Recently I’ve had a few people ask me about Buy One Get One Free (aka BOGO) store specials and specifically how does that work with coupons?
So, what is the big deal?  Does this deal always save us money?  Sometimes the store will raise their price of the item when a BOGO special is going on so the consumer will still be paying market price for both items.  This is why coupons are a fantastic way to use a store deal and to save more.

So, lets consider that a grocery store has razors on sale.  Buy one at $6, get one free.  If I have no coupons, I buy my $6 item and get the other package free, so essentially I just paid $3 for each razor package.

That’s a good deal.  Right? Right. It is.  Paying less for anything is always a good deal.  But, lets go a step farther and say that we have a manufacturer coupon for $3 off of 2.  So, I bring my 2 purchase items to the register, the register rings them up and I get them both for $6.  I give my coupon to the cashier who scans it in and now my purchase price is at $3.  I just paid $3 for two razors, which is essentially saying that I paid $1.50 for each razor.

Now that was a good deal. Right?  Right.  It is a very good deal.  Now, lets go even further and say that I have a coupon that says, “Buy one get one free”, and the store has a sale of buy one get one free.  I take my two razors to the cashier and the register rings up the two razors, I owe $6.  But, I have a coupon that says Buy one get one free, and the cashier scans my coupon, so the coupon basically takes off $6 from my total.  I now bought one (for free) and got one (for free).  The store gave me one for free and the manufacturer gave me one for free.

It’s a little hard to understand and some cashiers even get confused when this happens, but basically, you get both items for free when you combine a store BOGO with a coupon BOGO.  Be sure that the coupon is for the same item that is on sale.  And be patient with cashiers who are new to the couponing concept.

Also, when shopping at King Soopers or Safeway, you can only use one coupon per item that is being purchased.  So, if I found their razor sale of BOGO and I had two coupons, I could NOT use both coupons with the buy one get one sale, because one of the items the store gives me is free.  I can only use the one coupon on the item that is being purchased.
There are a few stores that DO allow you to use a coupon on an item that is free, look for their coupon policies.
And lastly, there are a few stores that DO NOT allow you to use a BOGO coupon on a BOGO deal.  (Rite Aid for example).

I hope this helps for all you newbie couponers.  If you have any questions you can email us or leave a comment.

Save wisely and live happy!