[Jenab6]

Tuna fish cans have been downsized from 6 ounces to 5 ounces, just recently. There were mixed size cans at Dollar General, and I grabbed the last three dozen cans of the six-ounce size. While the size had decreased by 16%, the price had risen by 10%. That's effectively a 24 percent increase in the cost of the product.

Earlier this year, also at Dollar General, one-dollar bags of long grain rice shrunk from 3 pounds to 2.5 pounds. Just recently, however, the price of those 2.5 pound rice bags increased 65%, to $1.65 per bag. The price of rice has doubled since the beginning of this year.

[Magus]

Retailers have many amazing tricks at their disposal, including the ability to make your money disappear!

It's almost as impressive as the Federal Reserves ability to create vast sums of money out of nothing! Medieval alchemists could only dream of accomplishing such a feat.

[vision-master]

Aldi's has some kick-arse thick slice bacon for about $4 a pack. When I got home and looked in my freezer, I noticed the package size has shrunk. WTF. Sneaky devils.

[Jenab6]

I noticed some time ago that the sellers of buttery round crackers (e.g., "Ritz") were cheating their customers in a number of ways. At one point, the box-of-four cellophane tubes became a box-of-three, which at once raised the price of a gram of their product by 25%. Then they stopped using butter in those buttery crackers and began using some kind of funny chemical spray perfume that smells vaguely like butter. Then they stopped filling up the three remaining cellophane tubes: they were designed to hold 40 crackers each, but these days you're lucky to get 35 or 36, and you might get only 32 or 33. How long before they're trying to sell us crackers one at a time in jewel cases?

[mercurygirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Magus', 'R')etailers have many amazing tricks at their disposal, including the ability to make your money disappear!

It's almost as impressive as the Federal Reserves ability to create vast sums of money out of nothing! Medieval alchemists could only dream of accomplishing such a feat.

[mattduke]

Let me share with you my experience with the family business: customers are a cruel master. Customers don't care that your costs have gone up. Customers don't care that you have payroll to make. Customers don't care that your taxes have gone up. And most of all, customers do not care that the value of their money has been shrunk by the Federal Reserve inflation. Any price increase is asked only after agonizing about it for months, and after absorbing loss after loss, and giving yourself a paycut, until the choice is to shut down the business your grandfather started or raise prices. And believe me, raising prices is no sure fix. Then, the day you finally raise prices, the anger is unleashed: scowling looks from good longtime customers and friends, and vows to never return. This, right here, is the Iraq war being paid for. Yes, shrinking packages is tricky and not something I would do, but I understand where it comes from. Focus the anger where it is deserved: government inflation.

[mattduke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('GASMON', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mattduke', 'F')ocus the anger where it is deserved: government inflation.

[3aidlillahi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')esco (big UK based supermarket chain) have just announced profits of nearly £3 BILLION.

[mos6507]

This is nothing new. Andy Rooney did a bit on this what, 20-25 years ago? It's the same thing the airlines are doing by feeing you to death. It's to hide inflation under the rug.

[3aidlillahi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', 'T')his is nothing new. Andy Rooney did a bit on this what, 20-25 years ago? It's the same thing the airlines are doing by feeing you to death. It's to hide inflation under the rug.

[mattduke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('GASMON', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('3aidlillahi', 'O')ver a year, that's about 2 billion pounds, not 3 billion. Why do you Brits lie? How is £2 billion "nearly £3 billion" as you claim? And you can't claim these numbers are from 2007 as those numbers were 11% lower than this year.

[3aidlillahi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('GASMON', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('3aidlillahi', 'O')ver a year, that's about 2 billion pounds, not 3 billion. Why do you Brits lie? How is £2 billion "nearly £3 billion" as you claim? And you can't claim these numbers are from 2007 as those numbers were 11% lower than this year.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('3aidlillahi', '
')So are you saying that it's a conspiracy between businesses and government to hide inflation and lie to the people about the reality of a situation?

[3aidlillahi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('3aidlillahi', '
')So are you saying that it's a conspiracy between businesses and government to hide inflation and lie to the people about the reality of a situation?

[pinewillow]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('3aidlillahi', '
')So are you saying that it's a conspiracy between businesses and government to hide inflation and lie to the people about the reality of a situation?

[WildRose]

Just the other day when I was shopping for groceries, an elderly woman and her husband pointed out to me that a product they regularly buy had a smaller amount in the same container for the same price, but I don't remember what product it was.

Something else I've noticed is that you have to check the large or "economy" sizes of products you buy to be sure you're getting the best value for your money. For example, if you're looking at bar soap in packages of 12 or 24, often the larger package is not the best deal; you'd be better off buying two of the smaller ones. You just have to calculate what you're paying per bar. Same goes for toilet paper, etc.

[mercurygirl]

Yup. Thank Hawkman for the few consumer protections still in place. Sometimes you really have to work at it. At least in the store I usually frequent, they have those little tags that show the price per unit (usually weight or volume). They also do yellow tags on each sale item, which of course changes weekly. I don't buy anything at full price, if I can help it. Love my local Goodwill store, although I think even their prices have gone up. It's fun being cheap!