point your brain measures everything else against, even when that number was arbitrary, inflated, or set by someone else with their own interest in mind.
A financial example
A couch is listed at $2,200, then marked down to $1,400. $1,400 feels like a win — but the real question is whether $1,400 is what the couch is actually worth, not whether it's less than $2,200.
A better question
What would this cost me if I'd never seen the original price at all?