BOGOF

We all like a good deal. Getting something for less than it should be is great feeling. And some deals are just too good to turn down.

So it is with good reason that retailers obsess about making us perceive their goods as a good deal. A myriad of 'special offers' and 'bargains' are out there, each one trying desperately to lure us into a different shop. Each one trying to make us think that it is an offer simply too good to refuse. I dread to think how many times we will read Buy One Get One Free! over the course of our lifetimes.

Another example is Boots which recently ran

Every Third Item Free!

For once, the small print was interesting. 

All the items you are buying are ranked in price order, high to low. Then every third item is free. So if you were buying three things, the cheapest would be free. If you were buying six things, the third most expensive and the cheapest item would be free. So it is a better deal than getting the two cheapest items free from six. 

But I'm not sure many people would bother to read the small print on an offer for toiletries. On more expensive products, such as electronic goods, I would expect consumers to spend time understanding small print. But not when it comes to low cost items such as shampoo and razor blades. 

In conclusion, Every Third Item Free! is a good eye catching offer, but it is also complicated. Simplicity was sacrificed.