Halfords maths question.

[Cubist]

I go into Halfords as I suspect I may be able to get some cheap GT85, and I rather like the red grease they sell in a refill tube that fits on the grease gun.

I see that they are running two promotions. One is 3 for the price of 2 on bike accessories, and the other is indeed GT85 at £2.50 a can if you buy a cycling accessory.

I go to the counter and place on it the £5.99 grease refill. I ask the guys working on the BMX and the MTB behind the counter whether the grease counts as an accessory (it does) and then ask how many cans of GT85 I can have at the bargain price. Two comes the reply.

Great! I pick up 2 cans of GT85 and put them on the counter. The third guy, the one manning the till, says "Insert your card, I have to scan some coupons in to get you the deal." I do so, expecting the deal to be £5.99, plus £2.50, a total of £8.49. (my logic being that the grease entitles me to two cheap cans of GT85 and one of those to be the free accessory.

The guy scans a couple of barcodes from a folder and scans the three items. I enter my PIN, checking the amount which is ..........



£5.98. Nice surprise, but WTF?

 

[400bhp]

Are the GT85 normally £2.99 a pop?

2 x 2.99 + grease for free

 

[Cubist]

no, the gt85 is normally £4.99. I like your thi king though.

 

[Alembicbassman]

I work at Boots and our 3 for 2 works on the cheapest item being free. Halfords apply the same logic. All discounts are applied after the items are scanned (helps stock taking).

So 5.99 for the grease 4.99 for one can of GT85 and 4.99 for the second (which is free but still scanned at the till point).

however you've received a further discount of 2.49 for the 2 cans of GT85 making them 2.50 each (even though one is free).

5.99 + 4.99 + 4.99 - 4.99 - 2.49 - 2.49 = 5.98

 

[Cubist]

That's brilliant, and now my till receipt makes sense. In order for it to work that way round you therefore need to buy something more expensive than a can of GT 85 at full price do you?

 

[SquareDaff]

The big question is "Which shonky software house did Halfords get to develop their POS systems?". Obviously they don't employ any testers!!!

 

[Alembicbassman]

Getting a discount on a 'free' item is a bit odd. Sometimes you cannot use one offer in conjunction with another, obviously on this occasion you could.

You can get 3 for 2 on 3 items priced the same. It equates to a 33.3333% discount or 50% extra free if you look at it the other way round.

Ain't maths fun.

 

[400bhp]

May have to call in later today

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

tis the same in supermarkets with their special offers when they reduce the price of the individual items, but you get to the till and still qualify for the offer.
Example - £2.69 a punnet for raspberries, the special offer is 3 for 2, but I have purchased 3 reduced items at £0.99 each.

Full Price £8.07 for 3 punnets (would never pay that) (3 * £2.69)
Offer Price £5.38 for 3 punnets (won't pay that either) (3 * £2.69 - £2.69)

Reduced Price (before special offer) (3 * £0.99) £2.97 for 3 punnets
Reduced Price (including 3 for 2) (3 * £0.99 - £2.69) £0.28 for 3 punnets...

Last summer I picked up 18 punnets of raspberries in our local supermarket that way which I paid for with a £5. The only person who batted an eyelid was a female customer who could not work out why I had not taken the last single punnet which was going to cost me the same as 9 more punnets of reduce raspberries would have done if there had been anymore available...

Tis even more fun with the fresh peas when they are reduced and on special offer, because by the time they have finished, they are actually crediting you for taking away their produce (only a few pence mind you but... )

 

[Davidc]

I've noticed that there seem to be no fixed order of calculation rules at shops. It's whatever took the software writer's fancy.

The calculations on extra and multiple loyalty points can be just as obscure as the pricing ones.

 

[redcard]

I've noticed that there seem to be no fixed order of calculation rules at shops. It's whatever took the software writer's fancy.

The calculations on extra and multiple loyalty points can be just as obscure as the pricing ones.

Mark's is slightly fairer in that if you buy 3 items at £10 and 3 at £1 you'll get a £10 and a £1 item free.

I think.