# Do I Really Need to Buy One to Get One Free? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115 "2010-10-23T18:27:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ClevelandProud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@ClevelandProud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ClevelandProud)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115/41 "2010-10-25T15:48:13Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle, with stores here in northeast Ohio, will sell you almost all items at half price. A very few items will carry the disclaimer “Must buy two.” These usually are larger-ticket things. Oui, mon ami … Giant Eagle is a large grocery store chain that has stores in northeastern OH. When an item goes on sale B1G1F (Buy 1 Get 1 Free), each item will scan at the checkout for half the selling price. Dr Pepper, 2 liter bottles, B1G1F, $1.50. At the checkout, each one will scan at 75¢ and not $1.50 for the first and $0.00 for the second. You can decide to purchase just one, for 75¢. That is just how Giant Eagle handles their B1G1F sales. To the shopper’s advantage, on a B1G1F sale item at Giant Eagle, they can use two coupons that are doubled, up to and including 99¢. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115/42 "2010-10-25T16:15:17Z")
> [@heavyarms553](#): > > So, a common supermarket sales pitch is the classic “buy one get one free” deal. Is it really necessary to purchase two items in order to get the discount? Or can you just buy one for 50% off? And if you can or can’t, then is it the same way for every supermarket or are they all different? > > Would especially appreciate input from people in the supermarket or bulk retail sector. At the supermarket I usually go to, if you use their affinity card, you get the benefit of the discount regardless of how many you buy. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115/43 "2010-10-25T16:51:53Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, I don’t understand that logic. I’m a small businessman. I may charge $x for one product, but if you buy two or more of them, I’ll give you a discount on the additional ones. Or I may advertise one widget for $250, two for $400 in an effort to sell two. What the heck is wrong with this approach? Sometimes, customers will come to me with the same type of deal. It seems to be normal business, and I’m surprised at how many people take umbrage to it. But you agree that it would be weird to advertise “1 widget for $250 or 2 for $250!”, right? Running that type of sale might get more people in the store, but considering that transaction by itself it does nothing to increase revenue. Not that I take umbrage. As long as they are clear about it, I would see no reason to take my business elsewhere, unless better deals are had elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115/44 "2010-10-25T17:05:01Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Offering you a discount is pulling crap? > > You prefer places which charge you full price for two, instead of those who charge you less for two? > > Glad I’m not in charge of your housekeeping budget! 😃 > [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, I don’t understand that logic. I’m a small businessman. I may charge $x for one product, but if you buy two or more of them, I’ll give you a discount on the additional ones. Or I may advertise one widget for $250, two for $400 in an effort to sell two. What the heck is wrong with this approach? Sometimes, customers will come to me with the same type of deal. It seems to be normal business, and I’m surprised at how many people take umbrage to it. There’s a store here that used to list (for example) 2 for $2. It did not list a price for 1 item. I assumed this means buying 1 item would cost me $1. The store charged me more than $1 when I purchased 1 item. (Like $1.49 or something… don’t recall exact amount). Anyway, I thought that was baloney. The entire store was marked with prices like this. I don’t like guessing at prices and sometimes I don’t need or want to buy more items just because the sign lists it that way. It’s confusing and tiresome so I stopped shopping there. What’s it to you? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115/45 "2010-10-25T17:05:42Z")
> [@Baracus](#): > > But you agree that it would be weird to advertise “1 widget for $250 or 2 for $250!”, right? Running that type of sale might get more people in the store, but considering that transaction by itself it does nothing to increase revenue. > > Not that I take umbrage. As long as they are clear about it, I would see no reason to take my business elsewhere, unless better deals are had elsewhere. I was specifically addressing the x fo $y practice. In the case of BOGOF, I’ve always read it as literally, buy one item, get the next one free. But, you’re right, I can’t see any reason why this shouldn’t be a generic 50% off sale in most cases. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115/46 "2010-10-25T17:08:41Z")
In my experience, “buy one get one free” always means you have to buy at least one at full price, but “X for $Y” usually means that a single one is $Y/X (unless there’s some other price listed for a single item, which there usually isn’t). Lately, Albertson’s has started putting fine print on their labels like “10 for $10 [sub]buy one for $1[/sub]”. I don’t know if this is for legal reasons, or they just wanted to cut down on the number of customers asking about it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115/47 "2010-10-25T17:39:00Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > There’s a store here that used to list (for example) 2 for $2. It did not list a price for 1 item. I assumed this means buying 1 item would cost me $1. The store charged me more than $1 when I purchased 1 item. (Like $1.49 or something… don’t recall exact amount). Anyway, I thought that was baloney. The entire store was marked with prices like this. I don’t like guessing at prices. The prices should be marked somewhere. If not, I understand your frustration. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115/48 "2010-10-25T17:48:35Z")
Well, since no other store I went to had confusing prices like that, it’s either A) remember store X does not do prices like everywhere else or B) stop shopping at store X. I chose the latter. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115/49 "2010-10-25T17:54:55Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > Well, since no other store I went to had confusing prices like that, it’s either A) remember store X does not do prices like everywhere else or B) stop shopping at store X. I chose the latter. Sure, that’s a perfectly reasonable choice. And I may choose to shop at the place that charges more for single items, because their per-item price on a multiple item purchase ends up being cheaper. I’m just saying it’s not unreasonable to have a higher price for single items than buying multiple items. I’m looking at a Jewel (local grocery) circular right now, and 12-packs of soda are listed as 4 for $10. Reading closely, it says “Single purchase $3 each.” Usually, so far as I can tell around here, if there is no fine print, a 2 for $4 deal does ring up as $2 for one. But you have to look and see–it’s not necessarily assumed. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115/50 "2010-10-25T21:44:36Z")
> [@heavyarms553](#): > > So, a common supermarket sales pitch is the classic “buy one get one free” deal. Is it really necessary to purchase two items in order to get the discount? Or can you just buy one for 50% off? IME, both as an employee and a customer: “Buy X items at normal price, get Y items free”: Everything up to and including X items will cost the usual price. “X items for $Y”: The price of N items will be $Y/X \* N. YMMV depending on how the register is coded, but this is how I’ve always seen it work. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115/51 "2010-10-25T21:58:03Z")
My experience (confirmed by my most recent shopping receipt): Buy 1 Get 1 Free: First one rings up full price, second one gets discounted full price. 10-for-$10 (or any X for $Y): Each rings up full price, then each individual item is discounted down to sale price. So if Chunky Soup is on sale at 3 for $6.00, but normal price is $2.39/can, each individual can will show: Chunky Soup - $2.39 Savings - -0.39 Total - $2.00 ETA: Sometimes a sale will specifically say “Must buy X”, in which case discount is applied retroactively only after reaching X amount AND, in my case, for each X amount. So in the above example, I must buy 3, or 6, or 9 (up to the limit, if any) to get the discount on all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-really-need-to-buy-one-to-get-one-free/558115.md?page=2)