Couponing FAQ: is it buy-one-get-one-free, or 50% off?

Lindsey emailed to ask this question:

Does King Soopers do 50% off an item if it is BOGO and you only buy one item?

Unfortunately, King Soopers’ buy-one-get-one-free sales ring up the first item as full price and the second at $0.00, so if you only buy one, it’s full price, not 50% off.

In some part of the country, with other Kroger affiliates and different grocery store chains, BOGO does ring up as 50% off, meaning you can just buy one and still get it on sale, but that’s not the case here.  I wonder if somehow it has to do with different laws in different states?

Relatedly, both King Soopers and Safeway’s official policies prohibit the use of two coupons on a BOGO sale, meaning you can’t use two $1/1 coupons on that type of sale.  Usually coupons for $1/2 are just fine, though.  Read more of their official policies here: King Soopers and Safeway.