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If you've noticed your bar of Toblerone looking rather small and a far cry from how you remember it in your childhood, rest assured, you’re not the only one. In fact, consumers around the world are increasingly paying more for a growing range of products in ways that don’t show up on receipts.
Think of shrunk portions, thinner rolls, lighter bags, smaller cans — in this way, companies try to offset rising labor and materials costs without scaring us all off. But are they really succeeding? Also known as shrinkflation, the phenomenon has surely been noticed and well documented by people don’t find it fair to pay the same for a lesser net weight.
One such online destination, a subreddit called “Shrinkflation,” is dedicated to sharing some of the most deliberate and annoying examples of paying more for less spotted in practice. Below we wrapped up a collection of posts from there.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
This Is Insane
RELATED:
#2
I’ve Been Bamboozled
#3
Terry's Chocolate Orange Is Now Just "Terry's Orange" With The Word "Chocolatey" In The Description
This indicates that the quality has been reduced to the point where they cannot legally call it chocolate anymore
Shrinkflation is a form of retail camouflage in which consumers pay more for a growing range of products without actually realizing it. By shrinking usual product sizes and net weight, companies and businesses aim to cover rising labor and material costs without increasing the prices.
According to Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and lawyer who has authored a number of consumer protection laws, including the regulations under which the Massachusetts Lemon Law operates, consumers check the price every time they buy, but they don’t check the net weight. Dworsky has been tracking shrinkflation for more than 30 years, and he shares the results on his website Consumer World.
#4
Sometimes I Like To Flip The Chips In The Store Shelves
#5
Ah Yes ± 25ml, Thank You WD-40
Troy Parr 2 years ago
You can't always get the last amount of oil out of the can before the pressure has gone. Leaving oil in the can that's thrown away. My experience has told me that the smaller cans (100ml) are the worse for this. I went through a phase of opening up the "empty" cans to see how much was left. Maybe I should have formalized the results and publicized them for widespread comparison. https://www.facebook.com/739827619/videos/3134983986753041/
#6
The Shrinkflation Of The Old Pringles Design (165g) To The New (134g)
“When the price of raw materials, like coffee beans or paper pulp goes up, manufacturers are faced with a choice: Do we raise the price knowing consumers will see it and grumble about it? Or do we give them a little bit less and accomplish the same thing? Often it’s easier to do the latter,” Dworsky told The Washington Post.
#7
This Shrinkflation Of Toblerone In The UK, Is Still Mind-Boggling
Johnnie Meechan 2 years ago
Not a bad thing! The most violent chocolate in the world. It tricks you! You try gnawing it down and the sweet taste starts to melt in your mouth, Then you get brave and bite down only to get the roof of your mouth punctured by the chocolate Swiss alps!
#8
Inflation In The UK 344% Up For A Bag Of Rice From Last Year
#9
Is It Shrinkflation When They Just Lie About The Weight? Paid For 12 Oz Of Fish, Got 10.6 Including The Wrapping
Dworsky also argues that when small bags of candy have been downsized, you are not likely to eat two bags instead. "But for orange juice, cereal, paper towels, toilet paper, peanut butter, whatever — consumers just have to buy it more often."
Although products don’t shrink by half and the changes are usually barely noticeable, these little differences add up to your pocketbook. If you're getting 10% to 12% less of a product, that's equivalent to a 10% price increase, and if you’re a regular consumer of that product, you will start feeling the difference pretty soon.
#10
This Must Be Their Way Of Saying “We Decreased The Amount But Kept The Container Size The Same” (Oikos Yogurt, 5.3 Oz)
#11
When I Was A Teen, These Stretched The Length Of The Package. Those Were The Days
Odette Boisvert 2 years ago
one time my daughter had a black hole on her tongue and we rushed to the dentist ($$$) before she finally admit that she had two packs of that thing the night before... iiissshhhh...
#12
The Top Box Is From A Well Established Reoccurring Promotion
John Dwyer 2 years ago
I see what they did there. Very clever . Took me a moment to see lack of % sign.
On the other hand, we can try to see the positive side of shrinkflation and argue that we may indeed be saving some calories. In the context of the obesity pandemic, this may be a small but important step. When six-packs of bagels go from 24 oz to 22 to 20 oz, the chances are you will still be buying the same number of packages but end up eating a lesser amount of food.
#13
These Used To Be 6 To A Pack. Same Price Of Course
Catherine Miklavic 2 years ago
Same thing happened to chicken fil a frozen lemonade..... use to come in sizes and I always got the large at 3.75........ then a bit over a year ago they made the only size a small and raised the price to 4.25..... so you get less for more than a large used to cost..... I was so mad we stopped going to chick FIL a
#14
I Remember When The "Good Stuff" Mix-In Cup Was Full In Chobani Yogurts. Now Less Than Half
#15
Breyers Chocolate Chip Used To Be Jammed With Chocolate, Now It’s Almost Just Plain Vanilla
#16
I Bought A New IKEA Utensil Holder And It Kept Tipping Over. Turns Out It's The Same Dimensions And Material As The Old One I Have But It Weighs Over 50% Less
#17
Oreo Filling Isn't Just Thinner... Now It Doesn't Even Reach The Edge
#18
This Is Now “Double Stuffed”
#19
Big Mac Hit With The Shrink Ray?
#20
They Couldn't Even Wait Until The Old One Was Gone To Put Up The New Size
#21
Yes, This Is New And Unused
#22
Pack Of Gum
Anna Banana 2 years ago
I'd love to see the stats how much they save per year on this. Must be a shitload, like that time an airline took out 1 olive from every salad and ended up saving hundreds of thousands on fuel...
#23
Plenty Of Room To Spare
#24
Cat Food. Was $55 For 24, 5.8 Oz Cans. Now $62 For 24, 5.1 Oz Cans. That's .7 Oz. Less Per Can, And $7 More Per Case
Rachel Ratty 2 years ago
and strangely it is one of the most expensive pet foods, yet has the worst quality - full of c**p
#25
Oreos Shipped With Three Cookies Face Down
#26
Omg! This Is The Best One Yet! From The Previous Post About Bolthouse Dressing, I Called Them Out On Twitter. Lmao
#27
$0.99 For The Top One Last Year. Just Bought The Bottom One For $1.97
#28
Never Thought I'd Catch It So Blatantly Myself - Grocery Store In Canada
#29
Now It's Serious... Not My Dino Nuggets Too
#30
Nugo Bars Advertised As 50g But Coming In At 41g
#31
Wife Bought Paper Towels From A Chain Store Brand Today. Regular Roll Core For Comparison
#32
Same Price. Bought The Last One 3 Weeks Ago, And A New One Today For Thanksgiving
John Dwyer 2 years ago
How is it toast? It is bread (with garlic) In UK we call this err... garlic bread.
#33
Scott Toilet Paper - 2019 vs. 2021 Comparison
#34
I Can Now Fit All Of My Groceries In A Ziplock, Yay!
#35
2 Twix Short Of A Yard
The Panarchist (They/He) 2 years ago
Not the Twix- anything but the Twix- take the Reese’s pieces instead-
#36
Softsoap Made Their Bottle Smaller. This Was Their Response
#37
Shrinkflation Has Been Hitting Everything
#38
Even LEGO Can't Escape!
RedBadgerCan'tSwim 2 years ago
To be fair, the 2010 model was an ultimate collector's set that retailed for $260 and the 2021 set retails for about $70. So not really shrinkflation.
#39
In Response To The Post About Folger's Coffee, I Call Them Out On Twitter. This Was Their Response. But Wait, There's More!
#40
This Is Getting Serious
Snorkeldorf 2 years ago (edited)
Yup. BW3 changed that a long time ago. You used to get a dozen wings for a certain price. Now you only get 10 wings, unless you pay quite a bit more, and then you get 15. You cannot buy a dozen wings anymore. So, I no longer patronize BW3. Those with a local business have much better deals and I prefer to see them succeed. Not my job to fund the stock payers of large corporate-owned businesses.
#41
Seen This While Stocking Cookies
#42
I Fill Canisters With Our Dry Goods, The Past Year Things Have Gone From Filled To Nearly Spilling, To This
Katarzyna Gratka 2 years ago
Maybe it's time to make your own mashed potatoes? Normal potatoes, not cardboard.
#43
Can Of Great Value “Pringles” Is A Third Empty When Opened
Vanja Vidovic 2 years ago (edited)
Can anyone make a projection, in how many years will they be selling only one potato chip in a can?
#44
Monster Coming In With Some Scary 25% Shrinkflation
#45
I Knew Something Was Fishy When I Bought My Creamer Yesterday
#46
The Slices Of This Chocolate Orange Have Hollows Now
#47
New Take On Shrinkflation: Exact Same Product Miraculously “65% More”
#49
This Used To Be Completely Full
#50
Wood Flooring, Now With Less Hardwood!
Tassenküchlein168 2 years ago (edited)
It’s quite normal that there are sold different qualities. You have to compare (and pay more) to get the thick ones.
Note: this post originally had 124 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
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wowbagger 2 years ago
Don't forget: while this shrinkflation is happening, corporate profits and CEO pay are going way up. We're not all suffering together.
Phil Vaive 2 years ago
Oh, wholeheartedly agree with this. Late stage capitalism is an absolute criminal enterprise. Consumers only exist to support shareholders.
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Luna Crow 2 years ago
Came here to say the same. This is my biggest problem with it. "Now with 50% more landfill waste!"
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wowbagger 2 years ago
Don't forget: while this shrinkflation is happening, corporate profits and CEO pay are going way up. We're not all suffering together.
Phil Vaive 2 years ago
Oh, wholeheartedly agree with this. Late stage capitalism is an absolute criminal enterprise. Consumers only exist to support shareholders.
Load More Replies... Luna Crow 2 years ago
Came here to say the same. This is my biggest problem with it. "Now with 50% more landfill waste!"
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