The ‘buy 3 get one free’ type offers are there for one reason only – to get you to spend more money. If you’d normally buy two of an item that costs $5 for exmaple, you get tempted by this offer, spending $15 instead of your usual $10 and taking home 4 items over 3. “Bargain!”, you think.

From the shops perspective you’ve just spent $15 instead of your usual $10, a rather nice 50% increase. The fact that you took home 4 items is irrelevant, as the shop makes the same amount of money per item, and rips the ‘discount’ from the supplier when it comes time to settle in 90 days’(!) time.

But I think that rule is silly anyway. The whole point of bulk purchases is that you get the price break and the supermarket trades future single sales for big sales now. Especially with stuff that is seasonally popular or unweildly – why do you think xmas wrapping paper goes on special a month before xmas? But they also do the same thing with stuff like fizzy water, there’s generally a bulk special a week or two before each holiday so people thinking ahead can buy early… the benefit to the supermarket is spreading the sales load.

Australia doesn’t seem to have quite as strong consumer-advocacy the US does so I don’t know if there’s much hope of it ever happening, but it would be nice to have such a thing legislated in Aus too.

Why would this be necessarily a *good* thing? Why shouldn’t a shop be allowed to charge what they like? Most people expect to get a price break if they buy several of the same items, so why not tinned food as well? How would this work with the warehouse type markets where you have to buy a whole case? How is buying *one* of something on special saving you money, when the next time you buy it, you have to pay the higher price?

Seems like some people here just can’t stop themselves – insisting they know better how things should be run.

Australia doesn’t seem to have quite as strong consumer-advocacy the US does so I don’t know if there’s much hope of it ever happening, but it would be nice to have such a thing legislated in Aus too.
PS: Wanted to say great post!

Australia doesn’t seem to have quite as strong consumer-advocacy the US does so I don’t know if there’s much hope of it ever happening, but it would be nice to have such a thing legislated in Aus too.

____
WRT the petrol discounts, watch what happens to the prices of other groceries as petrol discounts eat into profits…

For some reason in NYC the stores can’t force you to buy more than one of what you need, and they still have to charge you the promotional ‘multiple buy’ discount price for the lousy single item you are buying.

I was happy. Good deal for the consumer. We were a household of two in a tiny Manhattan apartment, so having to buy 6 packs of toilet paper to save 50c per unit was never on the cards for us…

I never looked into the history of it, but I suspect it was the result of some creative litigation by a consuemr group at some time in the murky past…

At 50l a tank (allowing that not all tanks will be fully empty) that’s a 6.7% discount. But it’s got great publicity and people are flocking to spend more than $300 – which a “6.7% off all stock” sale would not cause to happen.

And the supermarkets have probably managed to pass on some of the cost of the offer onto the oil companies anyway (not that my heart bleeds for them).

Some register watchers have trouble even with the obvious stuff, like making $15 change when they have no $10 notes. But the greek lady in the bakery where I buy lunch… does it in her head most of the time or uses paper and pencil.

I also often create havoc by giving the cashier $32.50 when the price is $27.50 and stuff like that.

I am very big on this. Does confuse people though. I see it as a sign of intelligence/solidarity/creativity etc when a retail person cottons on in a few seconds.

Maybe there’s a chance for a grassroots movement out there.Or a sekret signal for us Brass in Pocket minimisers.(mini misers?) – The secret signal could be to start singing “I’m special, so special, I gotta have some of your attention, give it to me”

glen/maxwell – ah the old TP puzzle – not only unit price but thickness, softness, strength, smell, pretty pussycat type designs and the big one – width – not all dunny rolls are the same width. A larger width inhibits free rolling on the holder and, one might argue scientifically, does not add an extra dimension to the ultimate usage. .

I’m with Peter on this. I calculate TP to the sheet. How many sheets to the roll, how many sheets to the package, how many sheets to the 3-for-2, how many sheets in the cheaper brand versus the softer nicer smelling sheet. A good sheet can make my day, so it is important.

The introduction of extra petrol discount dockets, for a limited time, if you spend large amounts on groceries is also of interest. They are obviously keen for large volume sales, all of a sudden, with those with less to spend in one hit, subsidising the big spending gas guzzlers.

I once went to a hardware store and bought 10 large screws when I only needed 8 and the girl on the cash register *still* couldn’t figure out what the price should be

I also often create havoc by giving the cashier $32.50 when the price is $27.50 and stuff like that. One even thought *I* was the crazy one, until I got my change.

Anybody who can’t mentally figure out the actual price in a 4 for 3 offer deserves to be ripped off. And I’m only really half joking when I say that!

Shops use specials to move items that are approaching their use by date as well as a strstegy to entice people into shops. My observation would be that specials, including 3 for the price of 2 are almost always clear bargains.

Think of specials as a way of helping people on low incomes at the expense of those who are more concerned about saving time than saving costs.

I can’t help wondering whether the simultaneous introduction of unit pricing had something to do with it.