So, I’m doing coupon matchups on one of our local Grocery Stores and notice a “GREAT DEAL” on the back of the ad. I was instantly drawn to it as it takes up a large spot, and it shows the word FREE a total of 4 times – IN ALL CAPS!
In the deal Basically you buy 3 boxes of cereal and you get 4 items for FREE (worth about $13).
Sounds good, right?
How much was the cereal? FIVE NINETY NINE!! Yes, $5.99 per box!
Considering you can usually get cereal for $2.00 per box or less with coupons and the typical price for a box of cereal is from $3.99 to $4.99 this would not be such a great deal!
Just as a disclaimer, I do love this store I’m referring to and they do typically have really great deals.
However, this is just a reminder that we as shoppers need to pay attention and use our discretion before taking the store’s word for it on whether a deal’s a deal or not.
So would you do it? Would you pay $5.99 each for 3 boxes of cereal just to get $13 worth of free stuff?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I love this store too! But the Make a Meal Deal and some of the other buy this and get all of these things FREE deals. Are NOT deals. Read thoroughly, and do the math. Don’t get excited by the hype.
Well, seeing as how you spend $18 to get $13 it really isn’t that great of a deal, to me. I’m a 50% or more kinda gal. If it’s not at least half off (especially for those boxed items) I’m not going for it. Now, if there were a high value Q for the cereal floating around it might change the scenario a bit.
I’ve never taken advantage of the “make a meal deal” because as Staci pointed out, you don’t even save 50%. I think a lot of people (who don’t do the math) are attracted to it because you get 4 free things.
Thanks for weighing in guys! Yes I totally agree with all of you. 2 things make these types of deals worth it. 1) as Staci said if there are high value coupons that make it better or 2) if these are things you are purchasing anyway.
-Holly
No I would not, that’s crazy. What’s the point of putting the items on sale if they are going to jack the price up just to compensate for the free items. That’s not saving couponers any moeny.
I have known this store to also inflate prices on bogo deals. One week a frozen pizza was 4.99 regular price….but then on bogo it said buy one at $6.99 get one free. Should have been $2.50 per item not $3.50. That’s when a price book comes in real handy. Granted, it was still better than regular priced…but it doesn’t seem fair.
I never buy these deals – anyone who can add and knows their prices will realize that it really isn’t a deal at all