Life in Our Times: Deception at the Supermarket!

I recognize and honor that the world should have room for all sorts of different approaches to some kind of "thing."

That thing could be anything from potato chips, to cars, to crypto tokens.

Variety is the "Spice of Life?"

There are going to be "top shelf" variations on the theme, and "bargain basement" variations... and that's as it should be, because we all have different priorities and different budgets.

I guess the thing I have always had an issue with is that I am a firm believer in the truth that "Contents should match the description on the package."

Sadly, that's typically where the whole idea breaks down. Much as there are many people who'd like to think otherwise, there are an awful lot of "things" in our world where we (figuratively speaking) go out and buy what we believe to be a new Mercedes, but when we get home and look under the hood it says "Manufactured by Hyundai Motor Company."

No disrespect to Mercedes or Hyundai intended!

Certainly, we can argue that the old "Buyer Beware!" truism applies, basically placing the onus on the shoulders of buyers, while insisting that having "rules and consequences" for the sellers constitutes "interference with the free market system."

Whereas I definitely favor the idea of a free marketplace, there's also something fishy about that approach.

Consider that we don't play football or cricket "freely;' there are rules, and there are consequences associated with not following those rules. Otherwise... what would stop a determined/psychotic team from just bringing guns and grenades onto the field and "winning" by killing/blowing up the opposing team?

But that's not how we play the game.

Back to deception, I was thinking about my experience at the supermarket today. I bought a bag of potato chips, the usual ones Mrs. Denmarkguy and I enjoy.

When I got home and opened the bag, it didn't seem like there were very many chips in there!

It was a bit odd, because the bag looked exactly like the previous bag I had purchased a couple of weeks back... and then I noticed something: Even though the physical bag was the same size, the contents had been reduced by one ounce (about 30g), and evidently the machine they use to blow air into these bags to act as cushioning... well, it was adding a bit more air.

So from a visual standpoint, I was buying the same thing... except I really wasn't. Even the price was the same as it has been, for a while.

As far as I am concerned, that is a pretty sketchy and deceptive way to approach food packaging. I guess the manufacturer is hoping that nobody will notice that there's a handful fewer chips in the bag for the same price!

In this case, however, the deception wasn't about offering "a cheap knock-off" of an expensive product, but about misleading buyers into believing nothing had changed, when in fact it had.

Now I find myself considering whether or not I should stop buying this brand, altogether. It would be a shame, because we like the chips! But it's still very annoying!

How about you? Have you encountered this kind of "shrinkflation" at the supermarket? Does it make you angry, or do you just treat it as a fact of life? Have you stopped patronizing bands/shops because of it? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2023.11.08 01:48 PST
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