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Post by crimsulent on Mar 18, 2010 15:06:44 GMT -5
OK, have you seen the new Pepsi 20 packs?
My thoughts: another way to confuse the consumer and make it difficult to comparison shop.
This week Albertson's is offering 2 twenty packs for $10 if you use the $2 off coupon in the ad.
So, without the ad it would be $6 for twenty cans. That's an even BIGGER RIP OFF than two twelve packs for $6.
In the last several weeks advertized twelve packs have sold for $2.50, $3.33, $4.50, and up. Note the top price is practically double the lowest price. And those are the SALE prices!
I had money to invest, I'd be buying PepsiCo stock!
Those guys KNOW marketing!
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Post by Connie on Mar 18, 2010 21:20:27 GMT -5
LOL.. Im glad you posted this.. Im still confused though.. For me twelve packs on sale are $3 so twenty four cans would be $6 Wouldn't 40 cans for $10 be a great deal? I DO see what you are getting at because I would fall for the $6 for twenty when I should realize I could get 24 for for the same $6..
Now I wonder how many others we have confused with all the math.. hehe
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Post by Organized Chaos on Mar 18, 2010 22:00:57 GMT -5
I always buy the cubes (24 cans). Normally they're near $7 and on sale for $5.99. So with the introduction of the 20 pack, will they eliminate the cube? I think it's ridiculous to have so many choices of cases.
So crimsulent, in Albertson's case, two 20 packs for $10 is good (or should I say the average). But that's only with the coupon. Without it, it's a tad high.
One of my hometown mom & pop stores has 12 packs "on sale" for $4/ea. Seriously, you're trying to tell me $4 for a 12 pack is a SALE? I don't think so.
Ever do the math and notice something funny? We can buy a 24 pack for $6, which is .25 per can. But when we go to a soda machine, it's .50 or .60 per can.
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Post by crimsulent on Mar 18, 2010 22:26:10 GMT -5
well i went down the soda aisle at Ralph's to see if they still had Pepsi Throwback. They did. And all 12 packs were 2 for $9.00
Holy heck, that's the equivalent of a Cube for $9.00!
(yeah, the per can mark up in vending machines and convenience/liquor store singles pioneered The Gouge. now Pepsi is applying the principle across the board)
ok, you are right that the 20 packs were reasonable at the coupon price. and if they would've had Throwback in the 20 pack size i know i would've bought several.
so now you can buy single cans, 6 packs, 12 packs, 20 packs, 24 packs and, at Costco, they have 36 packs.
was there a pressing need for 20 packs? is it because hot dogs come in packages of 10s and lots of people were writing in saying there's no way to match up the drinks and dogs? could be. i don't know.
my guess is it helps keep people confused. they don't want people to know what a good price is. they can offer the product on 'sale' when it isn't discounted at all. they're all over the place with the pricing, and i'm guessing that's 100% intentional.
they're almost as manipulative as the gas companies. they both enjoy captive markets and can dial in maximum profits while continuously ratcheting up the price
my guess is it won't be long before $5 Cubes are a rarity or extinct. like the old $3.99 Cubes. even i can barely remember those anymore.
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Post by Connie on Mar 18, 2010 23:03:26 GMT -5
I believe you are right and the 20 packs are a way to keep us confused.. Do hot dogs have much to do with it? Heck I still have a problem with there being 10 hot dogs in a pack but only eight buns in a pack!
Now if we want to talk about why there are now only 10 tortillas in a pack instead of 12.. Im in! Did you know some packs of tortillas only have EIGHT?
The whole food industry has become GREEDY and I could go on and on all day about it. In fact my dh has bought tater tots the last couple of times and keeps trying to tell me there is a BIG package and a SMALL package.. I keep trying to tell him we aren't talking about MEN.. we are talking about TATER TOTS... he insists Im wrong... Since when did tater tots come in two different sizes?
Okay... Im sorry guys... couldn't resist.. but it's a real story and we always have to listen to Louis's stories!
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Post by havingfunnow on Mar 19, 2010 7:47:19 GMT -5
Tater Tots DO come in two different sizes: 1. regular 2. with onions. Wadda ya mean, you have to listen to my stories? You can always close yours eyes.
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Post by Organized Chaos on Mar 19, 2010 11:49:16 GMT -5
I agree on keeping us confused. It's to the point where you really have to pay attention to prices and make note of past prices to make sure you're not getting hosed.
I go to Wal-Mart (groceries) usually once/week. Our space is very limited so it's not like we can stock up. And since I'm home, I buy my own food supply to get me through the week. So by going every week I have a good idea of their price fluctuations. I first noticed this on one particular item, but have now been noticing it on others. An item will cost let's say $2.50 one week and the next week I go back, they'll have a Rollback tag on it saying it "rolled back" and is now $2.50 from maybe 2.95. But wait a minute, it was just 2.50 the week prior and I never saw it at the higher price so how is that a rollback? I think they are pretending to roll back the cost of items to make people think they're getting a better deal. You wouldn't notice it if you didn't go there on such a regular basis, like I do. The first time I saw this, I said something to the cashier and she called over a manager, who tried a couple of excuses on for size. When I said I come here once/week, buy a lot of the same items and I know what these things cost past & present, she ran out of answers. She thanked me for my loyalty and that was the end of it. I emailed corporate and got your basic, run of the mill blowing smoke up my rear response.
Speaking of other items and their different sizes, how about potato chips? Stinking bags are only ever half full. As goofy as it may sound, I always squeeze a few bags & pick the one with the most chips. And I see some brands now say "Now with 20% more"...what, 20% more AIR?
And I recently noticed a change in toilet paper. Instead of getting 24 regular rolls, they're now moving towards 12 so-called "double" rolls. Well I took a pack of each of the brand we always buy and sat them side by side and they DO NOT look like double rolls to me. They barely look bigger than regular.
I'm still very leery about liquid laundry detergent. When they switched to smaller bottles with concentrated formula & said you get just as many loads, I was skeptical. I've never actually been able to test it accurately since I can't buy the old style anymore, but I swear we do not get as many loads as we used to with the non-concentrate. And that's going by the manufacturer's recommendations on the bottle, which I know longer follow.
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Post by crimsulent on Mar 19, 2010 13:06:48 GMT -5
yeah, OC, the whole fake sale (or rollback) is becoming epidemic.
stores know we look for tags thinking those are the discounted sale items, more and more the tags reflect no discount whatsoever. the tags often will say Club Price or some other ambiguous designation implying a discounted price.
bravo to you for following up on the WalMart thing. obviously, they don't have an answer they are willing to go on the record. i'd really love to see them acknowledge the rollbacks are phony, but you know that's probably never going to happen.
Connie, i was really just being facetious when i made the hot dog comment. there is no compelling reason for them to have introduced a 20 pack. i mean, i could almost see it if, for example, there were 20 kids in a classroom and you wanted to buy drinks for all. (but even THAT hypothetical scenario is untenable because you can't give kids soft drinks anymore without the food police knocking down your classroom door)
i couldn't agree with you more about the greediness of the food industry, Connie. the downsizing and deceptive marketing practices means we have to really, really, be savvy shoppers
LOL@ louis' size chart! nailed it!
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Post by Connie on Mar 19, 2010 18:52:22 GMT -5
Plus you can't find a classroom with ONLY twenty kids
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robersonj
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Post by robersonj on Mar 21, 2010 15:35:30 GMT -5
Stores (and marketers) use all sorts of marketing tactics to get you to buy their products. A store I go to uses yellow "Everyday Low Price" tags to make it LOOK like a sale, when it really isn't. I've actually almost purchased many of those items instead of waiting for a sale. Same with Walmart's Roll Back or whatever they are now. I NEVER shop at Walmart anymore, especially for food. Their coupon policy sucks!
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Post by Organized Chaos on Mar 21, 2010 16:44:11 GMT -5
I know a lot of people don't like Wal-Mart. A lot of their newer policies & tactics in recent years don't thrill me at all...some downright tick me off. And they don't treat the customer nearly as well as they used to. But in the end, I still find they have the best everyday prices in my area so as long as they do, they'll continue to get my business.
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Post by Organized Chaos on Jun 10, 2010 17:03:29 GMT -5
I saw my first 20 pack of Pepsi last week. One of the mom & pop stores here had them. Never saw them before. They were $5/ea. (which is what Wal-Mart sells 24 packs for on occasion) but this particular mom & pop store is always high.
Was at Wal-Mart yesterday and they still had Cubes, no 20 packs, but that may change. If these 20 packs become the norm and they charge the same as a Cube, I'm going to be ticked!
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Post by weebitty on Jun 10, 2010 17:29:07 GMT -5
ok another game that the food industry does is downsize but charge the same amt as the old sized product. They do this to keep inflation down or raising prices so they claim. BS!!!! That is raising prices. If you look at coffee it use to be 39 oz and before that it was 3 lbs now it is down to 33.3 oz but the can is the same size so they don't think you notice!!! But they are still raising their prices on the less amt. It sucks!!! I shop at wal mart too because it is convient to me and I really watch the prices too. If they are rolling back on prices it isn't much that I use.
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Post by crimsulent on Jun 14, 2010 22:11:19 GMT -5
they are using 20 packs in ads more often than cubes now
it will be interesting to see the 4th of July sale ads. those are usually some of the best pepsi preferred purchase price opportunities
and just to further confuse things, they have also introduced FOUR packs here
effectively, they've managed to downsize what used to be referred to as cases to 20 cans, and reduced 6 packs to merely 4
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Post by Connie on Jun 16, 2010 8:35:25 GMT -5
4 packs? Wth? Who wants just 4 pepsis? lol.. We FINALLY have the 24 pack at wal mart for $5... Now it sounds like they are just trying to get rid of them to bring in the 20 pack... argghh!
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