A price reduction can feel less generous after the original price stops making sense.

A discount only means something if the number it came down from was real. Once you suspect the higher figure existed to make the lower one look good, the saving stops feeling like a gift and starts feeling like a manoeuvre. What has been damaged is not the price but your sense of being dealt with straightforwardly.

Judge things by what you would pay if no comparison were shown at all. That question cuts through most pricing presentation and usually leaves you with a clearer answer about whether you want the thing.