Free delivery: when the extra item makes the order cost more
By Erik Nilsen · Kroni3 min read
Free delivery can sound like money saved even when your child must buy more to qualify. Calculate two finished baskets before adding an item. Compare the whole payment, rather than only the line labelled delivery.
Two baskets with the same starting point
In this hypothetical example, your child wants an item costing 140 units. Delivery costs 35 units. The shop offers free delivery when the products in the basket total at least 200 units. Your child finds an extra item costing 65 units. These arbitrary numbers illustrate the difference between delivery cost and total cost.
Without the extra item, the payment is 140 + 35 = 175 units. With it, the products cost 140 + 65 = 205 units and delivery is zero. The second basket therefore costs 205 − 175 = 30 units more. Your child receives another item but keeps less money.
Write the delivery saving beside the extra expense: 35 units saved on delivery, 65 units spent on more products. The difference is 30 units. If your child has 190 units available, only the first basket can be paid for with today's money.
Separate the need from the shop's threshold
Ask what the extra item would be used for before mentioning free delivery again. If it was already on a concrete shopping list, ordering together may be useful. If the wish appeared because the basket was “too small”, the shop's threshold has created another purchase.
A realistic snag is that the family also needs to order something. First agree who pays for each product and how any delivery charge is divided. Your child should not fund an item the adult would buy anyway. A combined order might remove delivery charges without an extra purchase for your child, but only if the adult's purchase is genuinely planned.
Do not rely on a future refund or possible return to make today's budget work. You need to cover the checkout payment before either happens. If the offer is unclear, use the amount shown before payment and ask the shop about anything you do not understand.
Ask your family: “Would you still want the extra item if we wrote that it adds 30 units to your total?” A yes can be thoughtful, but it is an additional purchase whose cost you have calculated.
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.
