In an artisanal pottery shop, the craftsman sold a handcrafted vase for Rs. 608 after offering a discount of 20% on its marked price, followed by an additional 5% discount. If he had sold the vase at its full marked price, the profit would have been 25%. What was the original cost price of the vase (in Rs.)?

Let the marked price be M; the selling price after successive discounts of 20% and 5% equals 0.8 times 0.95 times M, which equals 0.76M. Substituting the final selling price gives 0.76M equals 608, so M equals 800. Selling at the full marked price gives a profit of 25%, meaning the cost price is 800 divided by 1.25, which is Rs. 640.

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