What price increases?

How many of you have noticed how companies are fooling us into thinking that we are getting more for our money by buying their products?

I noticed about a year or so ago when ice cream makers began putting their products in smaller packages and kept the price the same.

I figured it was just a way to keep prices down. When in actuality, they were raising prices but selling us smaller amounts. Isn’t that considered deception?

Now, I’m am not naïve enough to think that companies have never resorted to deception before. But this is a new type of deception.

Since learning of this new sleight-of-hand packaging I began looking closer at quantities and found disturbing evidence that this practice is wide spread.

Mouseprint.org follows deceptive advertising and recently posted their finding that Country Crock 3-lb margarine is no longer 3-lbs. When questioned about this quantity change, Unilever Foods, makers of Country Crock says they apologize for ‘the inconvenience our recent packaging change has caused.’

When corporations apologize for ‘any inconvenience caused’ it is corporate speak for ‘damn, we got caught and now we have to cover our butts’. Then they give a long, drawn out carefully measured and worded spiel about how increased costs of raw materials and ingredients and of course extra precautions on their part taken to protect you the consumer forced them to raise their prices. They go through all of this whitewash only after being caught for resorting to sneaky price increases. Everyone expects prices to increase, but to lull consumers into believing their favorite product is not increasing its price only to give you less is just underhanded.

So the next time you see a product has redesigned packaging chances are good that the quantity was lowered and you will actually pay more.

Another more prevalent and insidious type of deception is lowering the quality of what you get for the same amount of money.

This is especially true in ads where pictures are used to show you what you will get for your money. Fast food restaurants are perfect examples of this. You will never get a sandwich that looks like its ad. It doesn’t matter what you are willing to pay for it, it will never happen. This site offers a perfect example of what I am talking about, although I am sure almost everyone has fallen victim to this deception already.

Cereal and fruit juice ads are almost as bad. They tell you that you are getting something healthy for your kids when there is way too much sugar in them and way too little nutrition to ever be deemed part of a healthy breakfast or snack.

Here’s another product deception that you need to look out for. First of all the larger size of a product is not necessarily a better deal. We have been lulled into believing that buying in quantity offers a per ounce bargain. This is a lie! Check the per ounce price before reaching for that larger size. Also, look at the ingredient quantities. Mouseprint.org also found this deception. The larger 33 oz bottle of ACT mouthwash actually has less than half the strength of the smaller 18 oz bottle therefore you are actually getting less quality.

To be fair, if there is such a thing is advertising anymore, these products tell you to read the directions and all labels. In those directions they actually tell you how to appropriately use these products but they count on consumers to not read the directions and therefore get away with sneaky little stunts like these to actually get more money for their products.

Who needs to raise prices when consumers are willing to fall for these little tricks and not be the wiser?

As Tom Waits said it in his song Step Right Up ‘The large print giveth and the small print taketh away’.

We only have ourselves to blame for letting corporations get away with these deceptions. Be a smarter shopper and read the labels.