# Buy one, get \*TWO\* sales -- what does it mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 6, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836 "2016-11-06T16:43:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/21 "2016-11-07T16:07:47Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > This indeed makes a lot of sense, but in supermarkets I have found that it’s now much more common to see an offer price quoted as (say) “$1.49 each if you buy 2.” > [@Voyager](#): > > Safeway must be running experiments with this, since for soda there are buy one get one free, buy two get one free, buy two get two free, and buy one get two free sales in great profusion. > [@boffking](#): > > There is a kiosk in my local mall that sells small toys. Every time I walk buy it, they are using a different pricing gimmick. But they always end up being 3 for $10. Sometimes they are $5 each, with a free one if you buy two. Other times, they are $3.33 each. I have also seen them just say “3 for $10”. This is “product news” or “shelf news” in its most straightforward form. That you notice is the entire point. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/22 "2016-11-07T16:15:39Z")
Some stores (like Safeway) will play games with their prices. The labeling makes it look like a good price, but if you read the fine print, you have to purchase so many items to get the sale price. Buy one and pay an exorbitant price. I don’t shop at Safeway because of this price game playing. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/23 "2016-11-07T16:35:44Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > I don’t shop at Safeway because of this price game playing. There are few major grocery stores that don’t use some variation of this game - if they don’t mess with pricing much, then they move stuff around on the shelves and from aisle to aisle frequently. And so forth. I avoided Safeway when it was one of the local options because they pounded you over the head with their “rewards card” when it was still something of a new idea in the area (two other chains didn’t have it yet). They had three-quarters of the products in the store priced ridiculously high, with enormous card discounts. Even buying one item like a bottle of wine made it worth getting their stupid card. IIRC, wine was marked up around 2-1/2 to 3 times average shelf price - your basic $9 Chard was about $20-25 without the helpful card. Same for cereal, most basics, all packaged food. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/24 "2016-11-07T16:59:28Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > It looks to be an end-point way to relieve excess inventory without damaging the brand by discounting the shelf price. > [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Ah. That hadn’t occurred to me, but it makes sense. You get rid of surplus, keep the image that your product is indeed ‘worth’ the usual price, maybe draw in some new buyers who might continue to buy after the sale is over – good combo! There’s also the factor of competition. Say you buy a twelve-pack of cola every week. You don’t care if it’s Coke or Pepsi. You go into the store one week and see they’re a BOGO sale on Coke so you decided to buy two twelve packs. Now you don’t have to buy a twelve-pack next week. In addition to all of the other reasons given why this benefited Coke, there’s the fact that you didn’t buy Pepsi. As long as your consumption of cola stays steady, every can of Coke you buy means one can of Pepsi you don’t buy. The Coca-Cola Company may not benefit directly but it does benefit indirectly as lost sales makes PepsiCo a weaker rival on the soda market. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/25 "2016-11-07T18:39:28Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s also the factor of competition. Very good point. Especially with CoCoCo involved, as they are widely known to think on a winner-take-all “war” footing, with the battles fought in the grocery aisle. It’s very much within their mindset that a deep discount to block competitor sales is a good move. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/26 "2016-11-07T18:45:03Z")
There’s a shoe store chain that has frequent “BOGO” sales; this has been their big selling point for years. But . . . it’s not BOGO. It’s actually BOGOHO – buy one pair of shoes, get a second pair for half price. This pisses me off irrationally. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/27 "2016-11-07T18:51:41Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > There’s a shoe store chain that has frequent “BOGO” sales; this has been their big selling point for years. But . . . it’s not BOGO. It’s actually BOGOHO – buy one pair of shoes, get a second pair for half price. > This pisses me off irrationally. That kind of discount was long more common than straight out BOGO. It wasn’t until some couponing guru turned the phrase into an (irritating) acronym that it became the standard form. Things like “25% off any second pair” or “half off any matching top” were standard-form discounts in clothing and shoes at least as far back as the 1940s. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/28 "2016-11-07T18:59:38Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > It tends to be used for relatively expensive perishable products. I see it most often for Thomas’ English Muffins (at around $4.75; never on direct discount), Entenmann’s pastries ($5-ish, ditto) and Utz potato chips ($4.50, often in other sales rotations). Sometimes one or the other mid-tier ice cream half-gallons. > > It looks to be an end-point way to relieve excess inventory without damaging the brand by discounting the shelf price. Yes – it is the only way I will buy my Freihofer’s chocolate chip cookies anymore. I would feel wasteful ever paying full price for them! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/29 "2016-11-07T21:58:08Z")
I’ve seen the acronym BOGO used where it applied to all items in the store or an entire product line. In cases like that it’s not really a sale and they’re just giving you the price for two items and you pay a penalty if you buy just one. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/30 "2016-11-08T02:10:33Z")
I don’t ‘get’ the people who choose not to take the free item though. Even if you have no use for it, don’t you have family or neighbors or friends you could pass it on to? For that matter, several grocery stores around here always have large cardboard boxes set up near the exits to collect donations for the local food pantries. Take the extra box of cornflakes and drop it in, why not? (Okay, wouldn’t work very well if it’s an ice cream bogo I guess.) ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/31 "2016-11-08T17:51:25Z")
Jos. A Bank is famous for doing this with suits. They used to do suit sales with buy one get [THREE](http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/22/news/jos-a-bank-suit-sale/)free. SNL did a skit on them once that the suits were cheaper than paper towels so they were cleaning the kitchen with them. Their strategy has always been to routinely offer BOGO sales on virtually everything, so if you need two suits it’s a pretty decent value but the sticker prices are inflated so you’re crazy to buy anything that’s not on sale. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/32 "2016-11-08T17:53:25Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > I don’t ‘get’ the people who choose not to take the free item though. If you’re traveling and really only need one of the items. I passed on something that way, once upon a time. Can’t remember what it was. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/33 "2016-11-08T22:13:43Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > I don’t ‘get’ the people who choose not to take the free item though. Taking the extra item might mean you can’t use the “10 items or less [sic]” line. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/34 "2016-11-08T23:13:34Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > There’s a shoe store chain that has frequent “BOGO” sales; this has been their big selling point for years. But . . . it’s not BOGO. It’s actually BOGOHO – buy one pair of shoes, get a second pair for half price. > This pisses me off irrationally. No - a BOGO sale effectively makes both 1/2 price. There are buy one get the second for half price, but I don’t recall seeing this in groceries. Much more common in clothing stores. B2G1 sales are 33% off all product. B1G2 are 66% off. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/35 "2016-11-08T23:20:22Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > This is “product news” or “shelf news” in its most straightforward form. That you notice is the entire point. Products with BOGO are usually on the end cap or piled in the rear aisle. Sometimes product not on sale are also. I don’t buy that this is done always to unload inventory, since soda is not all that perishable and probably is pretty well controlled in terms of purchasing. The soda companies competing on price and trying to move product faster, that I see. My daughter does research in areas like this, and the psychology of why people buy and want incentives work best are non-trivial. I’m sure a company as big as Safeway, say, have some marketing people on staff who work on stuff like this. For instance, is demand just a function of price, or does B2G2 move more product than B1G1, and does advertising 2 for $X sell more than 1 for $X/2? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/36 "2016-11-08T23:21:50Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > No - a BOGO sale effectively makes both 1/2 price. There are buy one get the second for half price, but I don’t recall seeing this in groceries. Much more common in clothing stores. > B2G1 sales are 33% off all product. B1G2 are 66% off. \*\*ioioio \*\*is referring to Payless, who regularly have what they call BOGO sales, but it’s as s/he says – buy one get one half off. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/37 "2016-11-08T23:22:34Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Taking the extra item might mean you can’t use the “10 items or less [sic]” line. Q: What do you call a grammar Nazi who leads the prescriptivist hordes in decrying “10 items or less”? A: The fewer-er. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/38 "2016-11-08T23:24:29Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Q: What do you call a grammar Nazi who leads the prescriptivist hordes in decrying “10 items or less”? > > A: The fewer-er. Gröan ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836/39 "2016-11-09T00:36:19Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > It means they’ve artificially increased the list price so they can make a splashy offer. This is the answer ! I love when there is sale like this on flyer there never is the price of the item! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buy-one-get-two-sales-what-does-it-mean/770836.md?page=1)