2 + 2 = 3
So here goes my rant: never trust someone selling you something.
Ever since they introduced those 12-packs of soda/pop, I have wondered what the scam was going to be. As a general rule of thumb, less costs more, so how is it that they were going to make 12-packs cheaper than 24-packs. Well, for the longest time they were on sale, so I take that to be have been a loss-leader and now that they weren’t on sale, I wondered if it was a bait-and-switch.
So, today I was staring at the price tags in the beverage isle and realized that the “price per unit” that they have convienantly calculated for you is amazing wrong for a lot of the items. In particular, the “24-pack of Dr. Pepper” had a tag that said “$6.49. Price per unit: $0.33/oz” WTF? Last time I checked, $6.49 / 24 cans / 12oz = $0.02/oz, but I guess it has been a while since I was in 2nd grade. And then I look at the “12-pack of Dr. Pepper” which said “$4.39. Price per unit: $0.03/oz,” so they got that one right, but oh-wait that is the more expensive version.
I looked at some other self-competitive products (for example, I was buying Lucky Charms, which comes in 3 sizes) and found similar mistakes (in their favor) in the math. The moral of the story is to have a calculator and do the math yourself because the price for the product may be required to be accurate but the price per unit is the store helping themselves out (instead of you).
April 20th, 2006 at 1:58 am
I hate to admit it.. But I’ve actually stood there with my phone doing the math when I swear something is screwy.. Usually I’m wrong because I suck at math, but sometimes I am right.
April 20th, 2006 at 7:57 am
Your grandfather Sweeney would be so proud of the 2 of you! You know he was the master shopper! I must admit I missed that gene as I don’t look that close at items. And Scott, I’m so glad that your Rose Hulman education has enabled you to be such a thrifty shopper. Love
April 21st, 2006 at 7:50 pm
Scamming the public is what we at Wal-fart do best. Our competitors stole the idea and it is spreading like wildfire. Please keep this scheme under your hat when talking to the less observant trailer trash folks. Our business is saving US money! Is WTF what I think it is? You are old enough to use the word fornicate. I, for one, am always saying, “What the Fornicate?”
May 4th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
Whoa!!! I always assumed that they did the calculations correctly. (Granted, I don’t shop much. I have a meal plan in university.) That sort of incorrect math should be illegal!
May 4th, 2006 at 11:46 pm
[...] Quoted from Scott Dial [...]