With a list price $8,500 and trade discounts of 20/30/40, what is the single equivalent discount?

To find the single equivalent discount, we need to combine the given trade discounts of 20%, 30%, and 40% into a single percentage discount.

Step 1: Calculate the discount for each trade discount level.
- The first trade discount of 20% is calculated as 20% of the list price: 20% * $8,500 = $1,700.
- The second trade discount of 30% is calculated as 30% of the remaining price after the first discount: 30% * ($8,500 - $1,700) = $1,710.
- The third trade discount of 40% is calculated as 40% of the remaining price after the second discount: 40% * ($8,500 - $1,700 - $1,710) = $1,736.

Step 2: Calculate the total discount.
Add up the discounts from each level: $1,700 + $1,710 + $1,736 = $5,146.

Step 3: Calculate the single equivalent discount.
Divide the total discount by the original list price: $5,146 / $8,500 ≈ 0.6056.

Step 4: Convert the decimal to a percentage.
Multiply the result by 100 to get the percentage: 0.6056 * 100 ≈ 60.56%.

Therefore, the single equivalent discount for the given trade discounts is approximately 60.56%.