Buy 2 Get 1 Free Promotion

[audioandvideouniverse]

Question is if i do a Buy 2 get 1 Free type promption and the eligible items range is price from $2.99 to $99.99 will Ebay allow a customer to buy  2 $2.99 items and choose a $99.99 for free or will it take the lowest priced  or equal value item and  make that the free one??

[tunicaslot]

I would be selective on doing any sort of B2G1F promotion and only put that on the items I can afford to give away.

[audioandvideouniverse]

I hear you!  I can afford the promotion if the Ebay system uses "common sense/logic"  but not if it allows a customer that spends $8.00 to get a  $100 item for free...

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@tunicaslot wrote:

I would be selective on doing any sort of B2G1F promotion and only put that on the items I can afford to give away.

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[chrisl3486]

If I remember correctly, they take the price of the lowest item (or equal value) off the total and then divide the price among the 3 items. That way no item is technically 'free', so if somewhat wants to return only one or two items and keep the 'free' one, they really can't. Hope that makes sense.

[cynthealee2]

I run them constantly...

But I run them on .99 items.  Buy 1 get 2 free for .99.  It breaks up on the invoice, and the payment shows they pay .33 each.

Now if they buy 25 at a time it gets funkier.... there will be a bunch at .33, 1 at a lower price and then one at a higher price.

For the promo's I would keep them in the same price range,  put the higher cost ones together, and the lower cost ones together.

[audioandvideouniverse]

That makes sense..... My main concern was the scenario of some one buying  2 $2.00 items and getting a $100 item "free".. I wish eBay had a "demo mode" so you can try things out like this and see how it works on both ends....

[creativecrisis]

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@audioandvideouniverse wrote:

Question is if i do a Buy 2 get 1 Free type promption and the eligible items range is price from $2.99 to $99.99 will Ebay allow a customer to buy  2 $2.99 items and choose a $99.99 for free or will it take the lowest priced  or equal value item and  make that the free one??

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I've used similar promotions many times (e.g., BOGO 25% off), and the lowest-priced item is always discounted. If a buyer purchased two items for $2.99 and one for $99.99, one of the $2.99 items would be the free one. 

[audioandvideouniverse]

Ok I have a lot of listings ( Cat 5 and Cat 6 Network Cables , Keystone Jacks and Keystone Wall plates) that  I want to do this with that are listed with variatons (Color/Length) and different prices within the same item #. Are you saying that this is not suggested?

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@cynthealee2 wrote:

I run them constantly...

But I run them on .99 items.  Buy 1 get 2 free for .99.  It breaks up on the invoice, and the payment shows they pay .33 each.

Now if they buy 25 at a time it gets funkier.... there will be a bunch at .33, 1 at a lower price and then one at a higher price.

For the promo's I would keep them in the same price range,  put the higher cost ones together, and the lower cost ones together.

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[audioandvideouniverse]

Thanks

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@creativecrisis wrote:

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@audioandvideouniverse wrote:

Question is if i do a Buy 2 get 1 Free type promption and the eligible items range is price from $2.99 to $99.99 will Ebay allow a customer to buy  2 $2.99 items and choose a $99.99 for free or will it take the lowest priced  or equal value item and  make that the free one??

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I've used similar promotions many times (e.g., BOGO 25% off), and the lowest-priced item is always discounted. If a buyer purchased two items for $2.99 and one for $99.99, one of the $2.99 items would be the free one. 

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[dhbookds]

You chose the items to include.......if you have all 2.99 items with one $99 item, they can certainly chose 2 @2.99 and 1 at $99.

Point being, as someone said, include ONLY similarly priced items in one offer......

I see some other advice that shows I'm wrong.......which certainly could be true, but if I were a buyer, I would expect the $99 to be free......

[cynthealee2]

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@audioandvideouniverse wrote:

Ok I have a lot of listings ( Cat 5 and Cat 6 Network Cables , Keystone Jacks and Keystone Wall plates) that  I want to do this with that are listed with variatons (Color/Length) and different prices within the same item #. Are you saying that this is not suggested?

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@cynthealee2 wrote:

I run them constantly...

But I run them on .99 items.  Buy 1 get 2 free for .99.  It breaks up on the invoice, and the payment shows they pay .33 each.

Now if they buy 25 at a time it gets funkier.... there will be a bunch at .33, 1 at a lower price and then one at a higher price.

For the promo's I would keep them in the same price range,  put the higher cost ones together, and the lower cost ones together.

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How big is the price gap?  How often are they going to buy the three items together?  ie how often are they going to want a 5 ft cable, an 8 ft cable, and a 30 ft cable (I didn't look at your listings I am making it up for an example, and I assume the different lengths would be highly different prices.)

IF on the other hand they often buy the plate thing, the cable, and the jack together then have at.  Just let them know HOW the buy 2 get 1 free thing works... that it breaks down, and no it's not going to give them the expensive one "free".

I've found MY buyers like simple (I sell GPK cards) they understand "3 / 1.00" or "4/ 1.00".  And they've never asked why the cards show in thier cart/ invoice at .33 / .25 each.  Comp people are a bit smarter so they might not get wonky but I personally wouldn't but an 99.00 item with a 2.99 item in any promo.  But 2.99 - 25.99 I could see that working with YOUR items.

You could INSTEAD of the buy 2 get 1 free put a percentage off if they buy 3 of the various listings. And use the Buy 1 get 2 free on same priced other items.

You do know you can make loads of these promos don't you? 

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Now that you have posted here someone will probably report you for your violating user id. You might consider changing it before Ebay forces you to.

[coolections]

Why would you do that ? So you are really not having a promotion by expecting a buyer to purchase $100 and $2.99 and giving them a free $2.99 item ? If you really want to look a little less like a scammer you should offer all three items equal in value.

[markdown-media]

As some others mentioned, the free item is always going to be the lowest priced item of the order. It does show that, in small text on your listing.

Example:

And as someone else mentioned though, when the sale is complete, the invoice will not show which item was free. All items' original price is reduced by a pro-rated portion of the cost of the free item. I believe this is done so that if a return is made on a single item of the order, you wouldn't be able to just return the "paid" item and keep the free one.

So an example in your case, if someone bought 2 at $2.99 and one at $99.99, your invoice would probably looks something like this:

Item 1: $2.00

Item 2: $2.00

Item 3: $98.01

For a total reduction off the total invoice of $2.99

Unfotunately, this does cause some confusion with buyers. They'll see the invoice and say "Hey, i was supposed to get one free", and you'll have to explain this all to them.

[markdown-media]

I run these type of promotions often, so some other things to be on the lookout for when running one:

(Using your buy 2 get 1 free as an example)

- All items must be added to the cart, including the expected free one

(some buyers may buy 3 items with 3 individual transactions, and the discount would not be applied automatically. In this case, you may have to do the math yourself and give a partial refund)

- Sometimes a buyer may not include the free one in their cart

(if a buyer is buying multiple quantities of the same item, they may just buy 2 and expect you to include a 3rd one for free, without actually adding the 3rd one to their cart. In this case, if you see an order for 2, I would contact the buyer first and see if they were expecting a third one for free)

Just some examples of things I've run into in the past.