Are stores kidding with a "two-for-one" sale?

[debodun]

Do stores think customers are stupid? They oft have this type of sale, but raise the prices (e.g. normally a loaf of bread is $2.49, but during the "sale" it's $3.49) so you are actually paying more. This forces the customer to purchase twice what thay may need since you must get 2 to get the sale price. Sheesh!

[poppy]

I hate the games that they make consumers play just to get 'sale' prices.

 

At the same time, when JC Penny's tried to just to get off that train by offering actual low every day price for our garments instead of jacking up the price, then having a sale, and a coupon, and a cardholder discount, people hated it. 

[mom2bee]

Wow, I've never seen a grocery store do that sort of thing in my area! I'd be driven mad if I did though. Probably mad enough to complain to the manager.

 

I did *hear* about the JCPenny thing, but I never shop there so it didn't phase me a bit.

[Moxie]

I read a book once all about marketing. Studies prove that a sign with numbers on it will cause people to buy more. Wth was that book?? It was fascinating.

[marbel]

People like to feel they're getting a deal but so often they end up "spending to save" with coupons, 2-for-1 deals, etc. 

 

 

[Kathryn]

I've never seen a grocery store do that here. I think more of clothing stores doing things like that.

[G5052]

Yeah that's common here.  One store even does buy one get 2 free.  But the per item price is nothing special. 

 

I keep a spreadsheet of prices of items I buy regularly, and sometimes the 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 are actually good deals.  If it's a pantry item or something I can freeze, I usually bite.

 

You have to watch it though.  There are some that aren't that great.

[ajfries]

Yeah, my DH used to fall for that crap every.single.time. He's getting better, but it's taken a lot of "But what's the price per unit?"  Burritos always get him. They are regularly about $3 a bag, but a lot of times they advertise them on sale 2 for $6. DH is all "Hey! Burritos are on sale!" No. No, honey, they are not.

 

 

[LaxMom]

My favorite was a shelf sale tag (the kind that hangs under the regular price) that had the same price and "Save 0%!" on it. I took a picture.

[elegantlion]

A few years ago I was in Kohls and a dress was 19.99 (yeah, okay more than a few years ago). There was a sale that weekend - I went back and the same dress now had tags for 24.99. 

 

I look at unit prices too and try not to get into the hype. 

[ajfries]

You know what I hate.  I always compare unit prices on various sizes of the same thing.  You'd think buying the larger size would be cheaper per unit.  Not always. 

 

I know! That drives me nuts. You have to be really careful in bulk stores like Costco, too. Things aren't always cheaper. Tricky, tricky.

[Kathryn]

A few years ago I was in Kohls and a dress was 19.99 (yeah, okay more than a few years ago). There was a sale that weekend - I went back and the same dress now had tags for 24.99.

 

I look at unit prices too and try not to get into the hype.

Yeah, Kohl's was the store I was thinking about.

[Kathryn]

Yeah, my DH used to fall for that crap every.single.time. He's getting better, but it's taken a lot of "But what's the price per unit?" Burritos always get him. They are regularly about $3 a bag, but a lot of times they advertise them on sale 2 for $6. DH is all "Hey! Burritos are on sale!" No. No, honey, they are not.

LOL, that always gets DH too. I keep telling him, "there's a difference between them advertising something is ON sale and something is FOR sale. you have to check."

[gardenmom5]

I only buy men's dress shirts there.  I *know* what I pay for shirts.  they were NOT the "same as the sale price" everyday.  there were at least $5 - $10 MORE.

I hate the games that they make consumers play just to get 'sale' prices.

 

At the same time, when JC Penny's tried to just to get off that train by offering actual low every day price for our garments instead of jacking up the price, then having a sale, and a coupon, and a cardholder discount, people hated it. 

 

[Just Another Jen]

Kohls is always on sale. Except yesterday when I had to buy 3 kids clothes for graduation this weekend. 3 outfits, 3 pairs of dress shoes= $300. But my receipt says I "saved" $272. I knew I should have dragged them in over the weekend.

[debodun]

Another advertising ploy is "Come in today and save 30%!" I saved 100% by not shopping!

[gardenmom5]

with bags of stuff that comes in different sizes, you have to check the per oz (or whatever) price to be sure which size is actually cheaper.  sometimes the big one costs more per oz - because people are more likely to buy it thinking they're getting a better deal.

LOL, that always gets DH too. I keep telling him, "there's a difference between them advertising something is ON sale and something is FOR sale. you have to check."

 

[MFG]

My favorite was a shelf sale tag (the kind that hangs under the regular price) that had the same price and "Save 0%!" on it. I took a picture.

Truth in advertising!

[unsinkable]

Around here, If the items are a loss leader, the 2-for-1 sale prices are usually good. It does pay to know the typical prices.

 

One grocery store will have buy 1 get 1 free, and will actually sell you only 1 item for 50% off. That is rare, though.

[Pawz4me]

My favorite grocery store often has BOGO.  But if you read the fine print, most (but not all) of their BOGO items ring at half price.  So in the OP's example, even if they raised the price of a loaf of bread from $2.49 to $3.49, if one loaf rings at half price you're still saving.

[blondeviolin]

Just recently I was at Target and saw three or four women bunched around a bin of girls' panties. I went I look thinking its be a good sale. The original price tag said $2.50 each or 5 or $10. The sale price said, "Buy 4 get 1 Free." :001_huh: And these ladies were all cutthroat about it.

[Cinder]

I really like Publix's BOGO policy. Each item rings up at half-price so you only have to buy one to get a good deal. And they even let you use a coupon on each item if you have them. They have a very generous policy.

[Mimm]

My favorite thing is when the tags will say price per oz. But frequently one size will have price per ounce, then the smaller size will have price per "unit", meaning, the price of the item is simply listed in the corner of the price tag which already has the price on it. Another thing my smart phone is for me- a calculator. :) I've concluded that yes, "they" think we are stupid. Because all too often, it's a good bet to count on the stupidity of the consumer. Some of us will roll our eyes and walk away but for everyone one of us, how many others are hunched over an underwear bin at Target, rabidly buying up something that isn't actually on sale.

[Moxie]

Kohl's is the worst! I roll my eyes every time the cashier tells me "You saved $10,000 today!" Right.

[mathnerd]

I go to costco and trader joe's for grocery shopping to avoid these fake sales at the grocery stores.

[kewb]

I hate the games that they make consumers play just to get 'sale' prices.

 

At the same time, when JC Penny's tried to just to get off that train by offering actual low every day price for our garments instead of jacking up the price, then having a sale, and a coupon, and a cardholder discount, people hated it. 

 

Personally, I loved when JC Penny's did that.  I actually started shopping there again during that phase.

 

I always check unit price/price per ounce to make sure I am getting the best deal.  Very often buying 2 of the smaller size is a better deal then the one big size.  

 

I love Costco but you do have to know your prices.  Sometimes I am just paying for the convenience of bulk packaging.

[gardenmom5]

you must have read amy dacyczyon's tightwad gazette.  that was one of the very first things she suggest everyone do.  make a spread sheet of the regular prices of items you buy - in *what store*.  so you know if it's a sale or not.  (and $.10 saved for one item you buy every week still adds up to $5.20 in a year.)

I keep a spreadsheet of prices of items I buy regularly, and sometimes the 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 are actually good deals.  If it's a pantry item or something I can freeze, I usually bite.

 

You have to watch it though.  There are some that aren't that great.

 

[mathnerd]

you must have read amy dacyczyon's tightwad gazette.  that was one of the very first things she suggest everyone do.  make a spread sheet of the regular prices of items you buy - in *what store*.  so you know if it's a sale or not.  (and $.10 saved for one item you buy every week still adds up to $5.20 in a year.)

Now, I get it. I always see some people standing around in the grocery store wrting down prices on a spreadsheet like thing and they look like they are concentrating deeply. I assumed that these people worked for a market research firm or were doing research for a competitive store. Now, I know that they may be making a spreadsheet for their own use! Good idea!

[milovany]

I have found that the math on the little tags (telling you price per unit) are sometimes just downright wrong, too.  If I have to, I use my calculator to check the per unit price.  We have a store called Grocery Outlet that's supposed to have really great prices (and it certainly does on some things -- I paid $2/pound for wild-caught salmon recently!), but not everything is a great deal.  It still has to be an item by item judgment call. 

[Word Nerd]

Some places (like Kroger) give you 50% off even if you just buy one. I stopped shopping at Safeway because they jacked up the regular price and made you buy two or three of the item to get the "discount."

[milovany]

I went to a Penney's that was going out of business. They had signs saying all sales final, blah blah and you could not use coupons. I asked the cashier if they knew what day it was going to close. The last they had been told it was within a few weeks. You would think the prices would have been lower under the circumstances, but they really weren't that low. Yes, reasonably priced but I'm a bargain shopper so I wasn't super impressed. I later went online to compare prices and the tops I got were the same price if not a hair cheaper on their website. Had I bought them at a different JCP location I could have used my coupon! I mainly shopped when I did because it was convenient and I don't live that close to any JCP stores.

 

I see this a lot.  The "Going out of business!!!  Clearance!!!!" signs go up several weeks ahead of time.  Slowly over time, they do lower the prices more and more (from 50% off one week, to 60% off the next, to 70% off the next, etc.) .... but by the time you'd get a really great deal on something, most everything is gone.

[kewb]

Usually when a store is closing they bring in an outside company that sets all the pricing.  In those cases-rarely a deal.

[JonesinIndiana]

I really like Publix's BOGO policy. Each item rings up at half-price so you only have to buy one to get a good deal. And they even let you use a coupon on each item if you have them. They have a very generous policy.

In Florida the first item rings up full price with the 2nd as free. We have to buy 2 to get the savings. But we have an advantage then when we have a b2g1 coupon with a bogo sale. We have 2 coupons, buy 6 items, Publix gives us 3 free, coupons give us 2 free. We paid for 1 and got 5 free.

 

I do look at price per pound or oz but when I'm paying .20 for salad dressing I'm ok with 16 oz and not 32. :)

[MrsMommy]

A few years ago I was in Kohls and a dress was 19.99 (yeah, okay more than a few years ago). There was a sale that weekend - I went back and the same dress now had tags for 24.99. 

 

I look at unit prices too and try not to get into the hype. 

 

Kohls is the worst. I worked there in college, and it was eye-opening to my still naive self to see how they wrangled their sales. Now, if I do happen to go in there (doesn't happen too often), I won't buy anything unless it's at least 60% off. Even then, I'm skeptical. I like a sale; I don't like being taken for a fool.

[gardenmom5]

I have found that the math on the little tags (telling you price per unit) are sometimes just downright wrong, too. If I have to, I use my calculator to check the per unit price. We have a store called Grocery Outlet that's supposed to have really great prices (and it certainly does on some things -- I paid $2/pound for wild-caught salmon recently!), but not everything is a great deal. It still has to be an item by item judgment call.

It's like that everywhere. No where has the best price on everything. Know your prices.

[texasmama]

Kohl's is the worst! I roll my eyes every time the cashier tells me "You saved $10,000 today!" Right.

You're not kidding here.

 

The other day I had a $10 off any purchase coupon, and my dad gave me one, as well.  I also had 15% off.  I found a very cute maxidress which had a price tag of $64 but was on sale, of course, as everything perpetually is at Kohl's.  So it was about $44, then I got the $20 off from the coupons and then the 15%.  I paid about $20, which is the most I would really want to pay for that dress anyway.  In fact, I would prefer less because I am cheap like that.  (But it was really, really cute...)

 

The saleslady was all giddy at my savings and congratulated me for my great shopping skills. 

[PrairieSong]

Another advertising ploy is "Come in today and save 30%!" I saved 100% by not shopping!

LOL, this reminds me of the opposite...my shopaholic mother used to come home with several bulging bags of her bargains and she would laughingly say to my dad, "See how much money I saved you!"

[PrairieSong]

Kohl's is the worst! I roll my eyes every time the cashier tells me "You saved $10,000 today!" Right.

Me too. I feel like saying, "No, I didn't, because I would never be foolish enough to pay full price here."

[shanvan]

I read a book once all about marketing. Studies prove that a sign with numbers on it will cause people to buy more. Wth was that book?? It was fascinating.

No surprise.  I noticed one of the large local grocery store chains has tons of signs that read 2 for $___.  When I took a closer look, there was no sale, they were just putting a sign with the regular price.  I almost got suckered.  That same store likes to put the amount you are saving in large print and the price in very small print.  You think you are paying .99 when that is really the amount you are saving and the item costs $3-$5.  

 

You also have to read all the fine print since it is their practice to put a specific size on sale, post the sign, then place many different sizes of the product on an end cap.  Inevitably, you pick up the wrong size and pay full price when you expected to pay much less.     I hate that store.  

 

It takes forever to shop b/c you have to examine all the pricing very carefully.  

[Aura]

I like Kohls, but yeah, I won't pay regular price for anything in that store! I want my 30% discount + sale price. THEN, it's a decent price. If I'm desperate, I'll settle for 20% off. Couple that with their customer service, and I am a MVC. I have not seen them change their tag prices, and I'm in their fairly frequently. But I have heard this. Maybe it's a practice they got caught with and stopped.

 

JCP, on the other hand, never had decent sales. And when I tried going there when they changed things to make their "everyday price" equal to the "sale price," I was very disappointed. Those new everyday-sale prices could not compare to the prices at Kohls, once I included my normal discounts. And their customer service wasn't very good. And the store was horrible to navigate. I don't even bother going there anymore.

 

Publix is my favorite store. I'm in GA, so the BOGO sales are equal to 50% off, and yeah, add some coupons on that, and you've definitely got a deal! Their stores are always clean, easy to navigate (big aisles and bright lighting), and very friendly everyone (except that one bagger that was a psych student and tried to evaluate me while I was checking out...but this frequent shopper only saw her that once LOL).

 

Still, those "You saved $XX today!" on the receipts are completely bogus, no matter the store I'm in!

[Lanny]

Not only brick and mortar stores do that. Airlines do that too!   Early in 1999 my wife and I had an appointment in Miami. I couldn't get 2 Coach seats on the day we needed to go. At that time, we subscribed to the local newspaper in Cali ("El Pais") and there was a huge ad, possibly a full page ad, by Avianca, the largest Colombian airline.  Buy a First Class ticket and you get another one free. 2 for 1. So, we went First Class.  :-) 

 

Then, the next year, Avianca ran another ad like that, but, when I read the details, it was not 2 for 1, as the ad said, it was really buy one ticket and get a 50% discount on the second ticket. I was really mad and I wrote a letter to the President of Avianca, with the information about the tickets we'd purchased the previous year, and about fraud and deceptive advertising. They changed their ad in the newspaper after that. We did not take Avianca up on that offer...

 

Buyer beware...  

[Guest]

People like to feel they're getting a deal but so often they end up "spending to save" with coupons, 2-for-1 deals, etc.

True. Kohls has a policy (it appears) for the cashier to say, " You SAVED $147.67 today!" As they hand you the receipt with a big, red-circled "savings." Occasionally, just to be saucy, I say, "yes, but I SPENT $234.98!"

[Kathryn]

No surprise.  I noticed one of the large local grocery store chains has tons of signs that read 2 for $___.  When I took a closer look, there was no sale, they were just putting a sign with the regular price.  I almost got suckered.  That same store likes to put the amount you are saving in large print and the price in very small print.  You think you are paying .99 when that is really the amount you are saving and the item costs $3-$5.  

 

You also have to read all the fine print since it is their practice to put a specific size on sale, post the sign, then place many different sizes of the product on an end cap.  Inevitably, you pick up the wrong size and pay full price when you expected to pay much less.     I hate that store.  

 

It takes forever to shop b/c you have to examine all the pricing very carefully.  

 

And then there's my DH who always falls for the $x.99 price. "Look, this is only a dollar!" "No, honey. It's $1.99." It's like he can't see past the decimal. He does it with bigger numbers too, though. To him $199 is $100.

[Forget-Me-Not]

Kohl's is the worst! I roll my eyes every time the cashier tells me "You saved $10,000 today!" Right.

I agree. You can get some really good deals though if you play your cards right. I got an amazing deal on Fiesta Ware there last year with a sale plus one of their 30% off coupons. The Fiesta is always " on sale!" but this was a better-than-usual special.

[Um_2_4]

My mom did inventory checks for some companies in grocery stores for a while as a side job. She then turned in the data (this was pre POS systems days LOL) and that was the "research" that lead to what items to put in flyers, as loss leaders, etc. Anyways, the reason some stores do BOGO is for inventory moved, not the price. For example the company says sell 10,000+ units of our product x this month and we will discount the wholesale price 25% to the store on the bill. So they need to move a large number (maybe they usually sell 7,000 a month), so they figure sale plus BOGO means more units sold. Clear as mud??? :tongue_smilie:

Some states AGs have set what stores in their state can or can not do in regards to these sorts of sales.

[PeachyDoodle]

LOL, that always gets DH too. I keep telling him, "there's a difference between them advertising something is ON sale and something is FOR sale. you have to check."

 

That reminds me of all the kitschy souvenir shops in Myrtle Beach that are holding a perpetual "Going Out FOR Business" sale.

 

[Wildcat]

I really like Publix's BOGO policy. Each item rings up at half-price so you only have to buy one to get a good deal. And they even let you use a coupon on each item if you have them. They have a very generous policy.

 

Except in Florida where we were on vacation and only needed one pack of dishwasher tablets and ended up spending a fortune on a six pack because we didn't know the policy was different. :glare:

 

I see this a lot.  The "Going out of business!!!  Clearance!!!!" signs go up several weeks ahead of time.  Slowly over time, they do lower the prices more and more (from 50% off one week, to 60% off the next, to 70% off the next, etc.) .... but by the time you'd get a really great deal on something, most everything is gone.

 

Furniture stores are the worst at this! We had one here that was going out of business for close to a year before the AG stepped in and said they needed a time limit.

 

Kohls is the worst. I worked there in college, and it was eye-opening to my still naive self to see how they wrangled their sales. Now, if I do happen to go in there (doesn't happen too often), I won't buy anything unless it's at least 60% off. Even then, I'm skeptical. I like a sale; I don't like being taken for a fool.

 

Same here. And don't get me started on their buy one-get-one sales (buy one get one 25% off/buy one get one 50% off). I refuse to even look at items that are priced as such. I will go to a different store if I have to. I just despise that practice.

 

JCP, on the other hand, never had decent sales. And when I tried going there when they changed things to make their "everyday price" equal to the "sale price," I was very disappointed. Those new everyday-sale prices could not compare to the prices at Kohls, once I included my normal discounts. And their customer service wasn't very good. And the store was horrible to navigate. I don't even bother going there anymore.

 

 

 

:iagree:  Dd and I were in JCP before their one price strategy and noticed the exact same coat she had bought at Kohl's the day before with a different label on it "on sale" for $20 more than Kohl's sales price (and I had that fabulous 30% coupon to boot). I stopped shopping at JCP several years ago because the quality of their clothes seemed to go way down as the prices went up. My local store now has low quality, high prices, and no selection due to reduced merchandise because of their "boutique" design . One could walk four people across through most of the store! And good luck trying to find a cash register to pay for something. At Christmas, I bought some shampoo (incredible sale!) from the salon and had to be rung up at a regular register for some reason and had to traverse half way through the upper level to find one!  I haven't been back in there since. I would not be surprised if our store had a huge issue with shoplifting, too, as there is not one employee stationed near the exit by the now-defunct catalog counter.... you have to go all the way into the salon (where everyone is busy doing hair or talking way in the back) or to the one register in the middle of the store. No security, nothing. Oh, and someone in their wisdom moved the luggage department NEXT to this unmanned exit door, so surely some of that vanishes. I guess if you want to buy a suitcase, you have to haul it/them all the way through the store to the one cash register, then haul it/them back to the exit and out to your car. Bad, bad, planning on JCP's part!

 

 

[Cinder]

In Florida the first item rings up full price with the 2nd as free. We have to buy 2 to get the savings.

 

Thanks--I'll have to remember this when we're on vacation there (which we anticipate doing again this year).

[kiwik]

Here it is illegal to push up prices for sales like that. It is done sometimes but there have been some prosecutions over the last few years. I don't thing our supermarkets would try it though.

[Guest]

Oh I thought of one that drives me mad! Target now does the "buy two or four of a specific size and get a 5 dollar gift certificate."

 

But! The 'size" you have to get is written really small, AND it's stocked with sundry sizes.

 

They also want you to use for phone for some shenanigans IN THE STORE to get a coupon to use. It's getting more and more prevalent across the store and it's going to drive us RIGHT down the road to the co-op to get stuff instead!

I avoid using Target-specific coupons or phone-in-store, because it bugs me that they are creating a buyer profile on me. Granted, they are no doubt doing it anyway - one could build an accurate profile on me just by examining my Amazon purchases. Still. I don't want to make it so easy for them. I'm weird like that.