You know what? Its already November and that means it’ll soon be time for the ubiquitous Holiday sets to appear for Christmas, and for the sales to hit in store. Also, time for cosmetic companies to amp up their gift with purchase (GWP) offers.
My question for you today is this : Do you buy more just to get the Gift with Purchase?
A few years ago, my answer is yes. I’d get suckered in one way or another ostensibly to get that “7 piece skincare deluxe sample set worth RM300 with exclusive handbag” if I just spend RM200 more.
In my head I’d think “Hey! I just have to spend a total of RM350 and I’d get RM300 worth of samples plus a bag! That means my actual purchase is only RM50! Wah! That’s worth it!” So I’d hunt around the counter till I found something that I might want but definitely did not need, plonk down my credit card to pay RM400 and walk away with my purchases and the “GWP worth RM350 and exclusive bag”, happy to get a bargain.
And then one day the scales fell from my eyes and I realized that ultimately, what I’m getting is a) samples which don’t cost the company much b) an “exclusive bag” that cost perhaps RM20 and c) it is “worth” which is not the same as “priced at” because you can’t price samples.
These days, unless I’m shopping with a friend and we decide to share our purchases so we qualify to pick up the GWP, or I do already want to pick up a couple of items that might qualify me for the GWP offer, I don’t get swayed by GWP offers anymore. I still look though – some of them are very attractive and some do come in useful especially if you travel a lot.
But I no longer buy more of something I did not come to get nor need just to get the GWP because I’m now “kiam siap” (stingy) that way 😉 That said, if I’m replenishing my regular skincare supply I do try to buy them when there’s a good GWP offer because I’d rather get something than nothing at all!
But that’s me. How about you? Do you find yourself buying more to qualify for the GWP offer? There are no right or wrong answers. I’d love to know how you feel about this 🙂
Paris B
oh hey guess what? i almost never get tempted with the GWP…i don’t buy just for the sake of getting the samples, i only buy when i need or really want it, regardless of there is GWP or not. hehehe
Ooh good gal! I used to be such a sucker but I guess I’ve wised up 😛
i was never interested when it comes to GWP for bags but i would spend more if the travel sized skincare along with the bags are those that i would really use. it’s because i prefer to carry smaller sized items when i travel… it makes packing a whole lot easier 🙂
I know! I used to have drawers of those samples thinking I’d use them when I travel but then I never really did. I always ended up bringing sachets because they are use and throw LOL!
I always thought about this like a timing problem 🙂 try to get what I need when there is a GWP, at a counter I like, ex EL or Lancome. Ither than that, never been really interested in spending more just to get the GWP.
That’s smart! If you’re going to be dropping money at the counter, might as well get something out of it eh? So yes, good timing is key 😀
yes… i do get tempted by the GWP. I just did it last week. I only needed the sunblock but I stock up on my other skincare/cosmetic items in order to meet the so called amount to get the gifts. Sometimes it’s quite worth. This time around I got the scrub in full size plus 6 piece gift set and a cosmetic bag :P. Not to mention some cash vouchers hehehe. I do wait for the Parkson pre sales to get my items because u get more cash vouchers and 5x bonuslink points. Warning : when getting cash vouchers, it might tempt u to spend more if u are not careful hehehehe.
LOL! You are right about the vouchers for sure! Sometimes, they give such a limited deadline that you have to use it almost immediately, and whatever you buy always needs topping up with cash. For me anyway 🙂
Same here! A few years ago i’d do the same too. But nowadays I’m rarely tempted – most of my GWPs just end up in my “samples” drawer anyways. Well unless the GWP includes a really cute bag or something, then thats another story altogether! 😛
We’ve grown up! 😀
Thank goodness I hit puberty early! :p
My mom and I only get our stuff when there are GWPs, and we even choose which GWP package to get. Usually, Clinique’s GWPs are all very usable for us, so, no harm in doing that. (That, and we stock up about once a year-ish, so yeah, its fine).
Well since you’re stocking up, it only makes sense to get something out of it 😉 And its even better if the GWPs are useable.
Totally agree with you dear. I myself no longer tempted to the GWPs anymore as I have too many items kept inside my drawer and never used them. What a waste then..
Time to take out all those samples and use them up! 😀
It depends on the gift. I’ve done it before, particularly if there’s a gift AND cash vouchers if you spend over a certain amount.
Yup! Especially if you have a loyalty card of a particular department store, it makes it even easier to spend more
hmm no longer attracted to GWPs.. they ended up in samples boxes which i will only use when going for hols. Then again its difficult to mix and match those samples.. might just give me bad breakouts..
True! And breakouts on a holiday are no fun. I usually only go for the gwp if I already use or like the products e.g. if there is Advanced Night Repair in an Estee Lauder GWP i’d be more likely to buy it 😉
I am guilty of succumbing to buying more to get GWP though some items I can jolly do without. Like you said, pressurize to find something to buy but not surely need to get GWP that markets itself to be so tempting. Likewise, for my recent nordstrom order, they said for beauty item over $120 you get 15 deluxe travel size item ..sounds great, i thought but when i receive them lately, i found those are not the highly raved products in MUA..
Golly! You could get quite a lot for $120 in Nordstrom! It sucks that they didnt’ live up to expectations though. Sometimes, the GWP can be so disappointing 🙁
I’m one of those people who get suckered into it. I’d be so attracted to the packaging, the fact that I’d get items ‘worth’ more than what I pay etc. I still get attracted but now I handle it better. I’d take a long walk, letting my lemming settle down a lil and more often than not, the lemming will go away and I return home with no significant damage to the account 🙂
same here! 🙂
i would go home, and reflect – would i die if i don’t buy? would i?
*giggles at “would I die if I don’t buy it”* Problem is, so many are for just one day or just 3 days. I go back and reflect if its a big purchase, but GWPs used to just sucker me in just like that 😛
haha… I love your candour! 😀 Glad you’ve figured it out and also a way to lessen the damage to the wallet! It took me many a flat wallet before I figured it out 😛
Oh PB, you have no idea how many times the bill skyrocketed before I came to my senses….
Join the “broke” club! 😉
Oh I used to think like that too! But now i don’t want to get something i don’t need just to get the gwp (although sometimes i do salivate at the lovely gwp) ! But my motto now is to only buy the stuff you want/need and don’t spend just for the sake of getting the gwp!
Good on ya! I’m doing the same too but if so many of us do it, how are the brands going to cope?! LOL
sometimes really tempted to buy more to get the GWP.. but will try not to because it’s a waste if we dun really need the thing we buy in extra..
True! Sometimes if I happen to get the GWP anyway from my purchases I just give it to friends 😀
Nope, not tempted by it – I’m too cheap to be swayed by the up-selling and not having that kind of spare change helps too 😛 Besides, the sales people can always move on to someone else if they can’t get a big sale out of me, so no worries.
The bags would be just be a waste of space – and there are plenty of ways to get them separately if you want to… but I can’t be bothered.
But I don’t mind getting them if someone doesn’t want them – like when my cousin stocked up on her Shiseido products recently, guess who got the samples? 🙂
Haha hey! You benefit from their GWP so that’s pretty awesome! 😀
haha..i will buy it if i will use them…^^
im Origins big fans, currently hv alot in my room, at least a year no need to buy skincare stuff @_@
LOL! Then don’t buy anymore! Skincare does expire 😉
The gift has to have lots of things I want- if the lipstick is an awful colour or the blush terrible, I won’t buy. But it took me a while to stop ‘collecting’ GWPs!
Looks like we’re all in the same boat of ex-gwp collectors 🙂 glad we managed to break the habit!
*raises hand* I do! Unfortunately I’m quite easy to “convince” to buy more stuff than I actually need. “Free” has a nice ring in my ears! I actually need a Jiminy Cricket like my BF or my mom to tell me that I don’t need the other things 🙂 So I try to shop with someone to hold me back
I love your analogy of Jimmy Cricket! its so true isn’t it? Sometimes we can be so irrational till someone else brings us back to earth. 🙂