Cheaper from the third item: does the price cover all items or only later ones?
By Erik Nilsen · Kroni3 min read
A sign showing a lower price for more items can describe different rules. Some offers lower the price of every item. Others lower it only from a particular quantity onwards. Your child needs to know which rule applies before multiplying the lowest price by the whole basket.
Divide the basket into price steps
In a hypothetical example, the first two identical badges cost 6 units each. Starting with the third, each extra badge costs 4 units. Your child wants five. This pricing rule and the arbitrary amounts are invented, rather than describing a particular offer.
The first two cost 2 × 6 = 12 units. The next three cost 3 × 4 = 12. The total is 12 + 12 = 24 units. The unit price across the whole purchase is 24 / 5 = 4.80 units.
If your child uses 5 × 4 = 20, they have discounted the first two when the rule does not allow it. The difference is 4 units. If the shop instead said that all five cost 4 each, 20 would be correct. The offer's wording determines which calculation is needed.
Write “first two” and “the rest” as separate rows. Draw five badges and let your child move two into the first row. This makes clear which items receive which price.
Test one quantity before testing more
Three badges cost 6 + 6 + 4 = 16 units. Four cost 20. Five cost 24. Each new item after the first two therefore adds 4 units to the payment, but does not make earlier items cheaper.
A realistic snag is a similar sign using the words “when buying three”. That might describe a different rule from “from the third item”. An adult can help read the conditions or ask the shop, then compare with the checkout total. Do not select whichever interpretation creates the lowest price without checking it.
Your child should still buy the quantity they actually want and can afford. A price step tells you about the payment, rather than automatically giving a reason to add more items.
Ask your family: “Which items get the lower price, and can you show the total without discounting the wrong item?”
Carry the calculation into your family agreement
Kroni can keep track of your child's virtual balance. The app does not transfer money, so any actual purchase is paid for outside it. Agree on what you will record, then check the amount with your child afterwards. Do not deduct a possible cost as though the purchase had already happened. Read about allowance in Kroni.
