Nothing like the word Free to make you take notice at a supermarket. But of course there is always a catch since I have to buy at least one 16 oz. package for $3.99. So what I'm really paying for my free box of strawberries is $2.00! Now if I'm in the market for more than one package I might consider paying $2.00 per package. But since for me they go bad pretty quickly and I'll never finish the second box before it does goes bad, that really means I'm paying $3.99 for the box I actually eat! Wouldn't it be just plain old easier and more honest to leave the word "free" out if the sign read:
Get your students to find examples of this and to write the manager of a store that pulls this nonsense and see how the company tries to justify this deception.
I followed your link from:
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Would that not only be the case if the price of the strawberries had been put up from $2.00 (or $1.99) to $3.99 for the duration of the offer?
If the strawberries are normally $3.99 and you only get a free box for a limited period, then the additional box is actually free. After all, if you only take one box, you still pay the same price (you don't actually have to take the second box, but your alternative sign says you do).
I think the bigger issue with offers like these is the waste. Very few (if any) people would take only one box, when there is no additional cost to taking a second. However, as you say, people may not eat the second box, which would just be a waste of food. Alternatively, they may eat it purely to avoid wasting it, resulting in eating to avoid waste rather than because they actually desire the second box.
In either case, it's not a positive outcome.
These sort of offers (in my opinion) are designed to draw customers in. They then go on to spend money on other goods that they may have been able to get cheaper (overall) in another store, albeit one that doesn't lose money running offers like this.
Max Stone.
I agree that it's a big waste. This is the kind of discussion middle school kids should have in math class. A really good and honest real world problem.
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