We put a call out for before-and-after photo evidence of shrinking products on the grocery shelf, though prices are staying the same -- and boy, did you ever respond!
Have you spotted a subtle size change in your favourite grocery product? Check your labels and send Marketplace your product photos!
Here's the latest set of Incredible Shrinking Products:
Rob Lavoie sent us a tip that Kraft Miracle Whip has shrunk from 950ml to 890ml: "A look on the Kraft Canada web site still shows a larger size than what is now in store: 'Jar sizes include 475 ml, 950 ml, 1.5 L.' I don't have a 950ml size at my stores, it's now reduced to 890ml."
Ryan Armstrong sent us before-and-after photos to show President's Choice pasta sauce has been reduced from 700ml to 650ml.
Thanks Rob and Ryan! The search continues for more Incredible Shrinking Products!
Send us your Incredible Shrinking Products and find out more about our search here.
Have you spotted a subtle size change in your favourite grocery product? Check your labels and send Marketplace your product photos!
Here's the latest set of Incredible Shrinking Products:
Rob Lavoie sent us a tip that Kraft Miracle Whip has shrunk from 950ml to 890ml: "A look on the Kraft Canada web site still shows a larger size than what is now in store: 'Jar sizes include 475 ml, 950 ml, 1.5 L.' I don't have a 950ml size at my stores, it's now reduced to 890ml."
Ryan Armstrong sent us before-and-after photos to show President's Choice pasta sauce has been reduced from 700ml to 650ml.
Thanks Rob and Ryan! The search continues for more Incredible Shrinking Products!
Send us your Incredible Shrinking Products and find out more about our search here.
This has been one of my pet peeves for the last few years. Cheese.....Crackle Barrel, Black Diamond, they all do it now. I used to be able to buy a 1kg block of cheese (large family), which soon became 920g, then 850g, 750g, 620g, 520g, and I am now starting to see 500g! The price changes slightly, then edges back up again. Another product is coffee....Maxwell House, Nabob, all brands.....started out 454g (1#) reduced to 250g in a very short time span. Another product I started using was a peroxide bleach (a green PC product) came in a large container 4.5L. Admidst a mass advertising blitz from Loblaws for 'Green Products', this particular product disappeared off the shelves for a couple of months....then reappeared in a smaller container at twice the cost. This same thing happened again (disappearing act) and the smaller container now has an apparently new and more concentrated (NOT) product at a slight increase. Whenever I see a product reduced in quantity and a slight decrease in price, I wait patiently for a few weeks to see the price begin to climb again. Do they think we are fools? Do they think we can't tell the difference? Why don't they just come out and be honest and say, "We are greedy bastards who just want to keep our already wealthy stockholders making money off the backs of the overburdened consumers.
So what do you do about it? When they all collude to dupe us you don't have much hope! Your alternatives are to buy the stuff you like or switch to What? a bigger sized bottle of stuff you don't like????
It's almost funny when a manufacturer puts a tag with "New Packaging" on their product. I guess they've finished improving the product and want to promote the packaging. As if the consumer can't see what a new label looks likes.
Sorry,a retraction on my previous comment....
On the metric liquid measures.
1L-1000ml ,3/4L-750ml ,1/2L-500ml,1/4L-250ml.
Try to find those numbers on a can of whatever.....
What puzzles me the most why Canada is not ad hearing to the real metric system it adopted in the 70's,in regards to the weight measure department...
As an example ,a metric pound consists 500gr,a quarter pound-125gr,half pound 250gr.
A kilogram 1000gr,a build in shortcut,so you weigh " 90 kilograms "without much thinking it would mean " 180 " pounds....
But Canada for some reason converted it back into the imperial system.
Maybe purposely in favor of the Food Industry..?
As you know in trying to compare "Prices"you would need a calculator...
Yet as mentioned above with round numbers from a quarter pound to a kilogram it would be simple to compare in price shopping and knowing what you are getting..!!
The same goes for liquids,
quarter L,125ml,half L,250ml,1 L,500ml
We are using containers from a "Imperial measure" country, the USA....??
Confused ? I am,I was born and raised in a metric Country.....
Check out the new reduced size Loblaws' no name frozen vegetables from 1 kg to 750 g while the OPVG's settlement price DECREASED between 2009 and 2010.
http://www.opvg.org/news/detail.aspx?id=e767ece3-31b1-47e6-ad35-f74e574f02e9
Yes,
The Presidents Choice Just Nuts peanut butter is now much smaller.
The other nasty thing is the gradual ratchetting up of prices, from 2/$4 to 2/$5 and now more and more often, the "great sale price" of 2/$6!
It's almost as good as the McDonalds sign, claiming that $3.98 is a Great Deal on one of their menu items, when you are still paying the same $1.99 for each, as you would pay if you got the two items separately. Until you do the math for them, in front of them, many of the staff think there's really some deal you get if you buy two at once.
I remember that the big Velveeta cheese bricks were 1KG... now they are 900g. I think the smaller sizes have remained at 500 and 250g, though. Some recipes are written as "One package of _", what happens to them when the package size changes?
Buy generic - there is almost zero point in paying for name brand products since the name brand manufacturers are the ones that produce the generic products as well. At least then when the amount in the package is reduced, you're not taking a double hit and paying for their advertising as well.
The can of Apple Juice not only shrunk, the price also went up almost 30¢.
They keep changing the shape and size of products to confuse the purchaser. The best had to be Tim Hortons claiming they hadn't increased their price of coffee in some time - in the meantime they kept making the size of the cups smaller and smaller.Eventually you will have to purchase 3 cups of coffee to equal what used to be a medium - I don't buy Tim's so it doesn't bother me.
I believe the bate and switch is the worst on cereal boxes. It was a constant struggle to keep up with doing the math to find the price vs weight cost when I shop . It is common to find the weight change and the size and shape of the packaging is changing to disguise it. Does it not cost so much more to reconfigure and manufacture the packaging so often versus the rise in cost of the ingredients? I just stopped buying name brand cereals, then I realized that I was paying a premium price to feed my children a product that was completely unhealthy and stopped buying cereal all together!
I think it is time we use their 1-800 numbers to call the manufacturers and tell them we don't like their deceitful ways!
Re: PC Pasta Sauce size change - note Classico has also moved to a 650G.
A $1.29 bag of Doritos used to weigh 85g bags. Now they're 65g and cost the same amount. Larger bags of chips have used the same bait and switch technique, too.
Have anyone noticed that 'large' cans of apple juice have shrunk recently...but the price hasn't!
A sack of rice used to be 10 kg, then it sized down to 20 lb & now all rice sack weight only 18 lb
where have u all been! FOLGERS COFFEE HAS GONE FROM 16 OUNCES TO 11 NEXT WILL BE CUP IN A CAN!
I have found that bars of soap is no longer the size it use to be.
Lever 2000. Same price for pack of 8, but actual size of the soap has decreased signigicantly.
Feels like using a sample size.
I have noticed the same thing with bricks of cheese, the large packages. They have been shrinking over time.
I remember when they were 900 grams. They look the same size now, (length and width of package) but the depth is not the same, and they are now 500 grams. I think they went from 900 to 800 to 700 etc, but kept the look the same. At 500 g. I notice the package is noticeably thinner than the 900 g package I remember.
I have noticed this with both no-name and brand names.
I can make a list of them. It is horrendous the scams that are being done. For example
PC Just Peanuts
Before... 1 kg at 4.99
After ... 750 kg at 4.29 (some stores 3.99)
PC Dark Roast Coffee
Use to be 1 kg can... then 930 or 905 grams and now 875 grams........ and then the price just keeps going up.
Remember when a regular cookie bag size was 450 grams..... now they are 300 or 350 grams
How about the 2 litre PC orange or grapefruit juice....... went to 1.89 litre and since there wasn't an uproar about that they then dropped it to 1.75 litres........ all for the same or increased price.
Once i was confused with the PC mayonaise because the coupon said 890 gram jar... well there wasn't an 890 gram jar, just a 850 gram. So i asked a stock employee and he was confused too and just said... i think they just "adjusted the size"
You want more examples? I am very size and price conscious.
Thanks for the tip! We'll be featuring your example in our next update.
Cheers,
Marketplace Online Team
Also Presidents Choice has shrunk their ice cream from 2 litres to 1.89 litres to 1.65 litres.
While the efforts taken by these companies can arguably be said to be morally dubious at best if not outright deceptive, I think the truly savvy buyer can easily overcome any trickery on their part.
Remember, labels on the shelf show you how much per unit you are buying, so if you are truly trying to get the most for your money, simply compare that number with similar products. Works for me every time, and you quickly learn when you are paying to much.