Sign of the apocalypse

[daylatedollarshort]

OK. You win the prize for tight wad of the week.

I compare unit prices, but I have never looked at TP by the pound.

I like to think of it as "expense optimization".

 

[Nick12]

Just opened a new pack of Charmin toilet paper. The rolls are about 1/2 inch narrower than the last pack we bought. I guess everything is shrinking like the candy bars now.

The ones that are not shrinking are peoples waistlines.

 

[Sangiovese]

My beef (no pun intended) are hot dogs. The packages of weiners have gone from 12 in a 454 gm (1 pound) pack, to 10 in a 375 gm pack. Since buns are sold in 8's or 12's, you now have either 2 weiners without buns or 2 buns without weiners. Grrrr

https://www.teachertube.com/videos/father-of-the-bride-hot-dogs-hot-dog-buns-321375

 

[Arizona1]

How about Hershey’s bars. Early 2000’s 8 oz bar at Walgreens was 99 cents. Now 5oz bar is 1.79.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Part of the issue may be that 10 multinationals control much of what the average U.S. consumer buys at the grocery store, which limits price competition. We tend to shop more at discount, outlet and ethnic stores these days when we can and try to buy store brands. The prices, at least in our area, are significantly cheaper.

[FONT=&quot] These 10 companies control everything you buy | The Independent | The Independent.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

 

[NW-Bound]

How about Hershey’s bars. Early 2000’s 8 oz bar at Walgreens was 99 cents. Now 5oz bar is 1.79.

That's an increase of 2.9X.

The Dow was at 10,900 in Jan 2000. It is now 34,600, for an increase of 3.2X.

Hey, the market index simply matches the chocolate bar index! Is that not something?

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Dial soap changed the size of their bath bars years ago; I switched to Ivory soap. Now Ivory soap has done the same thing.

The WaPo article I mentioned above said that certain soap manufacturers have made their bars more concave as a way to decrease the size but make the change less noticeable to the consumer. The manufacturer refused to comment.

One day things will disappear and cost infinitely more.

 

[prudent_one]

I think some of the smaller packages for sugary things are chosen so they can paste an attractive calorie count on the label. I saw a minican of Pepsi that was 7.5 oz, and it was 100 calories. Some snacks are sold in 100 calorie packages.

 

[DrRoy]

We are sure to be wiped out in the Apocalypse.

That's pretty shitty of Charmin.

 

[Nick12]

That's an increase of 2.9X.

The Dow was at 10,900 in Jan 2000. It is now 34,600, for an increase of 3.2X.

Hey, the market index simply matches the chocolate bar index! Is that not something?

Some I worked with continually complain about higher prices but live above their means. 401K, retirement plans - what's that?

 

[Time2]

That's an increase of 2.9X.

The Dow was at 10,900 in Jan 2000. It is now 34,600, for an increase of 3.2X.

Hey, the market index simply matches the chocolate bar index! Is that not something?

Oh, Oh, are chocolate bars a leading index, did you find how to time the market?

 

[Time2]

The WaPo article I mentioned above said that certain soap manufacturers have made their bars more concave as a way to decrease the size but make the change less noticeable to the consumer. The manufacturer refused to comment.

One day things will disappear and cost infinitely more.

(grumble) No concern here, my wife stocks up on items when they are on sale. I noticed a few days ago plenty of Caress bar soap, I counted 156 bars of soap, I don't know how many years soap that is for the two of us, but too many. We still have loads of TP and paper towel from will before Covid. I still have deodorant from over 5 years ago. They must have had a good sale because she bought plenty and I think I still have at least another 5 years worth.

I know her habits contributed a lot to our retirement, but there are many times she just goes to far. I love her anyway!


PS, did I mention she has over 100 pairs of slacks in the closet, I doubt any of them were bought new, usually Salvation Army or some second hand store. Oh, and shoes...



PPS, I'm perfect!

 

[ShokWaveRider]

OP should simply switch Bog Roll Brands. We are spoilt anyway. Reminds me of an old ditty from my youth...

"In days of old when knights were bold and Bog Paper wasn't invented ..........."

 

[sengsational]

We, here on this board, should be thankful for the package size shuffling because it turns out to be less expensive for us.

What? Yes! Here's how it works: we are smart and attractive (but the smart part is what matters in this discussion), and we have time and inclination to work around their deception with changes in purchasing behavior. The person with two jobs, 2 hours in traffic every day, two kids doesn't have a spare cycle to apply to it, so enriches the manufacturer ever so slightly. So because the manufacturer has a high profit margin customer base, they're able to offer better deals to those who have time to pay attention. It's like the credit card thing...no way I'd be able to get $500 sign-up bonus if the company didn't have high profit margin customers.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

...Manufacturers purposely make it impossible to price shop in store with all the mega roll and double roll marketing speak...

What?!? You can't figure out that a double maxi twice by fourths 2,124 sheets pack is 1/22nds more valuable than the triple doubled then tripled again mega maxi super sheets package? Geez...I thought that was pretty easy.

I wonder how AMZN prices it (where they will show cost per ounce on some items). Sheets? Square feet? Butt area covered?

Sorta on the subject...DW went to Costco yesterday for our normal replenishment of stuff. While we don't buy exactly the same things each time, there is most certainly a theme. What was different this time around was the final cost...it was over twice the amount we spent a few months ago. I did a double check on the receipt to see if there was anything that was askew, but nope. It did appear that meat is the main culprit, though. That is the first time in many years that I really "noticed" the cost of groceries.

 

[braumeister]

I was in Costco the other day picking up some paper towels and noticed that both PT and TP had the price per square foot shown. That seems like a pretty good way to do it.

 

[Badger]

+1

The only thing they haven't shrunk is a 12oz beer.

Not exactly. I was shopping for a stout and all I could find at the liquor store were selections of Guinness that said 11.2 ounces and others in 14.9 ounces. The alcohol content varies too depending on can or bottle and whether in a 4, 6, 8, 12 pack.


Cheers!

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Tuna Fish Can size changes were the most brazen. They went from 6oz to 4oz with no price reduction. Now that is inflation. The only place you can get 6oz is Costco, but the prices went up. again not measured against the CPI, but real nevertheless.Talking bout Costco, we are not finding costs advantageous anymore. Prices have risen in some cases beyond grocery stores. Aldi is our current Go To food store.

 

[Sunset]

I was in Costco the other day picking up some paper towels and noticed that both PT and TP had the price per square foot shown. That seems like a pretty good way to do it.

That is how I compare TP, can't use the sheet sizes as they are all different.
Of course it has to be 2-ply, as I like "luxury"

 

[Amethyst]

We also buy mostly the same things each time. It's been a long time since we figured out what we do and don't like, will and won't use up...Our last trip to BJs, with little meat, was about 15% higher than the previous time several months ago. Checking older receipts, it appeared nearly every item had gone up $1.00; some, more. The main culprits seemed to be produce and meat - anything requiring refrigeration and careful handling.

Sorta on the subject...DW went to Costco yesterday for our normal replenishment of stuff. While we don't buy exactly the same things each time, there is most certainly a theme. What was different this time around was the final cost...it was over twice the amount we spent a few months ago. I did a double check on the receipt to see if there was anything that was askew, but nope. It did appear that meat is the main culprit, though. That is the first time in many years that I really "noticed" the cost of groceries.

 

[Sojourner]

What?!? You can't figure out that a double maxi twice by fourths 2,124 sheets pack is 1/22nds more valuable than the triple doubled then tripled again mega maxi super sheets package? Geez...I thought that was pretty easy.

Sorta on the subject...DW went to Costco yesterday for our normal replenishment of stuff. While we don't buy exactly the same things each time, there is most certainly a theme. What was different this time around was the final cost...it was over twice the amount we spent a few months ago. I did a double check on the receipt to see if there was anything that was askew, but nope. It did appear that meat is the main culprit, though.

This may have something to do with the recent cyber/ransom attack on JBS (the world's largest meat supplier). Even though the meat supply chain was only impacted for a short time, it did give retailers all the justification they needed to jack up prices... and probably keep them high for a while.

On a related note, anyone else noticing how gas prices have stayed unusually high for nearly 3 whole weeks now after Colonial Pipeline resumed full/normal operations? Corporate greed on full, shameless display.

 

[sengsational]

Not exactly. I was shopping for a stout and all I could find at the liquor store were selections of Guinness that said 11.2 ounces and others in 14.9 ounces. The alcohol content varies too depending on can or bottle and whether in a 4, 6, 8, 12 pack.


Cheers!

The standard single serving bottle in Europe (and a lot of imports) is 330ml, which is 11.2 ounces. Probably more about packaging equipment than being sneaky. It even goes the "wrong way" sometimes: the 500ml bottles are more than a pint (16.9 oz).

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

This may have something to do with the recent cyber/ransom attack on JBS (the world's largest meat supplier). Even though the meat supply chain was only impacted for a short time, it did give retailers all the justification they needed to jack up prices... and probably keep them high for a while.

That did occur to me. The chicken prices and ground beef were close to what we paid last time, but the pork butt shoulder was quite a bit more.

On a related note, anyone else noticing how gas prices have stayed unusually high for nearly 3 whole weeks now after Colonial Pipeline resumed full/normal operations? Corporate greed on full, shameless display.

As to the gas prices, they do seem to have trended down slightly. But of course, the price goes down slower than it goes up. Our area wasn't affected by the pipeline shutdown, but it did result in a price increase. Also, has ATL started its "summer blend" which seems to always bump up the price?

 

[Calico]

The WaPo article I mentioned above said that certain soap manufacturers have made their bars more concave as a way to decrease the size but make the change less noticeable to the consumer. The manufacturer refused to comment.

One day things will disappear and cost infinitely more.

Yup! That's exactly what Dial soap did back then - they went concave. I unwrapped the first bar and said "where's the rest of the soap?"

Sneaky b@$tards!

 

[Walt34]

One day things will disappear and cost infinitely more.

It's already happened:

Italian artist Salvatore Garau recently auctioned an invisible sculpture for 15,000 euros ($18,300). According to as.com, the sculpture's initial price was set between 6,000 and 9,000 euros; however, the price was raised after several bids were placed.


Titled 'Io Sono' (Italian for "I am"), the 67-year-old artist's sculpture is "immaterial," meaning that the sculpture does not actually exist.


Though he's received much critique for the sale, Garau argues that his work of art isn't "nothing," but is instead a "vacuum."

https://www.newsweek.com/italian-artist-sells-invisible-sculpture-more-18000-1596608