Mouse Print* – Page 177 – Exposing the strings and catches buried in the fine print.

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Can’t I Just Buy One?

January 11, 2016 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

For several years now, supermarkets have tried to get you to buy more with offers like “10 for $10.” Savvy shoppers know when you see offers like that, you are not required to buy 10 units to get the $1 each price. You can buy as few as you want and only pay the mathematical equivalent of that number.

Drug stores like Walgreens and Rite Aid have gotten a bit more clever by advertising “2-fer” or “3-fer” offers like 2 for $10 or 3 for $2, but then in small print indicate if you only want one, you will pay more, sometimes significantly more.

*MOUSE PRINT:

In this case, if you just want one pack of gum it is 99 cents — 50% more than the sale price.

Not wanting to be left out of being able to charge more if you just want one sale item, supermarkets are beginning to mimic drug store pricing policies on some items. Here are some examples of supermarkets requiring the purchase of multiple items in order to take advantage of the sale price:

*MOUSE PRINT:

3 for $9

buy 3 shoprite

Sometimes it is clearly stated that you must buy the advertised quantity to get the advertised price. Other times, the disclosure is not conspicuous, and they don’t always tell you how much one will cost you if that is all you want.

Stores may be counting on the fact that most shoppers don’t scrutinize ads or their sales receipts with many items on it, and won’t catch the higher price if they only buy one of the advertised items.

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With So Many Coupon Exclusions at Kmart, What’s Left to Buy?

January 5, 2016January 4, 2016 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

A couple of months ago, we showed you a six-foot-long disclaimer that Sears used to limit applicability of its Family & Friends sale. While its corporate cousin, Kmart, wasn’t quite as bad, they had a doozie just before Black Friday when they offered a very enticing deal.

Pretty generous to get $10 off a $20 purchase. But, of course… there are “details.”

*MOUSE PRINT:

Purchase requirement is before taxes and after discounts. Not valid on Nicki Minaj or Adam Levine merchandise; BOGO; gift cards; non-merchandise; concessions; federal or state regulated items; alcohol; tobacco; fuel; items behind the pharmacy counter; prescriptions; prior purchases; clearance items; partial-paid special order items; Lands End merchandise; Scrubology; at Sears HomeTown, Outlet, Appliance Showroom, Hardware and Parts & Repair stores; or during Family & Friends or Member events. Redeemable at kmart.com, sears.com and shopyourway.com. Limit one coupon per member. Valid on regular and sale priced merchandise. Not valid on Levis, Two Hearts Maternity, Scrubology, Sears Fan Shop, Insane Deals, Shaw rug gallery, recliners, Colormate 2.5 oz mini jar candles, generators, Weber, Mattresses, Jenn-Air, Dacor, appliance and floorcare accessories, appliance closeouts, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, water heaters, water softeners, air conditioners, air cleaners, fans, everyday great price items, propane tanks, automotive, video game hardware, Bose, Onkyo, prepaid calling cards, iTunes, computers, tablets, eReaders, Canon DSLR, Sony camcorders, Sony DSLR and lenses, Nikon DSLR and lenses, Samsung, Sharp and Sony UPP merchandise, Panasonic VT series TVs, installed Home Improvements, Home Services, PartsDirect, catalog orders, Gift Cards, money orders, wire transfers, protection agreements, Sears licensed business, Nicki Minaj and Adam Levine merchandise, BOGO, non-merchandise, concessions, federal or state regulated items, alcohol, tobacco, fuel, items behind the pharmacy counter, prescriptions, prior purchases, clearance, partial-paid special order items, and Lands End merchandise. Additional Sears online exclusions: Custom, family, and Moissanite jewelry, items powered by ShoeBuy, compact refrigerators, range hoods, compactors, Fisher & Paykel, fragrances and Hot Buys, Additional Kmart online exclusions: gaming hardware, computers, laptops, snow throwers, clearance, Hot Buys, Fruit of the Loom and Hanes. Void if copied, transferred or obtained via unapproved means and where prohibited. Any other use constitutes fraud. Cash value 1/20. On return, coupon savings may be deducted from refund. Online code limited to one-time use only and applies to merchandise marked sold by Sears or sold by Kmart. Sears Holdings reserves the right to terminate or modify this offer at any time for failure to comply with its terms and/or due to any operational malfunction of the software, hardware or equipment required to process this offer. Use of this coupon constitutes your acceptance of the Shop Your Way terms and conditions, available at www.shopyourway.com/terms. Not valid at Sears Home Town, Outlet, Appliance Showroom, Hardware and Parts & Repair stores; or during Family & Friends or Member events.

The above font is many times larger than the real disclaimer. Who has the patience to wade through all that mumbo jumbo?

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Here We Downsize Again 2015 (Part 4)

March 14, 2022December 21, 2015 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Note: The next new Mouse Print* story will appear on January 4th.

We end the year with our final installment of products that have undergone the shrink ray.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Thanks to our ever vigilant Richard G. for catching Gillette deodorant going from a full four ounces to 3.8. And you still can’t carry it on an airline.

*MOUSE PRINT:

We’ve seen the smaller boxes of Kleenex tissues get smaller over the years, but Albert L. found that they shrunk at Costco as well. In this case, each box in the 10-pack is now shy 30 tissues. Put another way, you are missing more than a whole box now from every 10-pack.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Frankie found and took a wonderful picture of Campbell’s Spaghetti, which went from 14-3/4 ounces to 14.2 ounces. Surprisingly, the can is noticeably smaller despite such a small decrease in contents.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Tim B. discovered that Walmart lopped off more than 12% from their Great Value mixed nuts, bringing cans down to an even pound from 18.25 ounces. The price also went up from a reported $7.98 to $8.84. Combined, that is the equivalent of a 26% price increase, making it not such a “Great Value.”

*MOUSE PRINT:

Finally, Richard G. found that Soda Stream, which makes flavor concentrates so you can make your own soda, changed their packaging and a lot more. The old bottle made 50 eight-ounce servings of soda and cost $7.99. The new version only makes 29 glasses, but the price dropped by $2. Fair deal? Not at all. The customer is now getting 40% fewer glasses of soda, but the price only went down by 25%.

If you spot a product that has been downsized, send MrConsumer an email at edgar(at symbol)mouseprint.org . And if you can take a sharp photograph of the old and new product labels, that would be great too.

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