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April 14, 2007
Buy more and save!
While shopping for essentials at the local Target I noticed something which our very own proprietor Eric alerted me to once before on this blog, namely the false bargain of larger quantities. He was talking about retailers playing upon consumers' assumption that buying in bulk saves money, but this is more nefarious:
Now, I'm a Latin teacher and haven't taken math in more than a decade, but I know this: $5.89 is a penny more than 2 times $2.94. Here's a closer look:
But is this really accurate? Or is it deception?
Care to join me in a class action suit? We could be pennyaires. posted by Dennis on 04.14.07 at 12:35 PM
Comments
Pennies for litigants, but millions for litigators! :) Eric Scheie · April 14, 2007 09:16 PM Packaging is set by the product's maker. A suggested price value is set by the maker, but the retailer sets the prices. Usually, the latter is done by the same system that sets up the store's planogram, and many cheaper software sets do both of these items completely electronically, and thus never see the package. It's usually not an intentional mistake, merely a side-effect of supply chain management software running imperfectly. gattsuru · April 14, 2007 11:38 PM They appear to be different products to me. The labels look different, although I can't get a good look at the two-pack label. However, look at the font size of the lettering of the "XX" on the cans. The XX is much larger on the cans on the right than the cans on the left. Are you sure the two-pack is not Arrid's new formula and the singles are its older Ultra Clear formula? These companies have so many variations on the same theme that it cam be very confusing if you're in a hurry. Richard · April 15, 2007 04:33 AM I have noticed a similar phenomenon in several supermarkets in Portugal. I think it is done eveywhere. Probably it is a stimulus to recall the multiplication table and test your attention. Lino · April 15, 2007 08:36 AM A hidden tax on stupidity? Stewart · April 15, 2007 08:55 AM I see the same thing at my local supermarket. There will be times when the smaller size is on sale, and the equivalent in the small size is cheaper than the larger size. Sometimes this happens even when you have a coupon for the larger size. I think they do it because they want you to buy the smaller size instead of the larger, hoping that you'll actually compare prices. Alan Kellogg · April 15, 2007 03:32 PM I have a similar tale about one of my favorite snack foods, the tasty Fig Newton. The 1/2 pound box usually costs around $1.25 or so, while the 1 pound box probably costs about $2.95 or so. As long as I've been tracking the costs, the pound always costs more than double the half pound cost. For the record, both weights are of the net variety, and I've only been watching this particular price pairing for about 20 years. physics geek · April 16, 2007 05:26 PM Post a comment
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Ironic in a way. Wal-Mart, the low price retailer, counting on us not to read the price tags. The class action suit will mirror a government program: penny wise and pound stupid.