Enlighten me

As well as being a chartered structural engineer Mr FF has an MBA in marketing - an integrated communications-based process through which individuals and communities are informed or persuaded that existing and newly-identified needs and wants may be satisfied by the products and services of others - apparently. We have had some quite heated discussions about what makes good marketing as I like to think I cannot be persuaded to purchase items that I don't really need (apart from wool, books and toiletries of course, but that's not need that's lust). I am not a lover of the buy one get one half price offers though I admit I can be tempted by the buy one get one for free, aptly abbreviated to BOGOFF, if its a product I know and use. Equally I don't like the vouchers you get when you make a purchase for say £5 off next time, this has seen me leaving the checkout to go back round the aisles searching for a way to spend the voucher but there is never anything for just £5 in the range and I then have to make a determined effort to leave the shop and throw the voucher away. I'm much happier with a straight forward pricing system, just give me £5 off the bill now, though of course finding anything that has been substantially reduced is tempting, I found two perfectly healthy clematis the other day at £1 each in the bargain bucket and soon snapped them up.

So how can you explain this. I was in Homebase (again) and after finding the above mentioned clematis I went to buy some energy saving light bulbs, the main purpose of my visit. I needed two types of bulbs, one priced at 99p each and the other at £1.29 each, however there was an offer on 3 for £1. That just doesn't make sense, who would ever buy one for £1.29 when you have have 3 times what you need for £1 and afford to throw 2 away. Even the marketing engineer couldn't explain that one, the offer is endorsed and subsidised by the energy supplier E-On, but they are in the business surely of getting us to use their electricity not save it. Needless to say we bought a few. Mr FF was so delighted with the purchase that he actually replaced any remaining energy consuming light bulbs we have in the house with these new ones (even though there was still life in them and he comes from Yorkshire). He did point out that the new bulbs have a lifetime of 10 years allowing for them to be switched on for 3 hours a day. No way do we leave lights burning unnecessarily so we have reached the conclusion aged 60 and 61 respectively that our bulb changing days may be over.