The term BOGO is used by grocery and retail stores to describe a buy-one get-one-free sale. This means, if you purchase one item at retail price, the second item (usually identical) is FREE.
Sounds great, right?
Well, BOGO sales are typically used to lure customers into stores to get them to purchase not only the advertised sale price items but also other items while they are there. Therefore, while BOGO's would appear to be excellent deals, they can also cost you in several ways.
Here are 3 reasons BOGO might not necessarily be a good thing...
#1 BOGO causes you to buy more than you need. Taking advantage of a BOGO purchase often causes customers to buy additional items that they would not normally purchase... or even need. The fact of the matter is... if an item looks somewhat appealing and it's being offered in a buy-one get-one-free sale, it is usually quite hard to resist (...whether you need it or not).
#2 BOGO items perish or are forgotten about altogether. Even when some of the items you've purchased in BOGO sales are used, it is often the case that the second item goes unused or is wasted altogether. Either you forget that you bought more of the same product. Or (if it's a food item), it is likely to go bad before you get around to using it.
#3 Prices are raised on some BOGO sale items. What I like least about BOGO sales is the fact that prices are often elevated before the items are placed in a BOGO sale.
For example, at my local grocery store, a gallon of apple juice normally sells for $3.99. For the past 2 weeks, they have been selling it for $4.39 in a BOGO sale. While the amount the item was raised is negligible when compared to how much a customer is likely to save, the price of the juice was still raised. It appears as if the customer is saving $4.39 in the sale (the price of the "free" one), when they are, in fact, saving only $3.60.
This is a very common sales tactic. And while at grocery stores there is still significant savings for the consumer during BOGO sales, at clothing stores, a the gap is closed with even larger price increases during BOGO sales. And customers are typically less price savvy when it comes to buying clothes (compared to when they are food shopping).
Just know this: You don't always have to get the second item. While many stores will advertise an item as a BOGO, they can sometimes honor the comparable sales price if you just buy-one. While this is not true in all cases, stores may enter BOGO items into the computer at half price. That means if a gallon of milk is sold for $4.99 in a buy-one-get-one-free sale, then you may be able to get a half gallon of milk for $2.50. This is very important because the second gallon of milk may very well go down the drain anyway if you don't think you could use it before it goes bad. Plus, you would receive comparable savings by buying only what you need.
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