Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Price Stays Same - Quantity (amount) Goes Down

Yes, this is one of those 'duh' moments.

Recently, I caught Deerfield Farms doing this: Their 16oz bag of Jumbo Sunflower Seeds became a 13oz bag, but the price remained the same - $1.99.

But here's something shocking: Wyler's Beef (Flavor) Bouillon Cubes

6.5oz (makes 50 cups (50 cubes))
UPC: 0 41258 75124 5

3.25oz (makes 25 cups (25 cubes))
UPC: 0 41258 75117 7

Granted, you can't buy the first one any longer, and the container we had was being used to store thumbtacks. But the price was still on it: $2.18. Of course, to be fair, the 'use by' date was 01-NOV-1999.

I purchased the 25 cubes container today and paid (at Wal-Mart) $2.33.

YIKES. Before somebody tells me that the first one wasn't made by Wyler's ... um ... you need to learn how to read a UPC code.

An excellent primer is here: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/upc.htm

The first six (6) digits of the UPC code belong to each unique manufacturer. For any size Q-Tips (made by Unilever), as an example, the first six digits will ALWAYS read '3 05215.' For any thing of the Walgreens brand, the first six (6) digits will ALWAYS read '3 11917.' And so it is with Wyler's; the first six (6) digits will ALWAYS read '0 41258.'

YIKES.

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