
Best Reader Tips of 2021
This year reader tips led to dozens of ad alerts, as well as a complaint to regulators.
As a TINA.org reader put it, it's only "free" if you first spend money.
Subscription-based meat and seafood delivery service Crowd Cow advertises that consumers can get “$100 of free meat,” perfect for the Liz Lemon on your holiday shopping list.
But there’s a porterhouse-sized catch, hidden in the fine print of the free meat promotion page:
$100 offer is based on a total discount applied over the first 10 orders with savings of $10 on each order. All ten orders have a minimum requirement of $99.01.
Translation: The free meat is spread out over 10 orders and you have to pay a minimum of $999 to get the full advertised amount. Or, as the TINA.org reader who alerted us to the promotion put it:
It’s only “free” if you first spend money with them on each order. It’s simply a 10% coupon.
But “10% off” isn’t as mouthwatering as “$100 of free meat.”
The fine print also notes that the offer is only available to new subscribers and that “free shipping” is limited to orders over $99.
Find more of our coverage on fine print here.
This year reader tips led to dozens of ad alerts, as well as a complaint to regulators.
BOGO has severe limitations.
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