Is the gift set worth it?

Worked example

A set costs $120 and holds a 50 ml fragrance ($110 alone), a 75 ml lotion ($40) and a 75 ml shower gel ($35). Bought separately that is 110 + 40 + 35 = $185, so the set saves 185 - 120 = $65, or 35.1%. If you would only buy the fragrance, the set costs 120 - 110 = $10 more than the fragrance alone, and you get the lotion and gel for that $10. Whether that is a deal depends on whether you would use them.

How it works

Saving = sum of separate prices - set price; saving percent = saving / sum of separate prices. The wanted-items test compares the set price with the sum of the separate prices of the items you ticked. Separate prices are the ones you enter, so use the current price of the same size from the same store for a fair test.

What this is not. A set may contain travel sizes or items sold only in the set. Enter the real price you would pay for each item, not a value figure printed on the box. Free gifts with purchase and shipping thresholds are not modelled.

Sources and basis: pure arithmetic on the numbers you enter; no published figure is used, and any default marked as an assumption or rule of thumb is not a published standard.

FAQ

Are perfume gift sets cheaper than buying the items separately?

Often on paper, but it depends on the real separate prices. Enter them above to get the exact saving in dollars and percent.

What if I only want the perfume in the set?

Tick only item 1. The tool then compares the set price with the perfume alone, so you can see what you pay for the extra items.

Should I use the "value" price printed on the box?

Use what you could actually pay today for the same size, since a printed value figure is not a price you would necessarily pay.

Does the set price per ml help?

For the fragrance only. The result shows the fragrance price per ml when bought alone, so you can compare it with the price per ml of a bigger single bottle.