Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

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J.C. Penney Intros “Elsewhere” Price Comparisons

Just a year ago, J.C. Penney’s new CEO, Ron Johnson, promised to do away with that chain’s use of phony sales and “fake prices.” Finally, an honest merchant. What integrity. How pro-consumer. His reward: consumers left in droves and sales plummeted.

Now one year later, guess what’s coming back? Although not to the same degree, the chain is re-introducing sales, and has begun making price comparisons again to prices it never charged.

Here is a sample item from their website:

elsewhere

This shirt is being offered at its regular price of $25, but just above it is a $34 price crossed out, described as “$34 elsewhere.” Well guess what, this shirt is NOT $34 elsewhere because this is JCP’s own brand and it is not sold elsewhere. So what does “elsewhere” mean?

*MOUSE PRINT:

elsewhere explained

JCP says it means the price for the same item or a comparable item at some other seller. To the average person, “elsewhere” in this context most likely is understood to mean that that item sells elsewhere for such and such a price. If JCP wants to refer to the price of a similar quality item elsewhere, they should use the more commonly understood term for that — “comparable value” or “compare at” — as you might see at TJ Maxx and Marshall’s.

Now, moving over to JCP’s jewelry department, if you are shopping there for Valentine’s Day, heaven help you, because they have a new type of price comparison for jewelry — “appraised value.” The lengthy definition is above.

It is unfortunate that JCP has taken a step backwards to once again make price comparisons to inflated prices it never charged, but we, as consumers, are really to blame. We just love a bargain, even when it is a phony one.

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More Groceries Downsize – Part 1 (2013)

Confession: the following items downsized in 2012, but we did not get a chance to feature them all on these pages last year.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Kraft BBQ sauce

The old reliable 18 ounce bottle of Kraft barbecue sauce dropped in size by one-half an ounce. Thanks to John O. for the tip on Kraft.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Old Spice

We lost a quarter of an ounce in the large size Old Spice deodorant sticks. The top of the stick says “Same Palm Tree, New Look,” but they somehow omitted that they were also giving the customer less. Should we say that stinks?

*MOUSE PRINT:

Minute Maid

Following the lead of other big brands of orange juice, Minute Maid also downsized its punch drinks by a full five ounces. Less sugar for the kids, just as well.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Hefty bags

This is not what you think. In a twist, the makers of Hefty bags UPsized their 44-count tall kitchen bags to 50-count, but only at Target (and they kept the price the same).

As we always say, downsizing is a sneaky way to raise the price of products because you are getting less for your money, and you may not realize it unless you scrutinize the fine print on the package .

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Breyers Converts Ice Creams to “Frozen Dairy Desserts”

When product manufacturers want to cut costs or increase their profits, they can do one of several things. Many don’t want to raise prices because of the consumer backlash and possible reduction in sales. So, many choose to downsize the product as we have demonstrated here. Others take a less conventional approach and reformulate their product so that it is cheaper to produce and distribute.

Breyers downsized their half-gallons of ice cream first to 56 ounces and then again to 48 ounces around 2008.

Breyers

Now they have taken a new tack. They are reformulating many of their flavors.

Take a look at “old” Breyer’s Vanilla Fudge Twirl ice cream:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Breyers Real Ice Cream

Now take a look at the new package of “Vanilla Fudge Twirl”:

Breyers dairy dessert

The new one is no longer even called “ice cream” but is now “frozen dairy dessert.” It is no longer “all natural” either. And the vanilla ice cream claim has been replaced with a “vanilla flavor claim.”

*MOUSE PRINT:

Under federal law, to be called “ice cream”, a product must meet a certain standard of identity, which in this case requires that there be at least 10% milk fat in the product. That generally would come from the cream in the product. If the product does not meet the federal “recipe” for ice cream, it has to be called something else. In this case, they are calling it frozen dairy dessert which has no federal definition (other than it does not meet the standards to be called ice cream.)

Here are the ingredients statements from both vanilla fudge twirl packages:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Breyers old ingredients

Breyers New Ingredients

The old real ice cream product has milk and cream as the first two ingredients. The new version has cream listed as fourth (with milk, sugar and corn syrup predominating over cream). The new product also has half the fat as the old. While dieters might rejoice, the calories are nearly the same, and the taste is not likely to match the original.

The Breyers’ website spins why they changed many of their ice cream flavors to “frozen dairy dessert”:

Since 1866, Breyers products have consistently delivered high-quality ingredients, great flavors and smooth creaminess that our fans love, and we remain committed to that Pledge. Our Ice Cream and new Frozen Dairy Dessert varieties continue to use fresh milk, cream and sugar. What distinguishes our Frozen Dairy Dessert from our Ice Cream is that it’s blended in a whole new way to create a smoother texture.

Hmmm. They seem to have left out the fact that using less cream saves the company a lot of money.