Retail

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Thanks for Nothing – Spring 2025

A few times a year we spotlight offers from companies that are real head-scratchers, are actually less generous than they appear, are just plain outrageous, or may simply elicit a chuckle. Here’s the latest crop.

Clickbait Headlines

I find it very annoying when respected publishers resort to clickbait headlines that create an air of mystery surrounding the subject matter of their stories. For example, a few weeks ago, any number of publications used headlines like this to attract eyeballs.

Clickbait

*MOUSE PRINT:

They make it sound like there was some type of problem at the store that caused it to close — perhaps some toxic substance had to be cleaned up or they had to fumigate the stores for some pest problem. In reality, it was a simply a story saying that Costco or other retailers were going to be closed in observance of Memorial Day. To all those publications that did this… thanks for nothing.

5th Birthday Candle Holder

Leave it to Walmart to sell an ornament that you put on top of a cake to celebrate a child’s fifth birthday… but the product has a problem, according to Debra D. who submitted this.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Happy 5th birthday

The package contains only four candles! Thanks for nothing, Walmart.

Cheez-It Pantry Size

Meredith B. sent us this picture of two boxes of Cheez-It crackers. They are both the same size — 12.4 ounces — but the one on the left claims it is 75% more.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Cheez-It

It is 75% more than their small seven-ounce size. But it is not some type of bonus package where you are getting a whole bunch of extra crackers free. Thanks for the math lesson, Sunshine.

Arm & Hammer Power Sheets

Who knew that laundry detergent now comes in sheets? Apparently Arm & Hammer makes this product that claims you get 100 loads out of each box… but the box only contains 50 sheets. Is this the new math?

*MOUSE PRINT:

Arm & Hammer sheets

Apparently, the way you get 100 loads is if you cut each sheet in half! Thanks for nothing, Arm & Hammer.

2 TB Thumb Drives

Like a number of retailers, Walmart, Amazon, and AliExpress allow third-party sellers to advertise on their websites. In this case, all of them are promoting USB flash drives with a stated capacity of two terabytes for as low as a dollar. For the uninitiated, most thumb drives have capacities measured in gigabytes, not terabytes. (One thousand gigs = 1 TB.)

*MOUSE PRINT:

2 tb thumbdrives

The two-terabyte flash drives above are as low as 99 cents — which is a complete impossibility. A genuine one-terabyte thumb drive from a national brand goes for around $100. And two-terabyte versions are virtually non-existent. Thanks for nothing, Walmart, Amazon, and AliExpress for not vetting your third party sellers and products better.

If you want to see what one consumer received when he ordered a 20-Tb external drive for $51, check out this story from Ars Technica.

If you spot an ad with a far-fetched or funny claim, send it along to us. Thanks!

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These Eyeglasses Automatically Adjust to Your Vision?

NoBlu eyeglassesIt must be a miracle. NoBlu Vision claims that their eyeglasses automatically adjust to your vision. [See their NoBlu-glasses video.]

Nearsighted, farsighted, it doesn’t matter. “Gone are the days of eye tests and endless lens changes,” the site claims.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Automatically adapts

Could any of this be true? MrConsumer contacted an optometrist who is a former member of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Optometry, Dr. David Schurgin, and asked him that very question.

The good doctor called the company twice and got different answers each time. The first representative said the glasses adjust to near and far by sliding them up or down your nose.

The second rep said that these glasses were not adjustable and are just for viewing a television or a computer. That is mentioned nowhere on the website.

The website also claims the glasses filter UV and blue light. But, the doctor was told the lenses were made of glass which he says is unlikely because glass does not usually block UV light unless they are sunglasses.

Our optometrist concluded, “The only adapting of the lenses are that they change to a darker color when exposed to UV light or sunlight.”

We wanted to verify if the nearly perfect five-star TrustScore at the top of the website was a genuine reflection of consumer reviews:

Trust score

But, looking at Trustpilot, the website that establishes the TrustScore based on actual consumer reviews, the company has very few reviews and a low rating.

*MOUSE PRINT:

No-Blue TrustPilot

Lastly, the website boasts a string of big name media logos on it suggesting the product has been written up by all these respected media entities. We could find no evidence of that.

news logos

Oddly, another version of their website has eliminated all references to the glasses automatically adjusting to one’s vision. It still shows that it received five-star reviews but it omits the TrustScore identifier.

Needless to say, we think you need to cast a skeptical eye on this product. And in the doctor’s opinion, “what a ripoff.”

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Here We Shrink Again – Spring 2025

Shrinkflation slowed a little in early 2025, but now seems to be picking up a bit again. Here are some more products that have been downsized over the past six months or so.

Simply Orange Orange Juice

Except for store brand orange juice which in some cases is still 64 ounces, brand name OJ has had a steady decline in size going from 64 oz. to 59 oz. to 52 oz. and now to 46 oz. The latest casualty is Simply Orange whose carafes are now just 46 ounces. And in MrConsumer’s Stop & Shop, the price actually went UP 10 cents to $4.89! To look at the bottles head-on, it is hard to see how you lost a full glass of OJ in each one. You may be able to find old and new bottles side-by-side in your local supermarket right now.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Simply Orange 52 to 46 oz

Thanks to Richard G. for spotting this change.

Ruffles

Potato chip bags have been downsized for decades. The latest example is Ruffles whose bags are now down to 8.5 ounces from nine ounces. But rest assured, you’ll still get the same amount of air or perhaps a bit more in each bag.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Ruffles

Tide

Another category where there has been a lot of resizing is laundry detergents. The latest trend seems to be to keep the number of loads you get the same, but with fewer ounces of the product.

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Tide 14 oz. less

In this case, big bottles of Tide shrank by 14 ounces, but you still supposedly could get 100 itsy-bitsy, teenie-weenie loads of laundry out of every bottle. The difference is usually explained by having some amount of water removed from the formulation. That makes the stuff more concentrated so you can use a little less in each wash load. Raise your hand if you actually do use less!

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Tide 250 - 225 oz

Less popular these days is powdered detergent, but that doesn’t exempt them from being downsized. Here, 25 ounces was removed from each box, but you still theoretically are able to get 143 loads out of it. The question becomes what unnecessary ingredient have they removed from this dry product that doesn’t affect its cleaning ability? It certainly is not water. Thanks to Brendan B. for spotting this change at Costco.

Bounty Paper Towels

Paper products is another big category where we find shrinkflation. In this case, earlier this year, P&G downsized Bounty. In this case, their triple rolls went for 135 sheets down to 123. Thanks to both Richard G. and Brendan B. for spotting this.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Bounty lost a dozen sheets

Crystal Light

With summer not too far away, don’t expect your Crystal Light packages to make as many bottles of lemonade as before. The old six-pack has become a four-pack.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Crystal Light

Pure Leaf Tea

Another summertime beverage also is now giving you less per bottle — Pure Leaf tea. The half gallon bottles lost five ounces and are now just 59 ounces. But the bottles are about the same height. One trick they used was making the cap larger. They also had to taper the bottle, it appears. Thanks to Denise H. for this submission.

CORRECTION: Both these sizes still exist. The larger one is a shelf-stable product in the grocery/beverages section, while the smaller one is sold in the refrigerated case, unchanged. Thanks to Kevin M. for the clarification.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Pure Leaf tea

If you spot a product that was downsized, please provide details and try to submit a picture showing the old and new side-by-side as you see above to Edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org. Thanks.