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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.

#3

Terry's Chocolate Orange Is Now Just "Terry's Orange" With The Word "Chocolatey" In The Description

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

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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

Sometimes I Like To Flip The Chips In The Store Shelves

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Bart S
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

that's bad example, don't look at how big the bag is, look at net weight of stuff inside. so much air is needed so the chips won't break during transport.

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#5

Ah Yes ± 25ml, Thank You WD-40

Ah Yes ± 25ml, Thank You WD-40

nzeck Report

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Troy Parr
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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/

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#6

The Shrinkflation Of The Old Pringles Design (165g) To The New (134g)

The Shrinkflation Of The Old Pringles Design (165g) To The New (134g)

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Mistiekim
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The new Mr. Pringles man looks like a villain compared to the old one, so of course his chips would be smaller. The man looks like he should be twirling his mustache and evil laughing at us.

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“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

This Shrinkflation Of Toblerone In The UK, Is Still Mind-Boggling

y3rnaux Report

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Johnnie Meechan
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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!

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#8

Inflation In The UK 344% Up For A Bag Of Rice From Last Year

Inflation In The UK 344% Up For A Bag Of Rice From Last Year

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#9

Is It Shrinkflation When They Just Lie About The Weight? Paid For 12 Oz Of Fish, Got 10.6 Including The Wrapping

Is It Shrinkflation When They Just Lie About The Weight? Paid For 12 Oz Of Fish, Got 10.6 Including The Wrapping

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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.

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#10

This Must Be Their Way Of Saying “We Decreased The Amount But Kept The Container Size The Same” (Oikos Yogurt, 5.3 Oz)

This Must Be Their Way Of Saying “We Decreased The Amount But Kept The Container Size The Same” (Oikos Yogurt, 5.3 Oz)

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#11

When I Was A Teen, These Stretched The Length Of The Package. Those Were The Days

When I Was A Teen, These Stretched The Length Of The Package. Those Were The Days

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Odette Boisvert
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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...

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#12

The Top Box Is From A Well Established Reoccurring Promotion

The Top Box Is From A Well Established Reoccurring Promotion

EverydayDan Report

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John Dwyer
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I see what they did there. Very clever . Took me a moment to see lack of % sign.

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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

These Used To Be 6 To A Pack. Same Price Of Course

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Catherine Miklavic
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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

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#14

I Remember When The "Good Stuff" Mix-In Cup Was Full In Chobani Yogurts. Now Less Than Half

I Remember When The "Good Stuff" Mix-In Cup Was Full In Chobani Yogurts. Now Less Than Half

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#15

Breyers Chocolate Chip Used To Be Jammed With Chocolate, Now It’s Almost Just Plain Vanilla

Breyers Chocolate Chip Used To Be Jammed With Chocolate, Now It’s Almost Just Plain Vanilla

94_ny_rangers Report

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Mistiekim
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To be fair, the container does say “chocolate chip” not chips. Anything past one chip and they probably feel like we really shouldn’t complain.

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#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

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

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#17

Oreo Filling Isn't Just Thinner... Now It Doesn't Even Reach The Edge

Oreo Filling Isn't Just Thinner... Now It Doesn't Even Reach The Edge

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#18

This Is Now “Double Stuffed”

This Is Now “Double Stuffed”

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#20

They Couldn't Even Wait Until The Old One Was Gone To Put Up The New Size

They Couldn't Even Wait Until The Old One Was Gone To Put Up The New Size

JudasPenguin Report

#21

Yes, This Is New And Unused

Yes, This Is New And Unused

GiShG69 Report

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Camilore
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The laws should do something to protect the consumers if not, we will just “consume” and throw away plastic at a alarming rate

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#22

Pack Of Gum

Pack Of Gum

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Anna Banana
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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...

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#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

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

Sailing_Duck Report

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Rachel Ratty
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

and strangely it is one of the most expensive pet foods, yet has the worst quality - full of c**p

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#25

Oreos Shipped With Three Cookies Face Down

Oreos Shipped With Three Cookies Face Down

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#26

Omg! This Is The Best One Yet! From The Previous Post About Bolthouse Dressing, I Called Them Out On Twitter. Lmao

Omg! This Is The Best One Yet! From The Previous Post About Bolthouse Dressing, I Called Them Out On Twitter. Lmao

BuzzOnBuzzOff Report

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KJ
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sure, that's totally the reason for reducing the size of the bottle, we all believe you.

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#27

$0.99 For The Top One Last Year. Just Bought The Bottom One For $1.97

$0.99 For The Top One Last Year. Just Bought The Bottom One For $1.97

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Leo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You should actually boycott Barilla anyway because of their views on gay people

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#28

Never Thought I'd Catch It So Blatantly Myself - Grocery Store In Canada

Never Thought I'd Catch It So Blatantly Myself - Grocery Store In Canada

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#29

Now It's Serious... Not My Dino Nuggets Too

Now It's Serious... Not My Dino Nuggets Too

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Luna
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The only thing that I thought wouldn’t be affected! Not. My. Dino. Nuggets!

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#30

Nugo Bars Advertised As 50g But Coming In At 41g

Nugo Bars Advertised As 50g But Coming In At 41g

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#31

Wife Bought Paper Towels From A Chain Store Brand Today. Regular Roll Core For Comparison

Wife Bought Paper Towels From A Chain Store Brand Today. Regular Roll Core For Comparison

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#32

Same Price. Bought The Last One 3 Weeks Ago, And A New One Today For Thanksgiving

Same Price. Bought The Last One 3 Weeks Ago, And A New One Today For Thanksgiving

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John Dwyer
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How is it toast? It is bread (with garlic) In UK we call this err... garlic bread.

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#33

Scott Toilet Paper - 2019 vs. 2021 Comparison

Scott Toilet Paper - 2019 vs. 2021 Comparison

mrhotshotbot Report

#34

I Can Now Fit All Of My Groceries In A Ziplock, Yay!

I Can Now Fit All Of My Groceries In A Ziplock, Yay!

Sestial Report

#35

2 Twix Short Of A Yard

2 Twix Short Of A Yard

proft0x Report

#36

Softsoap Made Their Bottle Smaller. This Was Their Response

Softsoap Made Their Bottle Smaller. This Was Their Response

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Chich
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Hey Bob, Think this is enough corp-speak to make them go away?" "Yeah, that should do."

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#37

Shrinkflation Has Been Hitting Everything

Shrinkflation Has Been Hitting Everything

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#38

Even LEGO Can't Escape!

Even LEGO Can't Escape!

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RedBadgerCan'tSwim
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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#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!

In Response To The Post About Folger's Coffee, I Call Them Out On Twitter. This Was Their Response. But Wait, There's More!

BuzzOnBuzzOff Report

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cugel
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"I've been folding my money with new technology... I won't be paying you as much, but it still has the same value"

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#40

This Is Getting Serious

This Is Getting Serious

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Snorkeldorf
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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#41

Seen This While Stocking Cookies

Seen This While Stocking Cookies

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#42

I Fill Canisters With Our Dry Goods, The Past Year Things Have Gone From Filled To Nearly Spilling, To This

I Fill Canisters With Our Dry Goods, The Past Year Things Have Gone From Filled To Nearly Spilling, To This

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Katarzyna Gratka
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe it's time to make your own mashed potatoes? Normal potatoes, not cardboard.

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#43

Can Of Great Value “Pringles” Is A Third Empty When Opened

Can Of Great Value “Pringles” Is A Third Empty When Opened

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Vanja Vidovic
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can anyone make a projection, in how many years will they be selling only one potato chip in a can?

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#44

Monster Coming In With Some Scary 25% Shrinkflation

Monster Coming In With Some Scary 25% Shrinkflation

fatkidslovecupcakes Report

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Dani M
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ok but thats actually good... drinking that stuff is in fact a bad idea

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#45

I Knew Something Was Fishy When I Bought My Creamer Yesterday

I Knew Something Was Fishy When I Bought My Creamer Yesterday

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#46

The Slices Of This Chocolate Orange Have Hollows Now

The Slices Of This Chocolate Orange Have Hollows Now

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#47

New Take On Shrinkflation: Exact Same Product Miraculously “65% More”

New Take On Shrinkflation: Exact Same Product Miraculously “65% More”

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#50

Wood Flooring, Now With Less Hardwood!

Wood Flooring, Now With Less Hardwood!

cancerboyuofa Report

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Tassenküchlein168
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s quite normal that there are sold different qualities. You have to compare (and pay more) to get the thick ones.

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Note: this post originally had 124 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.