Sneaky Ways to Make You Think Something Costs Less than It Really Does

[StevenA]

Lots of packaged items in the grocery store have reduced their size but not their price, Case in point: Gatorade used to be available in 32 ounce bottles. A few years ago they reduced it to 28 ounces with no change in price. The 28 ounce bottle looks the same size as the 32 ounce, but the indent on the bottom is bigger so it holds less liquid.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

T

Thought I had to s*it but only farted.

He actual phrase is; "Paid a penny and only farted"

 

[scrabbler1]

I had been buying On-Cor Frozen Salisbury Steaks since the last 1980s.. It was a 2-lb box, 32 ounces. Then, last year, I only noticed the shrink-flation when I opened the box and saw the 6 steaks were round (and smaller) instead of oval. I saw the box's weight was had dropped to 28 ounces. I was a little miffed.

 

[Texas Proud]

Right, that's what I meant by rounding. But I would weight it if a lot of items were on one side of the .50 line. In the supermarket there are a lot of $x.79, $x.89 and $x.99 prices. If you round two many of those using the "proper" rounding technique, you'll be off by quite a bit at the end. So I'd mentally push the line up a bit, and round a few $x.69 prices down. It's amazing what you can figure out when you're on a tight budget and need to feed a family.

Yea... they have it there because of the .99 thing... make it .89 or even .75 makes it easier to ignore when comparing...

But as you say, rounding everything up makes a big difference which is why they are doing it.. (as you know)..

 

[Texas Proud]

Saw this one at a Target™ when I took DW and DMIL Christmas shopping last year.

Can't tell if it's 'Sneaky' or just plain stupidity...

View attachment 61972

A lot of people must have fallen for it, though. The shelf was empty!

LOL... the stocker probably forgot to change out the 'actual' price increase to show that it was on sale!!

 

[John Galt III]

Motel charged $10 extra for self parking in their lot. Add it to the price!
Same motel bottles of "Fiji" water $5. Don't drink the water!

Not as bad as those hotels where you take a thing out of the in room fridge and get majorly overcharged for it. I realized once it was that kind, and quickly put all their stuff back. Grr...

I was staying at a 4 Seasons hotel once, and the maid (or someone) tool one item out of the fridge. I wasn't supposed to notice, apparently. I refused to pay for it at checkout, and they took it off the bill.

 

[TrvlBug]

My favorite is the 'it's only $99.99/month. I immediately calculate monthly costs into annual costs and my end of the $ discussion is in annual costs. The sales people do NOT like that as it's more affordable at $99.99/month rather than $1,200/year!

 

[Turbo29]

Maybe this belongs in the Pet Peeve of the Day thread but here goes. I was making a sandwich for lunch and the dijon mustard container is constructed in such a way that about 20% to 25% of the mustard is unobtainable. The plastic comprising the squeeze bottle is not soft, so not very flexible--once you compress it it stays in the crinkled up form. The hole in the top of the bottle is barely large enough to get a butter knife into. The result is a thick coating of mustard along the sidewalls of the container.

This happens to be Walmart's Great Value Dijon Mustard, but I've had it happen with other brands. You think you are getting a bargain but then you end up wasting 20% of your purchase. I guess it's jars of Grey Poupon from now on.

You have to hold it in your hand and rapidly move it in an arc so all of the mustard goes towards the nozzle due to centrifugal force. Be sure the lid is closed first or else you will have a mess (ask me how I know).

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

You have to hold it in your hand and rapidly move it in an arc so all of the mustard goes towards the nozzle due to centrifugal force.

I have to do that with mustard, ketchup, barbecue sauce, etc. So far the lid's stayed shut, luckily.

I like how most of the ketchup bottles now have the label put on the opposite direction so it looks more 'normal' to store it with the spout down.

Of course, DMIL, who is 70m still stores it with the cap up. Then complains when it's watery when it first comes out.

 

[Texas Proud]

My favorite is the 'it's only $99.99/month. I immediately calculate monthly costs into annual costs and my end of the $ discussion is in annual costs. The sales people do NOT like that as it's more affordable at $99.99/month rather than $1,200/year!

One of the things I tried to teach my kids when looking at an expense besides an annual cost is to calculate how many hours they will have to work to get it...

Someone making $15 an hour might not want to spend $100 a month as that is 'expensive'... but someone pulling down $1 mill a year it is chump change...

 

[Gumby]

You have to hold it in your hand and rapidly move it in an arc so all of the mustard goes towards the nozzle due to centrifugal force. Be sure the lid is closed first or else you will have a mess (ask me how I know).

I just pound it on the counter, lid down and closed, to shift the contents toward the exit nozzle.

 

[USGrant1962]

One of the things I tried to teach my kids when looking at an expense besides an annual cost is to calculate how many hours they will have to work to get it...

Someone making $15 an hour might not want to spend $100 a month as that is 'expensive'... but someone pulling down $1 mill a year it is chump change...

Trying to get DW to understand the same concept. Some of our spending is rounding error for us engineers and CPAs, and she's an engineer!

But for the kids I think every penny counts until they accumulate a critical mass of investments. So YMMV!

 

[sengsational]

Here's another sneaky one... serving size on food supplements.

The label, in huge print, says "1200 mg EPA 800 mg DHA", and in equally large font is says "120 softgels"

You have to examine the comparatively microscopic font on the back to see "Serving Size: 3"

 

[COcheesehead]

Shipping costs. A site will tell you shipping is free if you spend over $100. If you only need something that costs $45, you end up searching for add ons. I just check what shipping is at $45 and it’s usually $5.

 

[audreyh1]

Shipping costs. A site will tell you shipping is free if you spend over $100. If you only need something that costs $45, you end up searching for add ons. I just check what shipping is at $45 and it’s usually $5.

I’m really happy when the shipping cost is only $5. I rarely add stuff to get the free shipping unless it’s a low hurdle.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

"Sneaky Ways to Make You Think Something Costs Less than It Really Does"

Here's a big one: Making coupons and deals available only by using an app.

It seems more and more of the flyers we get in the mail show us "digital coupons" or "in-app deals".

So those prices aren't really as advertised in the flyers.

 

[Badger]

Next will be a bathroom charge.

I remember a time when there was with a 5 cent coin slot on the bathroom stall door. (1957)

 

[CRLLS]

How about mail-in rebates? The item is on the shelf with a price in big letters and in small letters "after rebate". How many will spend the cost of a stamp and envelope for a 50 or 75 cent rebate on future purchases? That is if they remember to send it in before the expiration date, or can find the receipt and rebate coupon to send in. A lot of low-cost purchases that never have the rebate form sent in adds up in favor of the retailer.

 

[USGrant1962]

How about mail-in rebates? The item is on the shelf with a price in big letters and in small letters "after rebate". How many will spend the cost of a stamp and envelope for a 50 or 75 cent rebate on future purchases? That is if they remember to send it in before the expiration date, or can find the receipt and rebate coupon to send in. A lot of low-cost purchases that never have the rebate form sent in adds up in favor of the retailer.

Hah, guess you haven't done any rebates in a LONG time. Nothing is mailed in anymore, it is all online. But yea, rebates are a marketing ploy to advertise a lower price.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Hah, guess you haven't done any rebates in a LONG time. Nothing is mailed in anymore, it is all online. But yea, rebates are a marketing ploy to advertise a lower price.

Huh, Guess you haven't shopped at Menards™ lately.

Menards™ rebates are all still mail-in only. We have to mail them in 3 or 4 times a year.

 

[athena53]

Another form of stealth increases: adding to features or quantity and increasing the cost by more than breakeven. One example: all the bells and whistles on cars that may or may not be optional but are usually loaded to the cars on the lots. Add a fancy trim package that costs the manufacturer $500, increase the price of the car by $1,000.

This has been a great moneymaker for restaurants although they may have had to cut back now that people are eating out less. Restaurant portions have become gigantic- if you look up the nutritional information, some values are scary, especially calories and sodium. It makes sense that there's no increase in overhead (labor, rent, utilities, etc.) when you increase portions so any increase in the cost of the item beyond ingredients is profit. I once saw giant cookies at Panera that were over 1,000 calories each (the clerk told me they're "shareable- like whom are they kidding?). If you're traveling, the rationalization that you can box the leftovers and take it home doesn't work, and some foods just don't reheat well.

 

[reneeh63]

How about mail-in rebates? The item is on the shelf with a price in big letters and in small letters "after rebate". How many will spend the cost of a stamp and envelope for a 50 or 75 cent rebate on future purchases? That is if they remember to send it in before the expiration date, or can find the receipt and rebate coupon to send in. A lot of low-cost purchases that never have the rebate form sent in adds up in favor of the retailer.

It does depend on the size of the rebate. At the Menards chain it's 11% off. I usually send in receipts totaling maybe $250 or $300 at a time so it's worth the price of a stamp but still wish I could do it online - they make it hard on the backend for a reason!

 

[GalaxyBoy]

This is an interesting topic.

One of the most objectionable tactics for me is subscription services that make it easy to subscribe and very difficult to cancel. Cable TV immediately comes to mind, as does news services,

Several years ago, shortly after retiring which meant I didn't drive as much, I tried to cancel my SiriusXM subscription. I had to literally beg the rep to cancel me, then I received a message that my subscription had been temporarily suspended "at customer request." I forget how many more calls and chats it took to actually get me off their rolls.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Here's a recent article with examples of shrinkflation. Probably too many.

64 Sneaky, Sneaky, Sneakyyy Real-Life Examples Of Shrinkflation

"Same price, half the size."

www.buzzfeed.com

 

[Chuckanut]

But for the kids I think every penny counts until they accumulate a critical mass of investments. So YMMV!

+1. They need to form the habit of LBYM.

Unlike many here, I never earned six figures in a job. But I was able to retire earlier than most due to those small amounts doubling multiple times over the years until they became a much bigger amount.