moof commented

Owner

Send the seekers a picture of a discounted price tag (or other written discount) that you found in the real world. They must find an item that is equally (or more) discounted, by percentage, before asking another question.

How do we handle BOGOF and similar discounts?

Is Buy 1 Get 1 Free a 100% discount or a 50% discount?

If you have a buy one, 60% discount on the second, is that a 30% discount on one item?

Is 3 for 2 a 66% discount?

Or do we just ban discounts that aren’t directly for one item?

> Send the seekers a picture of a discounted price tag (or other written discount) that you found in the real world. They must find an item that is equally (or more) discounted, by percentage, before asking another question. How do we handle BOGOF and similar discounts? Is Buy 1 Get 1 Free a 100% discount or a 50% discount? If you have a buy one, 60% discount on the second, is that a 30% discount on one item? Is 3 for 2 a 66% discount? Or do we just ban discounts that aren’t directly for one item?

moof added this to the Next Game milestone

2026-08-25 07:43:23 +00:00

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Card Clarification

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2026-08-25 07:43:23 +00:00

moof added this to the Jet Lag Cards project

2026-08-25 07:43:23 +00:00

moof commented

2026-08-25 07:47:23 +00:00

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Owner

What about conditional discounts that only apply if you have a store card, or if you have a minimum spend?

nander commented

2026-08-25 11:06:22 +00:00

Member

I would either go for the following:

compare the discount of the full offer

This option would be: look at what cost a new customer would need to make to reach the lower offer.
Examples:
50 euros cashback when buying a TV of 1000 euros --> nett cost of 950 euros for a 1000 euros nominal offer. Thus: 5% discount
2nd product free (cheapest product variation) --> 50% discount, since you could buy the same product twice
2nd product half price --> 25% discount

Singular product variation:

Consider what discount you would get according to the sticker, when buying one product. 3 for 1 doesn't apply for it doesn't apply when buying one product, and thus wouldn't apply.

Some further notes

I think the other variations of the rule are too complex or nonsensical. Counting a 2-for-1 offer as 100% discount does not make sense to me.

For store cards I would say: if you can grab one (or take one from google images) then its probably okay, but if you need to get it sent to your home or pay for getting the card then I'd say it shouldn't count. That is, one could use google to look for "Albert Heijn Bonuskaart" and use one of those.

My preference would be the first idea: you look at the offer-price for the total deal and compare it to the price without the deal. This feels the most "in the spirit of the curse".

I would either go for the following: # compare the discount of the full offer This option would be: look at what cost a *new* customer would need to make to reach the lower offer. Examples: 50 euros cashback when buying a TV of 1000 euros --> nett cost of 950 euros for a 1000 euros nominal offer. Thus: 5% discount 2nd product free (cheapest product variation) --> 50% discount, since you could buy the same product twice 2nd product half price --> 25% discount # Singular product variation: Consider what discount you would get according to the sticker, when buying *one* product. 3 for 1 doesn't apply for it doesn't apply when buying *one* product, and thus wouldn't apply. # Some further notes I think the other variations of the rule are too complex or nonsensical. Counting a 2-for-1 offer as 100% discount does not make sense to me. For store cards I would say: if you can grab one (or take one from google images) then its probably okay, but if you need to get it sent to your home or pay for getting the card then I'd say it shouldn't count. That is, one could use google to look for "Albert Heijn Bonuskaart" and use one of those. My preference would be the first idea: you look at the offer-price for the total deal and compare it to the price without the deal. This feels the most "in the spirit of the curse".

taavi commented

2026-10-16 19:15:29 +00:00

Member

+1 for looking at the full offer, where BOGOF is a 50 % discount and a 3-for-the-price-of-2 is a 33,3... % discount.

For the conditional discount question, I have some edge cases to consider:

Is a "give us your email and you get 10 % off of product X" offer a discount?
Is a "members of the co-operative which runs this grocery store and which has a 100 euro one-time membership fee get 10 % off product X" offer a discount?
... does it matter if that store is a) a singular grocery store in a massive city, b) the single grocery store in a town with no competition in sight, or c) the largest retailer in the country?
Is a monthly subscription to a food delivery app which gives you free deliveries a discount for the value of those deliveries?
Does a BahnCard 25 advert count as a 25 % discount? (Does it matter if the advert has example prices for some example journey?)
If yes, does a BahnCard 100 advert count as a 100 % discount?
Does a sign saying that passengers in first class get free lounge access and second class has to pay a specific fee count as a 100 % discount?
Does an "Interrail pass holders can enter this museum for a 90 % discount on active travel days" count as a 90 % discount, or does the cost of a travel day have to be taken into account somehow?
Does a "Download our app and do thing X 30 % faster" poster imply a 30 % discount, since many parts of our society place direct monetary value on people's time?
Does a "Students get 50 % off" offer count?
If yes, does a "Civil servants who have 24 years of service and whose name starts with a Z and who were born on the 29th of February get 50 % off" offer count?
Or is "First round is on us on your birthday!" a 100 % discount?
Is the Dishoom dice game a 100 % discount? Or a 1/6 discount?
Is a credit card cashback offer a discount?
Is an automotive insurance bonus points system a discount?

I would say that if most people buying that product or service can get the discount, then it counts. So signing up for a free account or even the one-off coop membership fee would be fine. The rest gets really difficult to draw a line so I would say not allowed.

Similarly, I would say a minimum spend requirement is fine if regular consumers of that product or service will realistically regularly hit that.

+1 for looking at the full offer, where BOGOF is a 50 % discount and a 3-for-the-price-of-2 is a 33,3... % discount. For the conditional discount question, I have some edge cases to consider: * Is a "give us your email and you get 10 % off of product X" offer a discount? * Is a "members of the [co-operative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumers%27_co-operative) which runs this grocery store and which has a 100 euro one-time membership fee get 10 % off product X" offer a discount? * ... does it matter if that store is a) a singular grocery store in a massive city, b) the single grocery store in a town with no competition in sight, or c) [the largest retailer in the country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_Group)? * Is a monthly subscription to a food delivery app which gives you free deliveries a discount for the value of those deliveries? * Does a BahnCard 25 advert count as a 25 % discount? (Does it matter if the advert has example prices for some example journey?) * If yes, does a BahnCard 100 advert count as a 100 % discount? * Does a sign saying that passengers in first class get free lounge access and second class has to pay a specific fee count as a 100 % discount? * Does an "Interrail pass holders can enter this museum for a 90 % discount on active travel days" count as a 90 % discount, or does the cost of a travel day have to be taken into account somehow? * Does a "Download our app and do thing X 30 % faster" poster imply a 30 % discount, since many parts of our society place direct monetary value on people's time? * Does a "Students get 50 % off" offer count? * If yes, does a "Civil servants who have 24 years of service and whose name starts with a Z and who were born on the 29th of February get 50 % off" offer count? * Or is "First round is on us on your birthday!" a 100 % discount? * Is the [Dishoom dice game](https://www.dishoom.com/matka/) a 100 % discount? Or a 1/6 discount? * Is a credit card cashback offer a discount? * Is an [automotive insurance bonus points system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus%E2%80%93malus#Insurance) a discount? I would say that if most people buying that product or service can get the discount, then it counts. So signing up for a free account or even the **one-off** coop membership fee would be fine. The rest gets really difficult to draw a line so I would say not allowed. Similarly, I would say a minimum spend requirement is fine if regular consumers of that product or service will realistically regularly hit that.

AmyMagdalena commented

2026-10-17 11:59:23 +00:00

Member

with paid-for discount perks, the percentage would change based on how much you spent and are thus incompatible with a game

like a €25 for 10% discount, well, if i only buy something that would cost €2.50 there, i have paid €27.25 for something that would have cost me €2.50, and thus my discount is -1090%, if i buy 25€ of stuff, i have paid 25+22,50=47,5=-90%, if i buy 250 worth, 25+225=250=0%, 2500=25+2250=2.275=9.1% and then after that each factor of ten adds another 9 in the middle

with paid-for discount perks, the percentage would change based on how much you spent and are thus incompatible with a game like a €25 for 10% discount, well, if i only buy something that would cost €2.50 there, i have paid €27.25 for something that would have cost me €2.50, and thus my discount is -1090%, if i buy 25€ of stuff, i have paid 25+22,50=47,5=-90%, if i buy 250 worth, 25+225=250=0%, 2500=25+2250=2.275=9.1% and then after that each factor of ten adds another 9 in the middle

moof commented

2026-10-18 16:09:51 +00:00

Author

Owner

What do we make of this, though?

IMG_1888.jpeg

117 KiB

AmyMagdalena commented

2026-10-19 05:20:00 +00:00

Member

While the discount is variable in a buy any 2 get any 1 free, the technique to reach the maximum value of 33.33% is clear and doesn’t have the Zeno’s paradox problem that a membership does

nander commented

2026-10-19 13:54:04 +00:00

Member

I would keep it simple:

A discount is a discount only if anyone can get it, regardless of status, memberships, gender, age, tickets, etc. Mayhaps if you can get it by filling in any email address (like an Albert Heijn bonuskaart in the Netherlands), or through an app (Lidl Plus), without other extra costs attached to it.

I'd personally go for something like: the discount is valid:

the percentage of the cost of a full deal that you're actually paying
only valid if anyone with a phone can get it there-and-then, without committing or having committed to anything and without being a specific person.

So also no 100% discount for things like: you can pick up a trailer for free if you rent a home with DerpyDerp Housing, or otherwise it'd cost you 50 euros per day.

3 for 2 deals generally say "Cheapest product free" btw, so then it's a maximum of 33% discount. Since you can achieve that one through buying 3x the same product, that's also the available discount.

A funny side-effect of the Bargain hunter is that Dutch pharmacies give ludicrous discounts because the base prices are idiotic, whereas German pharmacies do not (but have base prices that are effectively lower than the Dutch discounted version)

I would keep it simple: A discount is a discount only if anyone can get it, regardless of status, memberships, gender, age, tickets, etc. Mayhaps if you can get it by filling in *any* email address (like an Albert Heijn bonuskaart in the Netherlands), or through an app (Lidl Plus), without other extra costs attached to it. I'd personally go for something like: the discount is valid: - the percentage of the cost of a full deal that you're actually paying - only valid if anyone with a phone can get it there-and-then, without committing or having committed to anything and without being a specific person. So also no 100% discount for things like: you can pick up a trailer for free if you rent a home with DerpyDerp Housing, or otherwise it'd cost you 50 euros per day. 3 for 2 deals generally say "Cheapest product free" btw, so then it's a maximum of 33% discount. Since you can achieve that one through buying 3x the same product, that's also the available discount. A funny side-effect of the Bargain hunter is that Dutch pharmacies give ludicrous discounts because the base prices are idiotic, whereas German pharmacies do not (but have base prices that are effectively lower than the Dutch discounted version)

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Curse of the Bargain hunter: what to do with BOGOF? #102

compare the discount of the full offer

Singular product variation:

Some further notes