TP Scam!

[lwheelr]

We get Northern TP, because I am allergic to almost every other brand (believe me, NOT fun!).

So lately I notice that the roll has a BIGGER center! The hole in the middle is larger!

Talk about sneaky ways to reduce the amount of product!

 

[RunVampRun]

yeah downsizing products seem to be the new norm now days...

 

[i_am2bz]

I thought I'd add to this thread b/c CBS This Morning (or whatever they call their morning news/talk program) had a segment about this today. They said that Consumer Reports did a study confirming how bad downsizing was getting. The most egregious example listed was Ivory dish detergent: same price, but 20% less product. Worse, they redesigned the bottle to make it actually look bigger.

 

[ranchhand]

I have a calculator on my cell phone. I use that a lot in stores. I just need to remember to wear my glasses so I can actually see what it says!

I drive my DW crazy in the store, particularly when I find examples of the mega size costing more per unit than smaller sizes.

I was looking at sugar in the store not too long ago. They had it in both 5 and 10 lb bags. The stuff in the 10 lb bags was about 2x as expensive as the stuff in the 5 lb bags! I sometimes wonder if people really look at the prices.

What I hate is when you have the store put the per unit price on the shelf, but don't use the same unit. Then, I have to figure out how much it is and I find myself ready to do this , especially if I didn't remember to bring in my glasses.

Our local grocery store is pretty small, they've got the market cornered though. I usually get the house brand sugar. Boy was I surprised when the 5 lb. bag suddenly became a 4 lb. bag - at the same price! Grrrr.... wonder how many folks didn't even notice.

As far as the shelf tags, I find that I am grateful for having learned math and algebra, in particular! Dog food is something I regularly see where the smaller size is cheaper tham the "large, economy size". And those bags are constantly getting smaller while the price stays the same.

Geuss I need to start measuring the rolls of toilet paper again.....

 

[lwheelr]

They've been doing this with TP for ages.

First, TP rolls had 300 sheets. Then 250, then 200, then 150.

Somewhere about the 200 sheet era, they came out with Double Rolls, with 400 sheets, which then declined to 350, then 300, and some are now 250.

Now we have Triple Rolls - haven't looked at the sheet count, but betting it is somewhere around 400 again.

And of course you have to compare single ply, double ply, etc, for value.

I was just shocked to notice the bigger hole in the middle, because that seemed particularly devious.

Suave Shampoo has been one of the more stable ones, but the bottle still dropped to 13 oz instead of 16 over the course of the last 10 years. But periodically (usually right at the time of a price increase), they'll do a 33% more free promo, where they have a great BIG bottle (bigger than their usual large size), and it will only be $.10 or so more than the price was the week before for the regular large size. They'll carry that for a very short time, and then the price will stay higher, but the amount will drop back down. I stock up on the big bottles, when they run those promos, because it is less per ounce then.

 

[i_am2bz]

Just sitting here listening to the radio while I work, & there was a short news clip about inflation...something like - I'm paraphrasing here - "prices went up 1/2% last month, but if you look at food & energy, the actual rate of inflation was more like 8%, but the govt removes food & energy to calculate the rate of 'core inflation'". :/

I'm sure one of the master researchers here like Wifezilla or K0xxx can find the actual data.

 

[LostMindPleaseFind]

We found a way around the sneakyness. Still buy some TP, but its a fraction of what we used to buy.

Not sure what you mean, but it got me laughing at the possible solutions!

 

[KevsFarm]

I do the same thing as Bubblingbrooks, that is i still buy TP but,much less.Of course alot of folks wouldn't care for the idea but, soft green leaves in a summer breeze work pretty good for wiping.lol I use my bathroom & TP more in the cold winter , than the warmer season. I have also used newspaper in my makeshift outhouse,i just crumble it up, rubbing it around in my hands, its amazing how soft you can get it.I wouldn't use leaves and newspaper in my septic system, but they get the job done , where and when i do use them..Hmmm, wonder how people wiped their butts before the invention of TP..? Isn't it funny how man went from no TP to plentiful & cheap TP , and now to skimmpy expensive TP,i can't help but wonder where this is all going..

 

[Wifezilla]

http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts

This site shows inflation calculated how it used to be before the formula was changed. We are over 10%.

 

[Boogity]

. . . but all stores have cheater packages . . .

I love this name for the smaller packaging!! We need to use this term all the time for, well, cheater packages.

One time while DW was shopping in a grocery and I was wandering around looking for her a lady was in the checkout line when she noticed that sugar had been packaged in a smaller, lighter quantity and at the same old price. She got so mad that she screamed at the checkout lady and threw the bag on the floor. The bag burst open and she walked out leaving her cart in line. I know this is extreme and not the way we "should" act but if every customer did this something would change.