What a “$67 Value” Bonus E-Book Is Actually Worth
Quick Answer: Are Bonus “Values” Real Prices?
Usually not. A stated value is a number the seller chose; it is a real price only if the item is genuinely sold for it, to ordinary buyers, in meaningful volume. Most bundled supplement e-books have never been sold separately at all, which makes the figure a marketing device rather than a discount. The FTC's guidance on “free” and comparative pricing is explicit that a reference price has to be one actually charged. Price the offer on the supplement alone and treat the downloads as a nice extra.
- Test it: can you buy the bonus on its own at the stated price? If not, the number is decorative.
- The rule: FTC 16 CFR 233 — a former or comparative price must be one actually charged in the regular course of business.
- Practical move: divide the cash you pay by the bottles you get. Ignore the bundle total.
Where the numbers come from
Almost every direct-response supplement offer stacks digital bonuses on the larger tiers, each with a confident price tag: $39, $49, $67, $77. Add them up and the bundle "value" comfortably exceeds what you are being asked to pay, which is the entire point. The technique is old, it is called value stacking, and it works because a number next to an item makes the item feel priced.
The question that dissolves it is simple: where else can I buy this for that? For a bundled supplement e-book the answer is almost always nowhere. There is no storefront, no ISBN, no separate checkout. The $67 has never been paid by anyone. It is not a discount, because a discount is a reduction from a price that existed.
What the rules actually say
US advertising rules on pricing are not vague about this. The FTC's guides on deceptive pricing (16 CFR Part 233) say a former price is only usable as a comparison if it is a price at which the item was openly and actively offered for sale, for a reasonably substantial period of time, in the regular course of business. The same logic covers "free with purchase" offers: the FTC's Free Guides warn against inflating the price of the paid item, or the claimed worth of the free one, to manufacture the appeal.
That is why you will not find an invented "was" price anywhere on this site. Where a seller publishes their own reference price, we reproduce it and say whose it is. Where they do not, we print the current price alone and no strikethrough.
Judging a bonus bundle in four questions
| Ask | What a good answer looks like |
|---|---|
| Is it sold separately? | A live product page at the stated price. Rare. |
| Is it related to the product? | A usage guide for the supplement is at least relevant. A facial-rejuvenation course is filler. |
| Is it delivered even if I refund? | Usually yes — downloads cannot be returned, which is why they are used. |
| Would I pay a cent for it? | The only question that matters. |
The one bonus that is usually worth something
There is an exception, and it is the least glamorous item in most bundles: the usage guide. Adherence is the single variable that predicts whether any supplement does anything, and material that helps someone take the product consistently for eight weeks is doing more real work than a metabolism e-book. It is also, slightly absurdly, the thing a label could have told you in one line.
How to price the offer instead
Take the cash you will actually pay, divide by the number of bottles, and compare that to other products on the same shelf. Then ask whether you would still buy at that per-bottle price with no bonuses at all. If the answer is yes, the downloads are a pleasant extra. If the answer is no, the bundle has done its job on you and it is worth stepping back.
Disclosure: this site earns a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. That is exactly why the pricing section here reproduces the seller's own published figures and nothing else — the incentive to inflate a discount is real, and the rule against it is the check on it.
Scientific references
Frequently asked questions
Is a “$67 value” bonus a real price?
Only if the item is genuinely sold at that price to ordinary buyers. Most bundled supplement e-books have never been sold separately at all, which makes the figure a marketing device rather than a discount.
What does the FTC say about former prices?
16 CFR Part 233 says a former or comparative price may only be used if it was a price at which the item was openly and actively offered for sale for a reasonably substantial period, in the regular course of business.
Do I lose the bonuses if I claim a refund?
In practice digital downloads cannot be taken back, which is part of why sellers use them. Check the seller's own refund terms, because they set the conditions.
Which bonus is usually worth having?
The usage guide, if there is one. Consistent use is the variable that most affects whether a supplement does anything, so material that supports adherence beats material on an unrelated topic.
AlkaTide bundles six bonuses — here is the arithmetic
Our AlkaTide page lists every tier, every stated value and the guarantee condition most affiliate sites leave out.
Read the AlkaTide Review