Are you a victim of deceptive pricing? - Shrinking Groceries

[semyaza]

That's why you have to pay attention all the time. I should talk though as I don't like being in supermarkets and just throw stuff in the basket and go. Although I am getting better :-/

I never understood why it took my mum and I noticed also my partner taking so long to stare at a shelf. Now I know. Women have known about this for decades They just never told us stupid men...well this one anyway

Another example that puzzles me is cat food. I can't remember the exact figures but where you have the big bags in Kg then the smaller boxes which are in grams, it works out cheaper to buy several boxes instead of one bag. What happened to bulk buying?

[skbuncks]

A little trick I have seen in Tesco, and other supermarkets for that matter is in the price comparison between a branded item and an own branded one. The own branded item will give a comparison in say £/Kg whilst the branded item will be in £/500g thus making it look cheaper. Or even more crafitily something like own brand £1.20/400g and branded £0.8/250g, try working out in your which head one of those is cheaper

skb

[skbuncks]

Another area where they rip you off, on some products anyway, is going for the 'Healthy but more Expensive' option.

Example:
Tesco value beans 20p per 420g tin versus Tesco Light Choice beans 31p per 420g tin. (Values are per 100g)

......................... ....Value.............Lig ht Choice
Energy................... ..60kcal...............75 kcal
Protein.................. ...4.7g.................. 4.3g
Carbohydrate............. 9.0g..................3.4 g
Fat...................... .....0.5g................ .0.5g
saturates................ ...0.1g.................0 .1g
Fibre.................... .....3.5g................ .3.8g
Sodium................... ...0.2g.................. 0.1g

So you basically pay 50 % more for the Light Choice option which is nmore fattening thatn the value option.

skb

[gyzmo]

Ah but with the increased fibre you might just pass all that extra fat through a lot quicker!

[semyaza]

But is it more fattening? There are less carbohydrates but a few more calories. But it is another area to confuse the consumer. "Hey look it costs more but it's good for you."

[gyzmo]

There are controls on the naming of foodstuffs. if the product claims to have nutritional purposes, for example, it must be able to fulfill that claim and/or meet certain criteria.

General statements such as "diet" are difficult to pin down because, well, you just put a "can help as part of a blah blah blah....". Well eating pure fat can have that claim!

Basically, so long as it does not use a prohibited term or description, or its term (such as reduced calorie, energy, protein, fibre) meets the criteria then its a free-for all almost

[Spiceskull]

Another one that gets me is the BOGOF type offers coupled with 'real world' discounts. Rosie loves her Heinz baked beans, so they are a Saturday staple in Asda. Recently they had tins advertised as 69p, reduced from 79p, and buy 3 (69p) for £2...

Good value you may think, but on the next aisle you could buy a prepack of four tins for £1.99...they really do depend on shoppers using the 'quick and convenient' mentality...

[Paintball]

Originally Posted by Bookworm

Well, that still is deceptive, surely? If usual price is £2.80/100 ml, and today's roll-back price is £1.40/50 ml, that is exactly the same, and therefore no rollback at all.

It works out as the same price, ergo, a 'roll-on' price ...

[Bookworm]

Tsk tsk, PB, and there I was thinking terrible puns were my exclusive domain.

[thecteam]

Originally Posted by barracad

Apparently the increase in vegetable oil prices is to stop people considering using it as an alternative fuel with rising petrol & diesel prices!

thats as well as maybe, put that is price fixing at best. increasing the price of something to stop people using it. all this hurts is the consumer in the pocket.
the take aways around our way have increased there prices to reflect the price increase in oil.

most people use, recycled oil. its thinner for starters after it has been used to cook with.

also there is no tax duty to be paid on the first 2500ltrs of the oil you use.

once again another con on the public.

it has doubled in price in the past year alone. i know i used to run a veg oil car. went from 55 pence up to £1.10 litre to what seems like £1.33ltr. as dear as diesel.

[lookinforinfo]

Then there is the toothpaste dodge. They bring out a large family size but increase the opening where the paste comes out at the same time. If you are getting the right amount on your toothbrush from the smallest size what is the need to increase it on the larger ones, except to dupe the public?

[skbuncks]

I believe its for the family sized toothbrush

[Paintball]

Originally Posted by Bookworm

Tsk tsk, PB, and there I was thinking terrible puns were my exclusive domain.

Oooo, I think there must be room for another on your 'punning pedestal'.
Budge up ...

[elizabeth1]

The funniest offer I saw in a supermarket was last weekend in ASDA.

Laundry Soap liquid tablets/pouchy things.

£2.98 for a pack of 10 tablets/pouchy things OR
Two packs of 10 for £4.50 - supposedly saving £0.96 (= 20 washes) ?

Further along the aisle on the same shelf was whopping big packs of the same items in packs of 30 priced at £4.00 = hilarious??

I noticed a few odd offers like this amongst the soap powders and tablets last week.

The only draw back with these is these pouchy things are for full loads - so I keep a bottle liquid for when I do smaller wash loads where less detergent is needed.

These supermarkets think we fell off a gooseberry bush?

[Belaflat]

And Gyz is so right on the weights and measures issues...prices provided in imperial, without metric...report the boogers to TS..

I am an imperial man through and through, hate this metrication lark so I would turn a blind eye myself.

We were conned enough when metrication became the norm, 1lb packets becoming 400 grams instead of 454 grams. A 1/4lb became 100 grams...didnt see any price reductions there, we were all cheated royally when that happened but where was everyone then.

[enamae]

200g Nescafe coffee at tesco has gone up 10% from £3.77 last week to £4.14 this week . The funny thing is that if you buy 2 100g jars it only costs you £3.86.