The Rip-Off
Need I say more? No, but I will because it’s my blog and I’ll blog if I want to. *giggle*
Consumers continue to experience the great rip off. It just slays me how companies constantly reduce the quantity, size and/or quality of their products yet their price tags only experience growth. Hmmmmm. Most of the time they’re pretty sneaky starting reduction in small increments so you may actually wonder if it really used to be bigger or if you just have a hazy memory. Another favorite is to go straight to packaging where they’ll reduce the quantity to make it fit. Then they’ll slap an ad on the front saying something like 30% more free! Free my arse, we’re paying more for less but this is supposed to give us a warm fuzzy about it. Another great tactic is to change something and then wait for a period of time reintroducing the old as new. This morning I saw my first Trix commercial showing round shapes as new. I nearly laughed myself silly all the while my kids are looking at me like I’ve finally lost my marbles. I guess it is new to them, but hopefully they’ll join me for a giggle when in a few years they reintroduce the fruit shapes as new.
I feel like the leading lady in the movie “Misery”, you know the part where she’s screaming about getting ripped off when the cliff hanger of your favorite movie or show ends with a car going over the mountain but the next show continues changing it so the car never actually went over. I know that feeling of wanting to stand up and scream to the entire audience that you’ve just been ripped off that they just changed it to trick everyone. In fact, it was the first thing that popped in my head when I took this picture showing how the double stuff Oreo is now what the original was. Maybe they’re gearing up for the introduction of the triple stuff cookie so we can finally get a real double stuff again.
I don’t mean to sound so pessimistic but what happened to letting inflation just be more for the same? I’d even be okay paying more for more. But I’m really growing tired of paying the same and/or more for less. Pretty soon the normal size roll of toilet paper will have all of three squares and we’ll run out of words beyond “mega.” *laugh*
Rest assured that it’s not your imagination that packages are getting smaller or products are not all they used to be. It’s part of the great consumer rip-off….errr corrective….errr deception program. Ah call it whatever you want, just know it’s real. *wink*
Like this article? 
If you write to Oreo and complain, they might give you a new package. Granted, it will still
be full of not-as-stuffed-as-they-should-be Oreos, but hey, free Oreos!
Hee hee, you’re probably exactly right!
Comment by Riley — July 27, 2007 @ 4:20 pm
LOL When I first looked at the picture…I thought “Mmmmm Oreos”. Then I realized that it was a double stuff pacclage and that’s just wrong! I’m with you on the old being reintroduced as “new” too.
Another annoying thing in this for me… is when a perfectly great product, gets overhauled and is “New and Improved”, but it’s terrible in it’s “new” form. :/
Alas, they have their hooks in us don’t they…as I’m now thinking about Oreos and milk…
That is annoying too isn’t it? And you’re right, the hooks work well.
Comment by tiggerprr — July 28, 2007 @ 11:34 am
Make note that the milk is now whey a by-product of cheese (the water run off) they used to throw away. Now corn syrup is used for sugar because they have studied it out to know that corn syrup can alter our brain chemistry to want more… the obesity factor in the U.S> is in part due to this pollution they have designed the chemicals to incise addictions bio-chemically IT IT A TRUTH, it worked.
It is pretty sad how far we’ve come and how much we’ve digressed isn’t it?
Comment by donetta — July 28, 2007 @ 5:58 pm
Definitely false advertising. Isn’t there something on the package that offers a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee? But then again, not many people would take the time to mail in a package of oreos. *wink*
That’s for sure. And it’s not like they don’t taste fine, it’s just a little disappointing!
Comment by kailani — July 29, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
M&M’s are the same way and what can a person do. Stop eating oreo’s and m&m’s or enjoy less.
Well said!
Comment by Larry — July 29, 2007 @ 1:44 pm
Even better when they package a tiny item in a big box to make it seem bigger.
Oh that’s too true. 90% packaging for 10% product…very clever indeed isn’t it?!
Comment by Daddy Forever — July 29, 2007 @ 10:39 pm
Just found your blog by googling are double stuf oreos getting smaller….I’m glad it’s not in my head! But damn, those are some good cookies.
Comment by Cindy — December 11, 2008 @ 12:49 pm