Read this interesting article which says that “describing a bundled item as free decreases the amount consumers are willing to pay for each product when sold individually.”
Researchers call this the “freebie devaluation” effect.
A freebie, in this case, decreases the price consumers are willing to pay for each individual product.
“Consumers tend to make inferences about why they are getting such a great deal that detract from perceptions of product quality….For example, consumers figure the companies can’t sell the product without this marketing gimmick.”
Read more of this at ‘The Freebie Dilemma’.