Recently in the UK, there has been a call to halt the BOGOF (Buy one get one free) as they say it is causing people to be obese and people to waste food. Some stores have baskets/bins where people can donate the item if they don't need it which is a much better idea. Not all stores do, but if other charities were to help out it would encourage people to waste less? To keep the BOGOF, people need to use them wisely, but also stores need to offer products that people can use long term, like cans of soup or packets of pasta. There is no waste as these are weekly Staples. Personally i like the BOGOF or the buy one get two free, as we can always give the item to a neighbor. I do hope stores don't stop doing them (as long as they don't inflate the price unethically, which some have been caught doing) as many families have been able to survive and build up a pantry from these offers. Can we trust stores to give us genuine BOGOFs or is the era over and people just want lower prices?
I think it depends on how it is offered. We would do well to compare the original price of the item and make sure they haven't marked it up so that we are actually paying more. Also, if we buy one of those items will we get a discount (there are some stores that will promote buy one get one free but what it really means is that there is a markdown on one item.) For the most part, if it is an item I use, then I can always put it in the freezer and use it for later. I have often bought BOGOF but do not have an obesity problem. I think Bulk stores where you can buy 5 kilos of cereal is the thing that makes you put on the stones.
Just because they offer something as a buy one get one free doesn't mean you need to eat both items immediately, together in one sitting. I don't see what the problem is really. I am usually pretty cautious about them in the first place because most of the time, they simply mark the price of the item up sky high, then slap a BOGOF label on it, so it's really not even a great deal. For example, I can get a pork roast normally for about $6 for a 2 lb roast. But the same stores that I get it from will occasionally have buy one get one specials, yet the price of the individual roasts will be like $10 instead of $6, so I'm really not saving anything. But this is the first time I've heard of the argument that these specials are causing obesity. That seems kind of odd, people typically buy a week or two worth of groceries when they go to the store anyhow. I don't see how buying a couple of the same item is much different.
Wow. I had no idea this was going on in the U.K. However, you can't blame a BOGO deal for causing a person to overeat. Stuffing one's face with too much food is an epidemic in Northern America. I know this for a fact, personally. Yet, I believe it's more of a lifestyle. Whenever anyone has a birthday, wedding, promotion, you name it, food is present. Just recently I went to a work orientation and they had tons of food for us - cookies (three kinds), fruits (two kinds) and drinks. The meeting only lasted four hours. Also, we got to take a morning break and lunch. So, it was not really necessary. Of course though, I did eat some fruit, cookies and drank a lot of water.
