Higher prices or smaller packages?

Star Kist tuna is now packaged in a
five ounce can instaed of 6 oz. as
it has been for years. You have to look
twice to notice but read label.

Breyers Ice Cream is now sold in a
1.5 Qt. package that looks like
a half gallon. The company says its cheaper to transport. Bunk!!!

Big banks did risky investments that ultimately led to their ruin.

In the future such kind of investments should not be allowed.

Investors like warren Buffed have been warning to the danger of the derivatives.

In 2003 Warren Buffet warned that the trade in derivatives was posing a “mega-catastrophic risk” for the economy .
US regulatory bodies did nothing.
Warren Buffet was right.
The people rage is actually healthy.
As late as 2007 , Lehaman brothers CEO was pocketing bonuses of millions.
” 40.6 Million in Pay for Lehman’s Chief ” , reports the associated press, february 2007.
Lehman brothers was having record profits, acording to their own accounts.

How come lehaman brothers now is bankrupt ?
Authorities should go to the bottom of it.

To claim that banks should be helped because it will be much worse if they do not.., is not enought.
Help but held accountable the big cats and find the root causes of such situation.

Just to get over it and leave banks gambling as they were doing before the crash is not the solution.

The root causes of the crisis should be adressed.

I’d much prefer paying a higher price for the same size package than smaller. Sigh .. I’ve noticted I AM paying more for less.

Working a a large food company another angle not mentioned it they have formulas for each product. They also have tolerances in these formulas so if flour is expensive this week they can substitute it with a filler to control the cost. So that finished good you buy from week to week my taste the same but most likely is not the same raw materials.

The boxes of cereal I saw at the supermarket LOOKED like 16-18 oz size, but READING the weight, told me a SKIMPY, SNEAKY and HIGHLY UNETHICAL 12 oz!!! You do NOT, NOT, NOT!!! have to buy the big boys con job – many better outlets like Trader Joes, and many others, give you a REAL deal. Get UP off your knees, stop whining, and FIGHT BACK!!! Re Bryers – guess what…I’ll pay more for MORE, with Ben & Jerry!

For those of you who are screaming ‘protest’ and ’shame on you’ and ’scam’, where were you protesting when the sizes kept getting bigger?

BTW, this isn’t just about the cost of the goods but it’s about reducing transport cost. Reducing the weight just a few ounces per package adds up when you have a truck load of the product. They’re able to reduce the amount of carton usage (hey, reduced tree cutting!) and fuel charges. The truck driver (who pays for his/her own fuel because they are independant contractors) ultimately saves money too so they are able to keep these truckers on the road to bring the food to you. Many drivers were on the verge of losing their trucks and their shirts. Reducing the sizes help these companies stay within margins when commodities are skyrocketing.

And for those of you who wanted the companies to proclaim the smaller package… ARE YOU FOR REAL? Like you were going to buy a box of cereal that said “And now 11% smaller!”. I’m sure most of you never noticed the changes until you read this article.

So let’s put things in perspective and look at the whole picture.

BTW, no one made any of you buy the brand names… there’s always generic and there’s always coupons. With some time and effort and adjustment you can still save on the bills.

Finally, considering that you’re online (IOW using a computer) on a finance website, I’m sure most of you can manage just fine without a few ounces of cocoa krispies in your bellies.

And Earl in PA, the grocery store usually states the price per ounce of a product on their price tag – it’s very helpful.

I prefer smaller packages that use less material thus create less waste. I think about half of the people don’t eat all the contents and the other half shouldn’t eat the entire package. Maybe people will pay attention to serving sizes and realize they were overeating before just because it was there.Hopefully, supersized America will become a healthier nation.

When these marketing ploys occur it’s a good time to explore alternative brands that aren’t downsizing.
For example, Blue Bell Ice Cream still sells a top quality product in a full half gallon size with only a marginal price increase while competing brands have reduced their package contents by as much as 25%. Speak the language the downsizers know best. Don’t buy their smaller products. Without such protests, manufacturers assume they have license to make make any change in packaging and product without sanction by the consumer. Commodity products are notoriously similar. Milk is milk. Send a message!

We did it a little differently. Having two teenage boys that are as big as the refrigerator they regularly raid, we replaced the dairy products with a milk cow. Now the cow manufactures all of our needs. She gives us milk, sweet & sour cream, butter, cheese, and yogart. Her feed bill is half what it used to cost us in dairy products at the store. All of our produce is now grown in our garden – if we can’t grow it, we don’t eat it. We also have a few chickens that provide eggs – they are fed extra stuff from the garden and love curdled milk from “MilkShake”, the cow.

While I don’t agree with the tactic of shrinking packages just a little bit so the consumer won’t realize it while holding prices steady, or even raising them a little… personally, I don’t mind that the packages are shrinking a little bit.

Ultimately, I find myself eating less. If a package of cereal used to fill my cereal bowl for 5 days, it still is. I just fill it a little less. If that 16oz package of frozen vegetables only has 14.2oz, I still just make 1 package and just have a few less pieces of broccoli per meal.

Unfortunately, there are some products that you can’t necessarily just “use less of.” And on those, it stings a little more.

In our neck of the woods, product sizes are down, but prices have gone down drastically. Basically, we use simple ploys and techniques involving misdirection to bilk stores out of what our family needs. The School of Hard Knocks sure has payed off handsomely for us!

I would rather pay more for the same amount (and know I’m paying more) than to have the size shrink without so much as a warning.

Kim makes a good point that many recipes call for a certain amount of a product, so now we will be forced to buy two to equal the old amount. So we either throw away more unused/uneaten food, or it will have the reverse effect of what I say below… (wouldn’t that be ironic? unlike a black fly in your glass of Chardonnay)

On the other hand, as much as I disdain this practice, perhaps it will have the unintentional effect of slimming this country’s waistline.

Packaging has been getting smaller for years. A .05 three musketeers bar was HUGE when I was a kid. Coffee was a pound can. The pricing is the key. Price per package should be on the shelf marker along with a standardized price per unit,(ounce, pound, cup etc.)Then you can compare the price for the product contained and not the container.

I can afford a price hike and I woudl rather pay more than have them be sneaky and make stuff smaller , charging the same price. i have recipes that call for a certian amount of a product, like a can of tuna. If they make the can smaller now I have to buy two cans and use part of a second can which will ultimately mean I will throw out the rest of the second can when no one wants to eat it. This costs me more money than just charging me 15 more cents– geeeeze

Neither. Eat the price difference. So the CEO gets a few less million in bonuses, big deal.

I usually shop utilizing the grocery stores unit pricing (price per oz, price per lb, etc) so this doesn’t impact me as I would notice the difference [of course I never verify the grocery store did their math properly unless the units used for two similar items are different - cereal noted as $x /lb on one package and $0.x / oz on a different package].

The cost of the packaging materials is about the same, the filling equipment still is as expensive, the cost of handling each package is the same. All of the fixed costs remain constant the only thing I’m pay less for is a smaller amount of food. My unit cost is going up and somehow I’m suppose to be happy.
Shame on the producers.
I didn’t like it when ice cream downsized from 64 to 56 ounces. I refused to buy ice cream from any manufacture that reduced again to 48 ounces. I show no brand loyalty anymore, only on sale buy one get one free.

Don’t forget—-This practice also leads to increased gas use. People are going to be returning to the market more often as they run out of cereal and other “reduced volume” products.

Package size, larger or smaller, has benefits and issues for different peoples needs. The issue is really a truth in advertising issue. That concept means that it is either unethical or illegal to “deceive” the customer. No matter what the package size is, if the manufacturer is trying make you think you are getting a gallon or a pound of something when you are not, that is the problem. Is the new marketing mantra to be “put that old butchers thumb on the scale” to make a couple of extra dollars??

As long as the decreased sizes are clearly noted I think it makes sense. For too many years most CPG companies have been trying to sell us more than what we need. Consumers must always beware.

Well, someone’s gotta say it… I think the smaller sizes are good. Who knows, maybe a tighter budget combined with smaller packaging will equal less consumption and reduce obesity. Smaller bodies and reduced weight means they fit in smaller cars which get better gas mileage and reduce overall oil consumption. Everything in life is connected.

Given that there is so much proportion distortion and package size has gotten so ludicrously big and there is so much waste, smaller packaging is not necessarily a bad thing.

My wife and I have been a family of two since our wedding day (although that is changing soon) and most things don’t come sized for less than 4 people. I think smaller is the way to go.