BOGO (buy one, get one)

Versions

• Buy one, get one free. The second item costs nothing. It can be limited to an item of equal or lesser value.
• Buy one, get one at a percent off. For example 50%, 30% or 25% off the second item.
• Buy more, get more. Buy two, get one free; buy two, get two free; and similar.
• Mix and match. The free or discounted item can be any item from a set, which brings it close to a multi-buy price such as "any 2 for $49".

What each version costs

The real discount is the share of the total the customer does not pay, assuming every item in the offer has the same regular price.

When the second item must be of equal or lesser value, the real discount is lower whenever the customer picks two different prices. A $100 item with a free $60 item is $60 off $160, or 37.5%. A brand comparing BOGO with a straight percent off should compare these figures, not the headline.

Why BOGO works

In experiments by Shampanier, Mazar and Ariely, when the cheaper of two goods became free, choices shifted toward it far more than the same price cut did at other prices. The authors' best-supported explanation was emotional: free seemed to add a benefit rather than only remove a cost.^[2] The study did not test BOGO wording, but it suggests why a free second item can feel stronger than the same saving written as a percentage, and why "BOGO 50% off" borrows the shape of a free offer for a smaller discount.

BOGO needs a purchase of more than one item to qualify, so it can raise the number of units per order. It fits products people use up (supplements, food, cosmetics) and products bought in pairs.

FTC guidance on free offers

In the US, the FTC's Guide Concerning Use of the Word "Free" is guidance on how to avoid deceptive free offers; enforcement happens under the FTC Act. It covers offers that make something free with a purchase and similar representations, and names "Buy 1-Get 1 Free" and "2-for-1 Sale" as examples. A "2 for 1" offer is covered even without the word free; a BOGO that plainly discounts the second item, such as 50% off, is not automatically a free offer under the guide.^[1] Its main points:

• A real regular price. The price of the item the customer must buy should be one at which it was openly and actively sold, with substantial sales, in the same area during a recent period, which the guide sets at 30 days. If the price moved, it is the lowest price with substantial sales in that period. New products offered at an introductory price are treated separately.
• No hidden recovery. The brand should not raise that price, or cut quality or quantity, to pay for the free item.
• Terms up front. Conditions should be stated clearly and conspicuously at the outset of the offer, right beside it. A footnote reached by an asterisk is not enough.
• Not all the time. A free offer on a single product size should not run in an area for more than six months in any 12-month period, with at least 30 days between offers, no more than three offers in any 12-month period, and offer sales of that size no more than half of its total sales in the area.

Other countries have their own rules on free offers and reference prices. This section describes the US guide only and is not legal advice.

BOGO in email

• Say which version in the subject line. "BOGO free" and "BOGO 50% off" are different offers, and the subject is where the reader decides.
• Name the items. Sitewide BOGO and BOGO on one collection need different emails.
• Put the condition beside the offer itself, for example "second item of equal or lesser value" in the same line as the headline offer, not only in the footer.
• Use a deadline the brand will keep. A BOGO that is "extended" every time may encourage subscribers to wait.

What brands send

Observed subject-line matches in the emails published brands sent to our subscriptions, February 1 to October 28, 2026. Days are Eastern Time.^[3]

• 1,694 brands sent 5,616 emails with BOGO in the subject, 4.0% of the 42,029 brands that sent anything.
• Among matched subjects, a percent off the second item was named by more brands than a free second item: 684 brands (2,082 emails) against 621 brands (1,570 emails).
• For 1,964 subject lines from 828 brands, our rules could not tell which version it was from the subject alone. A brand can appear in more than one group.
• Friday was the most common day for a BOGO email.

The platforms serve different mixes of business (Klaviyo mostly online stores, HubSpot more often B2B companies), which may explain much of the difference. These are observed subject-line matches, not an estimate of every offer sent: offers mentioned only in the body, or worded differently, are missed, and a few matches may be misclassified.

Examples from the archive

• One last look: Buy One, Get One Free closes at midnight, Jilbaya, September 29, 2026
• Lash favourites. Buy 1 Get 1 free., ForChics, October 15, 2026
• BOGO FREE! Pick Any 2 for $49, VivaTerra, September 29, 2026
• BOGO 50% OFF BEDS. TODAY ONLY., Epic Gardening, October 27, 2026
• Last Day: Iconic Chinos, BOGO 50% Off, Bonobos, October 21, 2026
• [SALE] BOGO 50% OFF your supplements, Legion, October 6, 2026

Common mistakes

• Calling a quarter off "BOGO" without saying 50% off in the same breath, so the subscriber expects a free item.
• Raising the regular price before the offer, which the FTC guide describes as recovering the cost of the free item.
• Running it constantly, which may teach customers to wait and goes against the guide's limits on how often a free offer should run.
• Hiding "equal or lesser value" or excluded items in the footer.

See also

Multi-buy offers · Bundles · Gift with purchase · Percent off vs dollar off · Mystery offer · Store credit. Entries without links are being written.

References

1. Federal Trade Commission, "Guide Concerning Use of the Word 'Free' and Similar Representations", 16 CFR Part 251.Back to text:123
2. Shampanier, K., Mazar, N. and Ariely, D., "Zero as a Special Price: The True Value of Free Products", Marketing Science 26(6), 742-757, 2007.Back to text:1
3. They Sent It, subject lines of emails from the 42,029 published brands that sent email in the archive, February 1 to October 28, 2026. A subject counts when it contains "BOGO", "buy one get one", "buy 1 get 1", "B1G1", "2 for 1" or "two for one". In a hand check of 40 random matches, 38 of 40 were BOGO offers.Back to text:123