Hello there! A markup represents how much higher something is than the original cost. A markdown represents how much less something is from the original cost. The thing is that with the amount of markup, you add that amount into the original price, and with a markdown, though the cost goes down, you still have to pay the percentage of the original price. So for example, if there are a pair of jeans that are marked down 20%, you get that 20% off, but you still have to pay 80% of the original price.