Quote:
Originally Posted by samhy
First, remember that I agree with you. It's only on stretching things a bit that I get what the OP has expressed in the second post (or at least what I think was expressed).
But if I follow you're "buy one, get one free" example, I end up with a 50% discount, not a 100% one. Am I the only one here?
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No, you are not, and your example is spot on. Supermarkets have long understood that saying "buy 2 at 50%" does not sell as much as the magic word "free".
It is indeed classic marketing. In the case I was presenting, Amazon sells a bundle of 2 items. If bought separately, the first item costs the same, while the second is much more expensive. However, when you make the purchase, if you care about your bank account, you look at the cost of the bundle. Saying "I'm saving so much on the second item" is wrong, because for you as a consumer, AND for Amazon as a retailer, all that matters is that you have bought a bundle, not 2 separate items, at a certain price. Advertising the discount on the second item only is a hook.
And for those who do not see where the problem is, let me try an imaginary example. Let's imagine a company is selling you an audiobook it says is discounted at 87%. You click on buy now, and the retailer now tells you that, in order to get the discount, you need to first buy the ebook. Now obviously, you would be pretty peeved by these practices, but let's put that aside and let's imagine you are still interested because the price is right. Are you still thinking you are getting 87% discount on anything? Or do you start thinking about the actual discount, unadvertised, you will actually get for the bundle?