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My "Buy One, Get One Free" Burden

INSERT DESCRIPTIONPhoto: Anantab

My wife made me give my 12-year-old suit to charity, so I had to get a new one. Men’s Wearhouse had some nice outfits, and I was willing to pay a lot for a good suit.
Top-of-the-line models were available for $600, and they were on sale: “Buy one, get one free.” I was going to buy one even without the sale, and $600 was about what I wanted to spend. But I have almost no use for the “free” suit; I derive little consumer surplus even from a “free” second new suit.
I asked if I could get half price on the one suit, but the manager said no. I hope I am typical and that when confronted with “buy one, get one free” deals, generally most people rationally prefer half price on each item. But I wonder if that is really the case.


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