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Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Not On Sale

Mail In Rebates

Remember a few years back and all the rage was those stupid mail in rebates. Supposed to be a great deal, $20.00 off the ad said. Then you found out you had to go through the process of mailing in a form that took more time (and money) than it was worth. Thankfully we are mostly past that era.

Buy One Get One Free

Now one of the latest fads, Buy One Get One Free, or BoGo as those in the trade like to call it, especially in the grocery business. Been having some discussions about this lately. To me this is not a sale. First of all I might not want two. Give me one for half price and I will say it is a good deal.

Ever notice, for example, when they do that with certain products, such as steak, the fine print always says “for an item of equivalent or lesser value.” You won’t find any ten dollar steaks in that case. Twenty or twenty five dollars and up. Which means, you are going to spend twenty dollars plus for two steaks when you only wanted an eight or ten dollar one in the first place. Nice trick!

Its all about volume they say. I can see that – and profit too.

Buy One Get Another For Half Price

This is even worse as far as I am concerned. If I only go in to buy a shirt, or a tie for a special occasion, what the heck do I need a second one for? And usually it has to be a similar item. What if I don’t want two dress shirts, or what if I only want one pair of blue jeans? If I don’t take two I am being swindled.

Great ways to make you think you are getting a great deal and they are giving you a bargain. Your opinion may differ, in my case I don’t think so.

Anyway, gotta go. There’s a sale down the road on shoes. Buy one, get one free. Can’t resist, I need a shoe for each foot.