Which is the less annoying option for you...

[TravelingGal]

When a company keeps the portion of something the same, but increases the price

OR

Keeps the price the same, but noticeably decreases the quantity/weight?

I suppose another option would be to keep everything the same, but decrease quality of the product, but I'm more interested in which of the first two options you prefer.

Oh, and I use the word "annoying" for lack of a better one.

 

[dragonfly411]

I think I would have to say increase of price. At least I can justify why they are doing so... costs of materials or production are going up. Either way it sucks to get less for your money.

 

[zoebartlett]

It might depend on what it is, but generally, I don't mind paying a little more for something if the quality is great. If a company reduced the quality of its product but kept the price the same, that would bug me.

 

[meresal]

Change in price is prefered by me. Changes to the size is worse, because that is just an attempt to hide it.

Taking this to another level, what makes me even more irritated, is when a so called bargain website charges crazy shipping costs. If you are going to charge $6 to have a set of baby socks shipped, don't show that you are offering the socks for %50 off, because when it all comes around, we are still paying the same price.

 

[tyty333]

Its less annoying if they up the price. At least I noticed the cost went up. Sometimes if they keep the price the same
but reduce the size I dont even notice for a while. Probably works out better for them because I dont look for other
less expensive options until I noticed what they have done.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Change in price is prefered by me. Changes to the size is worse, because that is just an attempt to hide it.

This exactly. I've just noticed this with Tropicana orange juice. I used to pay $3.49 (or $3 when on sale) for a carton of 64-ounce Tropicana, however recently my FIL pointed out they are only 59 ounces. The packaging is EXACTLY the same, so the only way a consumer would know that the quantity decreases is if he/she just so happened to look at how many fluid ounces were in the container every week.

I know exactly how much I'm paying for my "staple" groceries each week (milk, juice, bread, eggs, etc.), so I'm much more likely to notice an increase in price than a decrease in quantity. And when a company decreases the quantity without changing the packaging at all, it just comes off as sneaky.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

It's less annoying when the price is increased. Keeping the price the same while decreasing size is deceiptful, IMO.

It's like those Erin's Breakfast Baker cookies. Anyone heard of those? They're sold in the NW. What happened with them was the company was targeted for prices AND for deceiptful packaging, saying the cookies had only X amount of calories but people didn't look too closely at serving size. When called on that, they made the cookies SMALLER rather than change the price/nutritional info. And, man, those things became half the size. Ridiculous!

 

[labellavita81]

Increase the price... I figure everything has to be increased at some point or another so I would prefer that option.... maybe my salary will increase too haha.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Change in price is prefered by me. Changes to the size is worse, because that is just an attempt to hide it.

This exactly. I've just noticed this with Tropicana orange juice. I used to pay $3.49 (or $3 when on sale) for a carton of 64-ounce Tropicana, however recently my FIL pointed out they are only 59 ounces. The packaging is EXACTLY the same, so the only way a consumer would know that the quantity decreases is if he/she just so happened to look at how many fluid ounces were in the container every week.

I know exactly how much I'm paying for my "staple" groceries each week (milk, juice, bread, eggs, etc.), so I'm much more likely to notice an increase in price than a decrease in quantity. And when a company decreases the quantity without changing the packaging at all, it just comes off as sneaky.

You know what pisses me off, is when products are "unit price exempt." With cereal I can see I'm paying $1.99 per a specific amount, which I love b/c I like to buy organic cereal and will stock up when I see that number go down, but with other products, like cetaphil (maybe - I think they do that - or some other stuff like that) we do not get an accurate cost per amount figure to go by so I have to guess if I'm getting a good deal on a particular brand. I tend to be brand loyal (like with Cetaphil and laundry detergent - all free and clear), but with certain products, I DO buy what is cheapest and I wanna be able to quickly look at a tag and KNOW if it actually is.

 

[Octavia]

I'd rather just see the price increase, particularly for ingredients I use in recipes. If an older recipe calls for a 16-oz can of something but it all comes in 14-oz cans now, it's a real pain to try to compensate or to open two cans and possibly let the rest of the unused ingredient go to waste. Of course, I can make the adjustments, but it really irritates me to have to do it.

Nowadays, I buy as much from bulk bins as possible, so at least I control how much I'm getting. But that isn't possible for everything, and I would rather companies just be honest about raising the prices for their goods.

 

[Jennifer W]

Price increase - I'm fine with that, because I can decide if I still want to buy it, knowing that costs of production go up from time to time.

Portion size reduction - disappointing. It feels sneaky and a little bit underhand, even though the reasoning is much the same as the price increase. However, there are some exceptions, depending on the product. Fish and chips is the example that springs to mind here - fish has gone up in price here, time and time again, so the fish and chip shop owner in the village where I live decided to give one piece per portion rather than the traditional one and a half fillets in batter. There's a sign up in the store explaining this. The reasoning is that fish and chips is seen as a cheap and cheerful treat. Putting the cost of a fish supper up beyond a certain point really means that no one will buy it anymore. People do have the option of paying a little more for the traditional sized portion or taking a little bit less. No one has complained, apparently. I think that's because there's some up-front honesty, no feeling of sneaky or greedy dealing.

Reducing quality - I'd most likely stop buying the product, unless there was an element of redundancy in the original quality specification. If it's a foodstuff, I'd look around for an alternative.

 

[yssie]

It's less annoying when the price is increased. Keeping the price the same while decreasing size is deceiptful, IMO.

It's like those Erin's Breakfast Baker cookies. Anyone heard of those? They're sold in the NW. What happened with them was the company was targeted for prices AND for deceiptful packaging, saying the cookies had only X amount of calories but people didn't look too closely at serving size. When called on that, they made the cookies SMALLER rather than change the price/nutritional info. And, man, those things became half the size. Ridiculous!

Exactly that!

 

[zoebartlett]

TGal -- I'm not sure that I actually answered your question exactly; sorry about that. Could you give some specifics about what you're thinking?

 

[HollyS]

I find Number One less annoying. At least I know the price increased. And I get to make the decision to buy it anyway or not.

Number Two is slight-of-hand. Maybe you won't notice you are getting less for the same price. Many people get duped.

 

[TravelingGal]

Zoe, pretty much what the other ladies are talking about here is the type of stuff I was asking about.

TGuy and I were discussing this and it came about because my bag of shelled pistachios from TJ's no longer filled its usual storage tuperware container. I didn't notice it as much at first, but now it just seems it's going from less to less to LESS. Two bags of pistachios used to overfill this container. Now there is lots of room to spare.

I was saying, as most of you are, that I prefer the price increase because it's less deceptive. But I also tend not too notice prices TOO much, and quantity much more. But then we were talking and maybe for some people, they'd prefer it to stay the same price, because at least they could afford SOME of what they had before. Mentally (or in reality), they really may feel they can't afford the product and stop altogether if the price goes up.

 

[kenny]

Raising price is less annoying to me.

I vaguely recall a study being done, by McDonald's IIRC, about this.
The majority of their customers indicated they'd prefer the price stays the same so they made the burgers and egg McMuffins smaller.

 

[mrscushion]

Ditto everyone with the price increase.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

But then we were talking and maybe for some people, they'd prefer it to stay the same price, because at least they could afford SOME of what they had before. Mentally (or in reality), they really may feel they can't afford the product and stop altogether if the price goes up.

I always look at prices first, then compare quantity. Both have to be acceptable for me to pay (or I shop around).

With prices of gas going up, I am more willing to accept the fact that food prices will go up as well. I see companies who cut back on quantity as cheap and companies who increase prices as doing what they have to to survive. Even if prices go insane, some items I still will buy, like Fruitabu fruit rolls for my son because they are free from dyes and not as junk food like as scooby doo fruit snacks. The only difference is I'll wait till they go on sale!

About a month ago, I *thought* that the Quaker granola bars I have been buying were becoming slightly smaller. It wasn't till reading this thread that I realized it wasn't my imagination. Not only are they smaller, they're more expensive unless I buy them at Target. Ugh. They're not even good for us. I eat too many of them and my pants don't fit.

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks TGal.

A price increase is less annoying to me because I still know what I'm getting/paying for.

 

[soocool]

Raising price is less annoying. I bought something a while back and was so mad that it did not make enough of what I needed. I had to run out and buy another jar. I think it was spaghetti sauce.

I don't buy much processed foods, but what I also hate is when the outside box is still the same size, but there are less contents. Pisses me off!

 

[steph72276]

It depends. If I am buying a product in a store, I would just rather have the price increase. If it is a dinner out, I would prefer the price to stay the same and the portion size to go down. Portions are so super huge that I usually make 3 meals out of 1 and many times, I never end up eating the leftovers, so that huge portion is a waste anyway.

 

[kenny]

The ironic thing is (at least here in Los Angeles) the more expensive the restaurant, generally the smaller the portions.

Requisite fine print:
Exceptions to a generalization do not vanish the generalization.
Generalizations are generally true.
That's why they are called generalizations

 

[somethingshiny]

I say decrease quantity. I budget everything. If the price goes up, I go without something else. I'd rather the price stay the same and just not get as much of it.

 

[rhbgirl24]

Change in price is prefered by me. Changes to the size is worse, because that is just an attempt to hide it.

Taking this to another level, what makes me even more irritated, is when a so called bargain website charges crazy shipping costs. If you are going to charge $6 to have a set of baby socks shipped, don't show that you are offering the socks for %50 off, because when it all comes around, we are still paying the same price.

Off topic but soooooooo agreed!!! I once bought a dress from a site that charges shipping by price point. I paid $31 to ship this dress normally, not even expedited. I almost didn't buyt the dress because of that!

And to answer the question, I'd much rather the price go up.

 

[elrohwen]

I don't care either way. I don't know the prices of things well enough to notice if they raise it by even $0.50 or so and usually making the packaging slightly smaller doesn't effect me.

The only time I dislike when they change package sizes is if it's something that should be used all at once. For example, if I make a box of pasta and pour pasta sauce over it, I would be annoyed if the sauce had been downsized and one jar was no longer enough to cover my pasta. But if it's an item I use over a longer period (like peanut butter) I don't care.

eta: It's not surprising that everybody would want the price increase, but it's also not surprising that's what companies are doing. Like TGal said, I think a lot of people (those who really need to watch their pennies) would stop buying certain things (or certain brands) all together if the price went up. If you were watching what you spent and your favorite cereal went up in price, you might just go buy that store brand. If it stays the same price, the company can hope people just won't notice.

 

[Shoopy]

I know for a fact that I would get more annoyed with the decrease in quantity. We went to cheesecake for my b-day last week. I ordered a cheesecake to take home as my birthday treat. Usually one slice is enough for me, Mr. Fiery, and one other person. This time it was tiny. Was so disappointed

 

[Haven]

It completely depends on the item, for me.

If the change in quantity means I'll now have to buy two of something and then have leftovers, then I'd be annoyed. However, if it's something that I usually only use a portion of at a time, it would make me happy to get even less in a container.

I can't think of many packaged foods that I buy--pasta, bread when I'm too lazy to make my own, cans of tuna. There must be more, I just can't think of them. I've developed my pasta sauce recipes based on the amount of pasta that I get in the smaller package, so if the size changed it would irritate me. On the other hand, I eat a lot of labna at a time. (It's a spread somewhere between sour cream and soft cheese.) I never go through one container at once, though, despite being tempted. So, I'd rather see a smaller container of labna for the same price.

 

[Haven]

I know for a fact that I would get more annoyed with the decrease in quantity. We went to cheesecake for my b-day last week. I ordered a cheesecake to take home as my birthday treat. Usually one slice is enough for me, Mr. Fiery, and one other person. This time it was tiny. Was so disappointed

Disappointed? I probably would have cried. That's an enormous letdown in my book!

 

[Skippy123]

Increasing the price is less annoying to me. I was annoyed the other day to pick up the last little bit larger size box of cereal for the same price thinking they shrank the box. oh well. This thread got me thinking about recipes that call for specific sizes of stuff like 15 oz can of tomatoes, etc; if they make the item smaller then that would suck trying to make something. What do people do, buy 2 cans of tomato then (and then save the leftover)? rewrite cookbooks? ugh, annoying to go to the smaller size. haha I am just thinking out loud here.

 

[HopeDream]

When a product gets smaller I think the company is trying to "pull a fast one".

A price increase is understandable and expected.