Buy 1 Get 1 50% Off Sales: 3 Steps To Maximizing Savings

EOD_BuyOneGetOnePicBuy One, Get One 50% off sales make me tingle all over. When this kind of sale is offered by retailers, I like to take full advantage as it has the opportunity to save me a significant amount of money. But, you have to be careful with your purchases or you won’t get as much of a benefit as possible.

My daughter and I walked into a shoe store looking for footwear for the new school year. The windows of the retailer were plastered with signs advertising a buy one, get one 50% off sale. My daughter found a pair of shoes, and I selected a new pair of running shoes. Making our way to the checkout counter ready to get one pair half off, my daughter saw a rack of socks and asked if she could get some. I initially agreed to adding a large bag of socks to our purchase, but just short of the register, I stopped and put the socks back.

“We’ll get these some other time,” I said quietly.

“Why?” my daughter asked.

“I’ll explain in a minute,” I said shortly and put the shoes on the counter.

Here’s how the cash register receipt looked:

  • Running shoes: $160
  • Women’s boots: $35 (marked half off from $70)

Total: $195

After we exited the store, I turned to my daughter and explained why I put the socks back. The sale is a buy one item, get one item 50% off. The 50% discount is applied to the least expensive item. Had we purchased the socks, they would have been the cheapest item, and thus we would have not gotten much benefit from the sale.

Here’s what my receipt would have looked like had I purchased the socks:

  • Running shoes: $160
  • Women’s boots: $70
  • Socks: $9 (marked half off from $18)

Total: $239

I exited the store after paying $195 for running shoes and boots. When I go back and buy the socks, my total cost for the three items will be $213.

By purchasing the socks with a separate transaction, I will have $25 more than buying them all at the same time.

To maximize savings with Buy One Get One 50% sales follow these simple steps:

Buy Only What You Need

Do not buy extra items just to take advantage of the sale. In my case, we were looking for new shoes for my daughter AND new running shoes for me, thus we expected to take advantage of the sale. But, had we gone into the store looking only for shoes for my daughter, buying an extra pair of shoes just to take advantage of the sale would COST me money, NOT save money. If you weren’t going to buy the item anyway, you’re not saving money!

Multiple Transactions

If you’re buying several items, remember that sales like this typically apply the 50% discount to the least expensive item included in the transaction. Group your most expensive items together into one purchase, and have another member of your group purchase the less expensive items. This will maximize your savings with the sale.

Make Multiple Trips

In large stores it’s easy to send another member of your group through another checkout line. But, if the store is small and only has one register, OR if you’re shopping alone purchase the most expensive items first, then come back at a later time to buy the less expensive items. In my scenario, there was only one checkout line, and I didn’t feel comfortable having my daughter come through the line right after me to purchase the less expensive items. I decided to simply come back later as I pass by the store every day and could conveniently stop and pick up the socks later.

Buy one, get one 50% off sales can save you some big time cash. By following these three simple tips, you will maximize your savings, and keep more of your hard earned cash in your wallet.

Do you take advantage of buy one, get one 50% off sales? Do you follow these tips? Do you have any other tips to add?

About Travis

4 Responses to “Buy 1 Get 1 50% Off Sales: 3 Steps To Maximizing Savings”

Read below or add a comment...

  1. Good catch. I wish stores would add some disclaimers to their “buy one get one 50% off” exclamations. You really have to be smart and analyse these deals.

  2. I often take advantage of BOGO50% or BOGO sales, especially when buying vitamins and supplements. I find that policies vary by store, so sometimes if “type a” is more expensive than “type b” and I’m buying two bottles of each, some stores will give me one a and one b as the discount (to my advantage) while others will give me two b’s as the discount unless I make it a separate transaction. As long as there’s no line at the register, I have no issue with asking the cashier to ring up separate sales if needed. That’s always worked for me. I’m glad you are teaching your daughter to be a smart shopper.

Leave a Comment...

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.