# is 'buy 4 get one free' a bad marketing plan?



## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

honestly, the notion of offering a fifth shirt free after buying four (or however many) just popped into my head and i was wondering if anyone else tried this and if it's a bad marketing idea.


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

Well someone has to pay for the shirt, ink, and time that went into making it. So I suppose if you figured that cost into the other 4 then it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.


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## applesauce (Aug 17, 2011)

are you doing this promo as a single order of 4?


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## tcrowder (Apr 27, 2006)

Not something that would prompt me to purchase more than what I wanted.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

basically you are offering a 20% discount at 5 units. If this is retail it is ok. If it is wholesale then naw, wouldn't do it.


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## AaronM (Mar 28, 2007)

I personally don't think there is a suck thing as bad marketing. Any marketing you do is better than nothing. Could you be wasting your time, sure, but if it doesn't work, hopefully it is a learning experience for you.

As for your specific question, as others have mentioned it does depend on your business and how you are currently selling your shirts. A 20% off deal might be better suited as mentioned, but to me again, any marketing is good marketing as long as you learn from it. Make sure you have a clear plan, you track your results and try to get feedback from customer as to what brought them to you to begin with and how you can best help them be successful.


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## pc37075 (Nov 14, 2011)

I would shy away from free until you really get going. Try buy x and get the z 20% off. The customer is happy and you still made $$


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## Naptime (May 19, 2011)

i've worked with so many ad agencies over the years, for other business.

and aside from everything mentioned above, i can tell you that "buy four get the fifth free' has a "terrible ring" to it.

it just doesnt jump out at you.

poeple are used to buy 1 get 1, buy 2 get the third free. etc... you want to use wording that customers like to hear. 

there is a psychology behind it, more than just saving a few dollars. its the words that excite the brain.


buy four get the fifth at 25 percent off, actually has a much better ring to it, and you keep more money in your pocket.


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## EnMartian (Feb 14, 2008)

It's not a bad idea, but I would ask a couple of questions. First, are you customers in the habit of buying multiple shirts? If most customers only buy one shirt, than a buy four get the fifth free order probably isn't going to entice them to buy three more shirts than they normally would buy. Second, as others have already said, does this deal make good financial sense for you? It's no good having a sale and moving more product if you're in the red when the sale is over.


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

good points, all. it was just something that jumped into my brain as a bit of clay, and i wanted to see if y'all could shape it into something... which i think you guys did a good job of doing.


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## cjb2212 (Apr 18, 2011)

Spreadshirt are running this exact promotion from now til 28th nov. As others have said, 'buy 4 get 1 free' jus doesn't have a good ring to it, but it may be enticing to a few especially as christmas is approaching. You won't know unless u give it a go!


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## suthernkumfert (Jun 29, 2010)

maybe you can do some kind of "buy more save more" type plan...like 1 shirt for $15 each, 3 for $13 each, 5 for $10 each... that way when a person is on the edge of a shirt that they may or may not want to buy they say hey why not all of them will be a little bit cheaper when i get more. because if you buy 2 shirts it would cost $30 but if they are on the fence about a shirt, for only $9 dollars more they can get 3 shirts at the $13 each price for a total price of $39. i hope this helps


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## dotcom (Feb 1, 2011)

binki said:


> basically you are offering a 20% discount at 5 units. If this is retail it is ok. If it is wholesale then naw, wouldn't do it.


Well said


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## tomagucci (Feb 24, 2009)

You can always do "packs" too. so if you sell each shirt at 20$ you could do a pack of 3 for like 50$ or 45$


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## aishanj (Nov 17, 2011)

buy 2 get one free is better


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

i like the pack idea, it's different. $20 each or any 3 for $50. 

i think the wording is important because you want to hit the right note with your intended customer. that is, you wouldn't use the same promotion or marketing scheme for wal*mart as you would macy's. imo, the pack sounds a little more upscale, not sure why. buy 2 get one free sounds as if it's something you'd see from one of those sites with 500 designs (which i'm not saying is bad, just that that phrasing sounds more appropriate for that market).


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