No ... but it's a toss-up whether they will honor the discount if you purchase less than 5.
EG: The item is normally $3/each ... but if you buy 5, it is $2/each. If you purchase less than 5, they may still charge you $3/each ... or they may only charge $2/each.
I hate stores that do that. They're just playing on people's gullibility. "Sale! 5 packages of deodorant for $15 (must buy 5 to get discount or price is $2.89 each)." Now who can use 5 packages of deodorant before they evaporate? But there are some people who will fall for it. Pharmacy stores are notorious for those kind of "sales" Rite Aid, CVS). However, some grocery stores do it too (Safeway, Raley's). Ralphs would even raise the price of items to put them on "sale" (normal price $.99, sale price $1).
One supermarket here does. A 3/$5.00 means that and only that....otherwise you pay regular price.
Publix does not. A 3/$5.00 sale means each item is $1.67. Ice cream that sells for $5.00 per carton is often on sale for 2/$7.00. You can buy one carton and pay $3.50.
Seriously, if I had a store I would make sale prices per unit rather than playing the psycho games.
I hear customers in stores arguing that they should get a sales item for half price when there is a bogo. That is different for a couple reasons. One, the sale item's price is often inflated to offer a bogo. The other.....common sense tells us that if you don't buy oneyou can't get onefree.
This post was edited by Thriftymaid at January 19, 2022 12:46 PM MST
One store I go to has the 10 for 10 sales and each is a dollar. I asked a store employee if folks knew that. She said she didn't know it for a while. Great marketing.
Yep. I've seen those sales where I immediately knew that is was no sale at all. It affects the respect level for the merchant. As far as food, everyone is going to buy food. Why try to make people feel stupid because they will figure out that trickery of the marketing. Then they will go to another store. Where I shop is a great supermarket. The employees own the chain. Kroger was like that at one time. I haven't lived where there were Kroger stores in many years.
It was Fred Myer that was an employee owned company but they sold out to Kroger in the 90s. I had it backward. Growing up we had a Kroger near us and I shopped at one when we were in school at Auburn. I liked it back then. They seem to be on the move creating and selling meat that isn't meat. They really need to come up with another name for plant protein products other than plant-based meat. That is just goofy stupid to me. There is flora and there is fauna.
Stores paly these "psycho games" to bring in more customers (if they're in your store there not in the competitors store). Stores spend billions of dollars every year studying customer behavior. Example: People love the word "free". The love to think they're getting something for nothing. Even though we all know that there's no such thing as "free", our brains still like it. This is why stores use phrases such as, "Free sample" or "Buy one get one free". While nearly every store has the price per unit (eg. ounce, sheet, pound) on their shelf tags, it's almost always in a very small font. The Average person only sees the prince and goes from there - whether or not it's the best deal. To over 75% of customers, bib tags (shelf tags that hang lover that the shelf) indicate an item is on sale - even if it isn't. Rounding off prices is another way to tempt customers. Rounded off pricing is eadire for our brains to process. Which flows better, $3.96 each or 2/$4.00? Beyond that, the layout of a store is designed to entice customers to buy more than they wanted (eg. staples like milk and eggs are always in the back of a store). They place impulse items around the store to entice customers to buy them. They use fans to blow the aroma of their bakery or deli (if they have one) around the store to make customers hungry,luring them to their bakeries or delis. Items are placed at certain heights on shelves (kid level, adult level, etc.). Manufacturers spend billions designing and redesigning their products to capture a customer's eye. This is but a sample of the many ploys stores use.
ALL stores use at least some of these tactics - whether we think so or not. That's how they stay in business.
I think it depends on the store. In my market, if you have a membership (free), you can buy less than the amount stated and they give it to you for the special price. Otherwise, you pay the regular price.
Most do not require that full purchase. But there are a few stores that have one section that is 5 items for $25. You have to buy 5 or more to get them for $5 each. One of them requires groups of 5.
I need one item, I buy one item. Full price if I have to, which is usually the case. Aldi doesn't do those kind of deals, Woolworths and Coles only rarely.
Kittigate 