JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

If a product gets cheaper, what are your initial thoughts about it?

Depends on what you refer to when you say cheaper. The price never
goes down. The quality may go down, the quantity may go down, but the
price stays the same (until they raise it, of course).

And never fear, soon they will cut their costs again by compacting the
box.

maxine in ri


Other than an attempt to "fool you", or rake in obscene profits, can you
think of any other reasons why a food company might shrink a package or
raise the price (which is really the same thing)? This is basic economics,
and the reasons are in the news constantly.

Sorry, but economics and marketing a little more complicated that just a
simple matter of supply and demand. They spend a lot of money on packaging
advertising. I pointed out in one of the posts that the new skinnier boxes
were marked as new format. There is no doubt in my mind that the "new
format" boxes of 18 were intended to take the place of the old 24 size box
and become the large size, but they hold only 3/4 as much and are being
sold for the same price as the 24s. I commented on the same thing a month
or so ago about seeing cases of pop on sale with an attraction price, but
the cases were 18, not 24.

Packaging is part of marketing and there has long been a pattern of lower
price per unit for larger volumes. There appears to be a trend towards
reducing that bulk advantage by reducing the size.


And to answer your question about lowering price..... It encourages me to
buy more. If I see prices going up I tend to avoid them. When I see
marketing that is an obvious trick to fool me I boycott the product.