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Here We Downsize Again – Part 2 (2012)

As prices for raw ingredients go up, package sizes go down. Here are a few of the latest examples of products which have been downsized.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Maxwell House

The really big container went from 34.5 ounces (270 cups) down to 30.6 ounces (240 cups) — a loss of 30 cups-worth per container. Thanks to Mouse Print* reader Karl K. for the tip.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Betty Crocker

Betty Crocker has downsized many of their cake mixes from the familiar 18.25 ounces to only 15.25 ounces. Funny thing, however, the package still says it makes two eight-inch rounds, but the nutrition label says there are only 10 servings in the new package rather than the old 12. Thanks to Terry for the lead on Betty Crocker.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Nathan's

Old reliable Nathan’s, the best-tasting frankfurter you can buy (says MrConsumer), still gives you eight “bigger than a bun” hot dogs in a package, but each one has gotten skinnier. The pound package is now just 14 ounces.

As with most cases of downsized products, you are paying the same price, but getting less. That is a sneaky way to essentially raise prices.

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“Up to” Savings Claims Mislead Many

Advertisers are very fond of promoting the best case scenario in advertisements, such as sale ads that say “Save up to 50% on sofas” or “Sofas as low as $199”.

The careful reader will or should recognize this trick that not all sofas are discounted 50% or priced at $199. But what about the average person who is exposed to advertising? Do they only recall the 50% savings claim rather than the “up to” part of the claim?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wanted to know, so they commissioned a study to out. Over 350 people were shown one of the three ads below, and asked about what they recalled.

The first ad makes an “up to 47%” savings claim. The second makes a straight 47% claim. And the third makes an “up to 47%” savings but with a fine print disclosure that the average savings are 25%.

*MOUSE PRINT:

When asked what the ad said about how much you would save on heating and cooling bills with these windows,

Ad 1 (with “up to” claim): 46% said they would save “47%” and only 26% said “up to” 47%

Ad 2: 58% said they would save “47%”

Ad 3 (with “up to” claim and disclaimer): 37% said they would save 47% and 30% said “up to” 47%

The study suggests that many consumers are blind to fine print disclosures, and that the use of “up to” claims misleads sizeable numbers of consumers. This certainly appears to support the notion that sellers should not be allowed to use either “up to” claims nor to put clarifications in fine print footnotes.

Massachusetts law, for example, does not allow “up to” claims in advertising. The ad must state both the smallest discount and largest discount in equal size type (such as “save 10 – 50%”), and at least 10-percent of the items being offered for sale must be available at the biggest discount offered.

Not a bad model to follow in the other 49 states.

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Do Banks Ever Listen to their Customers?

This week’s installment is about a “gotcha” without a fine print warning. It offers lessons for both consumers and bankers.

MrConsumer is in the habit of making deposits and withdrawals at the ATM machine at Century Bank, a local bank with 25 branches. One of them is only a few blocks from home, and they are part of a network that serves the bank where my account is actually located (a few miles away).

For the past 14 years, after making a withdrawal that is solely composed of $20 bills, I will go inside and ask a teller for smaller denomination bills for one or two of the twenties. Last week, when tendering a $20 bill under the glass, the teller asked if I had an account there. After I said no, she informed me that bank policy had just changed and they no longer make change for non-customers. What?

MrConsumer went home and proceeded to send the following email to the bank’s Chairman, and to its President and CEO:

I should note that the cc: on the email was to the banking reporter at the Boston Globe. Just a bit over an hour later, the President of Century Bank wrote back:

Wow, wow, wow. Isn’t that impressive from so many standpoints? I wrote back immediately to thank him for his swift action. Too bad bigger banks can’t be persuaded to come to their senses as easily.

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