Hacker News Reader

Comment by ocfnash | Hacker News Reader

I quite enjoy mentally parsing these "offers" in logically equivalent ways. E.g., "buy one get one free" as "only sold in units of two" or even "each purchase of one requires compulsory purchase of a second".

As a child I remember considering the difference between "extra free" and "free" which I used to see on cereal boxes. Sometimes the box claimed "10% free!" but other sneakier boxes would claim "10% extra free!". The latter allows the marketer to quote the same nominal figure for a smaller absolute quantity.

View on HN

I strongly object to calling something "free" when you can't get it for free. If I'm required to purchase something to get it, it's not free. Things like "10% free" should not be allowed to be called that. It's a 10% discount. Free with the purchase of something else is also not free, as I'm still required to pay money.

Allegedly, when you see the “10% free” message on groceries, that’s a signal that the manufacturer is about to downsize the quantity, with the non-free portion of your purchase being the new normal.

> Sometimes the box claimed "10% free!" but other sneakier boxes would claim "10% extra free!". The latter allows the marketer to quote the same nominal figure for a smaller absolute quantity.

I'm not sure they're trying to be sneaky. The difference is too small for anyone to care about:

- 10% free! (purchase price pays for 90% of the cereal)

- 10% extra free! (purchase price pays for 91% of the cereal)

(Also, it's the first option that indicates a higher unit price, not the second.)

Actually I think we're in agreement here: I didn't make it clear but the nominal figure to which I was referring was the magnitude claimed free. By saying "extra free" they get to write down 10% instead of 9%.

I also agree the difference is small in this case but I'd argue:

  * Small wins are still wins.

  * The difference is not so small with bigger percentages.

Imagine I decide to tweak my margins for a time and sell 1.5Kg of cereal for the price I previously sold 1Kg. I could say "33% free" (relative to old price) or "50% extra free".

BOGO does not always mean "only sold in units of two". Sometimes retailers, like my grocer, will just halve the price of a single item if it's BOGO.

Every time my dad takes something to the till and they say "this is actually on buy-one-get-one-free" he says "can I just have the free one?". Every. Time.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com