Buy One Get One Free Ripoff

mjhmjh2

As I'm sure a lot of others do, I often look out for the Buy One Get One Free (BOGOF) offers in my local supermarket, in fact I often do my first glance down the isle for the red and yellow special offer stickers. This post is a warning about that as a bargain is not always what it seems!

So off for a lovely walk in the snow today to Tesco, fancied some chicken, smashing thighs and drumstick packs, BOGOF. Hold on a minute they look a bit expensive £3.00 for 720 grammes or in otherwords £4.17 per KG. That seems a lot more than normal. Now with a BOGOF of course that is halved to £2.08 per KG.

I checked out the pure chicken thigh packs, £2.00 per KG. They didn't have any drumstick packs, but those are normally cheaper than thighs anyway.

All were Tescos standard "here's a picture of a lovely farmer" own brand regular battery kept chickens. So a BOFOG pack is more expensive than a regular priced pack.

It seems as though they put the prices up then slash them in a special offer to make you think you are getting a bargain.

I'm particularly peeved at this practise as it is effectively trying to trick you to buy more of something thinking it's a bargain when on second/third/fourth look it clearly is not!

Matthew

dmg24

You are not comparing identical products, so I don't really see your point.

It is like comparing two different types of cheese - the argument is not valid.

mjhmjh2

Of course they are not identical, but how can you say they are practically any different from their components packs sold along side for half the price?

Chicken thighs = £2.00 / KG
Chicken drumsticks < £2.00 / KG

Chicken thighs and drumstick packs = £4.17 / KG

You cannot say that the convenience of having a mixed pack is worth double the price.

The normal price is never that high also, they have clearly put the price up to fool consumers into thinking they are gettnig a bargain!

brazilianwax

Just one of the many tricks supermarkets use to shift products

DaisyNelson

Not just on BOGOF's where their 'sharp' practice happens. They charge more for a multi-pack (6) of Whiskas tinned cat food, than they do for 6 individual tins. You pay extra to take home the non-recycleable plastic packaging on the outside of the tins, but hey, it's easier to pick up one pack , than loads of tins!!

dmg24

mjhmjh2 wrote: »

Of course they are not identical, but how can you say they are practically any different from their components packs sold along side for half the price?

Chicken thighs = £2.00 / KG
Chicken drumsticks < £2.00 / KG

Chicken thighs and drumstick packs = £4.17 / KG

You cannot say that the convenience of having a mixed pack is worth double the price.

The normal price is never that high also, they have clearly put the price up to fool consumers into thinking they are gettnig a bargain!

If the normal price is 'never that high', that is a different issue. But comparing different products is a pointless argument!

DaisyNelson's point is much more valid, as it is comparing like for like.

mjhmjh2

dmg24 wrote: »

If the normal price is 'never that high', that is a different issue. But comparing different products is a pointless argument!

DaisyNelson's point is much more valid, as it is comparing like for like.

Sorry old chap, think you are missing the point. The products are effectively the same, just as a multipack of kitkat is made up of six pots of kitkat (probably mixed varieties), a multipack of thighs and drumsticks is made up of, amazingly thighs and drumsticks, on sale next to the same product for less than half the price

It's not as though they've done any processing or additional value add to get 1 x drumsticks and 1 x thighs is it? They've not done anything more than take two packs of something and combine them to make one.

The normal price *is* never that high, they have put the price up to fool the consumer into getting a bargain.

Pay more for the same thing if you want. Savvy consumers who can work a calculator or can do maths in their head should be aware of this misleading practise.

dmg24

!!!!!! they are not the same!

DaisyNelson has described how identical products can be differently priced. However similar your items may be, what you have described are not the same!

Spamreported

tescos are doing BOGOF on diet coke 6 packs. so BOGOF offers can be great if like me you drink nothing but diet coke,

mute_posting

dmg24 wrote: »

!!!!!! they are not the same!

DaisyNelson has described how identical products can be differently priced. However similar your items may be, what you have described are not the same!

Perhaps not "the same" but like OP and I'm sure many other moneysavers would agree, it doesn't take a genius to realise you're being Sh*&ted!

Like OP said
normal Tesco Thighs £2/kg
normal Tesco drumsticks £2/kg

buy one kg of each and you have spent £4 for 2kg of chicken

yet buy 2kg of normal Tesco BOGOF anf you have been charged over £4 for the same ammount of chicken - not very moneysaving now, really, is it?

Being cynical, I always check £/unit prices to make sure I'm not being a victim of marketing.

superscaper

mute_posting wrote: »

Being cynical, I always check £/unit prices to make sure I'm not being a victim of marketing.

Reminds me of a time we were trying to work out whether the special offer on some squeezy bottled mayonnaise was a good deal or not compared to the ordinarily priced jars. One gave the details in £/kg and the other £/litre. Bit difficult to compare them without guestimating the density of mayonnaise!! I don't see why they'd switch from mass to volume unless they were deliberately trying to make it confusing.