Less Food for Your Money

I've noticed that tactic. It is to slightly reduce the content to avoid upping the price so much that you wouldn't buy the product any longer. Consumer marketing has all kinds of tricks up their sleeves to keep the public buying products. However, now with the economic crises, prices are going up regardless. It's a no win situation for both the marketer/manufacturer and the consumer. These next few years will be lean and mean! You may as well start preparing now.

I have noticed these things before and not just with food. The packaging will change slightly, the materials used or the texture of something will change. When something gets popular and the demand increases it is not unusual to see a change in teh quality. It's an unfortunate reality.

I am starting to check everything. It is hard to tell on some of them, if you are not looking for it. I had no idea about the soap , icecream, or the mayoonaise. Appreciate the information!

Personally, I feel it is just a logical move. In hard times, it would be harder to up the price. So the best recourse is to down the size for the same amount of money. Some may even reduce both the cost and size. By simply reducing the price, it just seems to make it more attractive to the human brain. $19.99 and $20.00, the difference is only 1 cent but many will still go for the $19.99 offer should one day the price of $20 was reduced to $19.99. LOL.

Hello Friend I think the sneakest of all is the scouped out bottom of the jars..Check the peanutbutter jars when you shop..tip the over..where they used to be flat is a cup shape curving into the jar so that is where the 2 ounces went although the size is the same! xoxooxoxo

if they didnt change the size then the price would just go up. thats what im thinking

Thats true. They do those kind of tricks to their products so that they can maintain the same price in the market.

Your observation about the soap brings to mind something that usually happens here, irrespective whether there is recession or there isn't. As you know, price of things usually keep going up over time. The only exception I know is IT products, where prices fall as technology advances. Sellers and retailers normally increase their prices periodically, quoting increased prices of raw materials and overheads like transportation, staff salaries, utility increases, etc for their price adjustments. In between raising prices of their goods, these retailers will decrease the quantity of what they offer. So imagine someone sells a slice of cake for $3, and increases the price to $3.30. The next year, they may increase again to $3.60, but before that happens, they may shrink the cake to a smaller slice for the same price of $3.30. In actual fact they are raising the price by doing so, but they don't want to show an increase in the price tag (otherwise they will get complaints) so they give less instead. This seems to be a common practice amongst many retailers.

that's interesting. I haven't noticed nor would i have most likely... it's getting to be hard... there are just too many people in the world. we are gonna start running short on things... things will get worse food wise. just like the gas got bad... now it's gonna be the food... which is i think will be worse then the gas problem we had probably.

This is something I have noticed. Cereal seems to be one of the worst. Plus while sizes are getting smaller, many are also getting more expensive a few cents at a time. It is hard to handle, but on the other hand...we are not the only one suffering...the companies are also suffering. Especially for products that are more luxury items that many people are learning to live without.

Oh yeah, I've noticed this. They make by volume weight less but raise the price of things. But it's one of those things we just have to deal with and move on, because those products are things we need and use daily, so they can get away with it.

i think this is their way of providing less expensive products. instead of letting consumers pay for a higher cost they'll just cut off some qualities for the same price. i think that it's just the same whether they raise the price or just lowering down the content or quality of the product. but what they are doing is giving a positive perceptions on consumer side.

My Mom and I were discussing this very issue yesterday morning. She received a box of off brand corn flakes from the Angel Food Ministries. The box of course takes up a lot of space, and then inside the box is a little bag, not even half the size of other bags in other cereal boxes. And you know they fill them with air and half the bag is air while the other half is cereal. I am sure that particular bag of cereal would feed four people for one day for the breakfast meal. And cereal is not the only food item that has had its contents cut. There are other products such as the bar of soap that you have already mentioned.

Well people right now have been facing economy crisis n if u r correct which im sure u are, then it is a very pity situation for people like us.Big companies are in debt but they shouldn't cover their debt by cheating on us.Good post to bring infront coz i didn't know that.

This is why I have bought a tractor and am going to plant food this year.

It seems like this has been going on a long time. It may just be that it is accelerating now. I am an avid label reader, and so I noticed ages ago that three pound cans of coffee are now 32 oz., one pounders are about twelve. Some soaps are whipped to appear bigger, even as they weigh less. More and more reasons to buy at farmer's markets, and grow your own as often as possible. I know sometimes it is not a possibility, but when it is that is what we need to do.

Heck a 16 oz can of veggis have not been 16 ozes sine I think in the 80s. and I know a pound of coffee hasnt been a pound since late 70s.

These hidden price rises happen over here in the U.K. as well, sometimes increasing the price as well as cutting the amount you get. The manufacturers use every trick in the book to part you from your money at the lowest cost to them selves and to maximise their profits.

It truly is awful isn't it? And still the prices keep going up and up. Last year with the fuel prices going sky high food prices shot through the roof with the excuse that food manufacturers etc had a lot more expense because of the fuel price hike. Understandable maybe but when fuel prices dropped the food didn't get any cheaper - in fact it still keeps going out, now realise we are probably getting less of it too! They should hang their heads in shame for their greed! xxx

I have to agree with this. The money that I use to spend for grocery last year only lasts for half a week now compared to last year when my grocery lasts for a whole week. It means doubling work to be able to earn the money worth that I had last year.