No inflation..

[Mike Cl]

I have to admit that pricing can be weird.  Twenty years ago I was selling baseball cards as a second source of income.  I learned fairly early that if you had copies of the 'hot' card not to price it the lowest of the show.  So, I would take a quick tour of all the tables at a show and compare what the prices were for the hottest items.  I would then make sure mine was not the lowest, or the highest.  Although the highest priced one would almost always sell before the lowest price one.  I could never figure that out.  Still can't.  So I think pricing stuff in a store is more of a science than I realize.

[Hydra009]

A lot of people have this strange idea that higher price = better quality.  Even for identical products.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFKT4jvN4OE

[stromboli]

If you think about it, it is actually almost as cheap to put a lot into a large can than a little into a small one. I worked as a Mormon in a cannery for awhile as part of my service (Mormons do "volunteer" work to serve the lord) A can is a can, larger 3 times the cost than a small one, holds more produce per cubic inch, etc. A #10 can holds at least eight times the amount in volume as a #2 can. In terms of labor the cost is identical; but because you put more into the same can, you are really being more efficient and that negates cost differences.

Can costs difference relatively small, only real difference is amount of product. Given that you are dealing with tons of produce, the loss of efficiency using small cans basically offsets the cost of produce for the larger cans. It is also, energy wise, more efficient to make a larger can than a smaller one. The same effort is required to produce either, and the result by content weight is again more efficient. All this was explained to me by the cannery guy. This, by the way, is why if you are on Mormon welfare you will get most of your produce in #10 cans vs. #2 soup cans. They have this shit down to a science.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

A couple of years ago, all ice cream manufacturers reduced the size of the traditional half gallon, down to a quart and a half.  I thought, "Isn't that nice.  They're reducing the amount they sell me."  The price went down, but I never calculated the per unit price.  I'm guessing they didn't lose money.  At any rate, the new smaller quantity is now the price of the old larger quantity.

They did that with both coffee and sugar years ago. I haven't seen a 5 pound bag of sugar for 35 years..
The real fucking criminals are places like dollar stores where you see a 6 oz box of whatever prices the same as a 15 oz box in supermarkets.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I have to admit that pricing can be weird.  Twenty years ago I was selling baseball cards as a second source of income.  I learned fairly early that if you had copies of the 'hot' card not to price it the lowest of the show.  So, I would take a quick tour of all the tables at a show and compare what the prices were for the hottest items.  I would then make sure mine was not the lowest, or the highest.  Although the highest priced one would almost always sell before the lowest price one.  I could never figure that out.  Still can't.  So I think pricing stuff in a store is more of a science than I realize.

Stores are sneaky fucks.. The lower prices are NEVER at eye level and they guide the flow of the store, usually starting you off in the always colorful produce section. The center of the store is where the cheap shit is, never near walls and so on. They've done extensive traffic flow studies and buying habits of customers. The shit on endcaps or end of the isle is always outrageous priced shit you never buy ordinarily, but it's easy to get to and is an impulse buy just like shit at the checkout.. Just like real estate it's location location location..

[Mike Cl]

Stores are sneaky fucks.. The lower prices are NEVER at eye level and they guide the flow of the store, usually starting you off in the always colorful produce section. The center of the store is where the cheap shit is, never near walls and so on. They've done extensive traffic flow studies and buying habits of customers. The shit on endcaps or end of the isle is always outrageous priced shit you never buy ordinarily, but it's easy to get to and is an impulse buy just like shit at the checkout.. Just like real estate it's location location location..

That they are--sneaky fucks.  I've read a bit about what you describe and I've noticed that it is true.  The only thing I'll buy at an endcap is a loss-leader.  I do most of my shopping in the middle of the isle and only for exactly what I need--and that need is supplied by my trusty, wife generated, list. :)  and that is what I use my phone for--'Hey babe, could you clarify this for me???'  :))  One key for me is to never go shopping hungry. 

[AllPurposeAtheist]

You know what pisses me off? Canned tomatoes are NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS ever in the same isle as tomato sauce and paste.. Anymore they're hidden four isles down next to health and beauty aids or some shit.. Fuckers..

[Hydra009]

You know what pisses me off? Canned tomatoes are NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS ever in the same isle as tomato sauce and paste.. Anymore they're hidden four isles down next to health and beauty aids or some shit.. Fuckers..

They are at my store.  But they have canned goods in a separate isle from mexican food, which also contains canned goods, so it's a pain to compare items.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

They are at my store.  But they have canned goods in a separate isle from mexican food, which also contains canned goods, so it's a pain to compare items.

Yeah, but you probably shop at one of those do gooder stores that actually care about customers.

[Munch]

I remember discovering one time that a small can of Old El Paso enchilada sauce was the same price as the large can.  I actually asked a manager in the store, who informed me that all the pricing was done at Corporate Headquarters.  They didn't change it either.  The price of the small can may have gone up, but it was always the same price as the large can.

let me guess, they put the small cans in close proximity to the El Paso kits, but the larger cans further away?

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Pssst...Don't tell anyone, but Old ElPaso is crap.

[Hydra009]

Those taco kits are such a ripoff.  You could pay $1.50 for the taco shells, $1.50 for el cheapo salsa or you can drop down $3.50 for the taco kit containing less of the above plus what is essentially seasoning salt.  And waayy too much salt, at that.  It's a deceptively large box, as well.  Makes you think you're getting more than you are.

[SGOS]

When steel belted radial tires came out, it seemed like it near doubled the life of the average tire.  Tire companies probably regretted ever putting them out.  But to the rescue now comes these low profile high performance tires.  Why a car like my Ford Focus has any need of  high performance tires like this is a mystery to me, but I got a good deal on it used from a friend.  But I'll be damned if I can get much more than 10,000 miles out of a set of tires on it.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Those taco kits are such a ripoff.  You could pay $1.50 for the taco shells, $1.50 for el cheapo salsa or you can drop down $3.50 for the taco kit containing less of the above plus what is essentially seasoning salt.  And waayy too much salt, at that.  It's a deceptively large box, as well.  Makes you think you're getting more than you are.

Having lived with a Mexican woman for 22 years I know as fact a little box of cornmeal can go a long, long way towards ruining your appetite.

[Solitary]

I found out a long time ago I could get more, and cheaper, by getting many small cans of a product than one big one. I like when they put a product in a large box to make it look like you are getting more, and listing the main ingredient as sugar, honey, sucrose etc. with heart stopping salt that's off the charts for being healthy. My son and I both have to be on a low sodium diet, and now we can't stand eating packaged meals or can goods with way too much sodium---like sodium carbonate. Salt makes you dehydrated, so drink more beer!