Why 'Buy One, Get One Free' isn't a great deal
This is a coupon for Burger King's Croissan'wich, and it's promoting a buy one, get one deal. Buy
one breakfast sandwich at full price, get a second. But one customer found that something was
off about the deal: she was charged two different prices for the sandwich. When she ordered a
single sandwich, the price was $2.16. But when she ordered two sandwiches and used the
BOGO coupon, the price of each sandwich was $3,19-more than a dollar more. This went on for
years before Burger King was sued for overcharging customers. BOGO is so appealing that it's
hard for consumers to see it for what it is. Buy one, get one. It's a thinly veiled attempt to
convince a customer to buy more than one item at a time. For a thrifty shopper, BOGO can
sound like the best way to get more their buck, but often it's simply not as good a deal as it
appears. Consumers perceive the quality of a bargain based on the price they pay compared to
the original list price.
Take this food processor on Amazon, for example. The price on sale is $35, an amazing 52% off
the $75 list price. The problem is that Cuisinart doesn't_list_ the item for Amazon's regular price,
and based on an analysis of tracked prices over time, Amazon has never sold it for more than
$40 in the past 10 years. The cheating that goes on is rampant. Retailers are often guilty of the
regular price raising it especially in conjunction with BOGO offers. Several companies have been
caught doing this. For instance, Visionworks was accused of inflating the price of the first pair
of glasses to partly_cover_ the cost of the second, supposedly free, pair-making it not actually
free.
It can be hard for consumers to tell whether BOGO is fair or deceptive, and often their judgment
is clouded by one four-letter word: free. Free is a tremendous motivational trigger, and people
like the opportunity to get a deal by buying more than one item. Very often, consumers don't do
the the math. Buying more than one item means consumers spend more money than they
intended-not less. For example, say you want to buy a sweater that's normally $80. Sweater A is
listed at a 20% discount. Sweater B is listed at full price but comes with a buy one, get one free
deal. While the second option gets you two sweaters, you've just focus more in total than if you
had gone with the 20% discount.
Let's say those sweaters are on a buy one, get one 50% off deal. Option one: you buy one
sweater for $80. Option two: the first sweater is $80, and the second is half off. Translated into
a straight discount, the total saved from the BOGO deal would be the same as a 25% off deal,
but the amount of money you spend the store has increased because you bought two items.
Some BOGO deals only apply to items of lesser value. For example, if you buy that same
sweater and a $10 pair of socks, you still spend $80 for your total purchase. But if you get a
sweater and a $150 coat, the sweater would be _considered _ as the free item, and you'd still be
shelling out $150.
For most deals, you're better off _waiting _ the one item you actually wanted to go on sale rather
than purchasing it through a BOGO deal. Customers well, maybe they don't understand it, but
they go for it nonetheless, BOGO disguises the fact that, unless you already intended to buy two
items, it really isn't all that big of a discount. So BOGO deals can be fantastic if you're a shopper
looking to buy in bulk and stretch your dollar. But for most of us, free isn't always the best
option. Just do the math. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.ou'd still be shelling out
$150.
For most deals, you're better off waiting for the one item you actually wanted to go on sale
rather
than purchasing it through a BOGO deal. Customers well, maybe they don't fall for it, bu for it
nonetheless. BOGO disguises the fact that, unless you already intended to buy two items, it
really isn't all that big of a discount. So BOGO deals can be fantastic if you're a shopper looking
to buy in bulk and stretch your dollar. But for most of us, free isn't always the best option. Just
do the math. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.