Michigan Radio & TV Buzzboard

also, it might just be due to issues with the USPS, but I'm getting far fewer coupons mailed to me for pizza places, auto service centers, etc.

CurlyHoward wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 30, 2022 1:28 pm

also, it might just be due to issues with the USPS, but I'm getting far fewer coupons mailed to me for pizza places, auto service centers, etc.

No. They're all putting them online now. They want us to go looking for them and print them off on our own printers.

Turkeytop wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:29 am

We have inflation. I don't like it but have to accept it.

What really bothers me how some Companies try to keep the price the same by shrinking the package size.

I like V8 juice. I buy it by bthe case at COSTCO 30 X 355 ml cans.. I went in this week to get some and the cans are now 155 ml..

Just sell the same size can and charge whatever you have to. I'll either buy it or I wont. For sure I will not be buying the new size.

We noticed that early on. The "family size" boxes of cereal shrunk in size but remained the same price. Same with chips and snacks. "Jumbo" sizes became less jumbo, but for the same cost. They're either trying to move less product to conserve supply or trying to fake out the consumer hoping we won't notice the inflation effect. I figure they can only shrink sizes so much before they just have to hike the numbers.

Soda is another considerable hike. A 2-liter bottle of Coke or Pepsi runs upward of 3 bucks in grocery stores (higher than that at convenience stores and gas stations). Thankfully I can get a 2-liter bottle of Kroger pop for a buck, although often times the store brand is out of stock, especially Diet pop. Might be time to crank up the Sodastream machine and start making my own again.

Turkeytop wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:29 am

We have inflation. I don't like it but have to accept it.

What really bothers me how some Companies try to keep the price the same by shrinking the package size.

I like V8 juice. I buy it by bthe case at COSTCO 30 X 355 ml cans.. I went in this week to get some and the cans are now 155 ml..

Just sell the same size can and charge whatever you have to. I'll either buy it or I wont. For sure I will not be buying the new size.

Most consumers don't notice. That's what makes shrinkflation so lucrative. People are uneducated.

I agree with Curly's comment regarding fewer coupons and km1125's comment regarding sale prices not being as lucrative as usual.

I no longer receive manufacturer coupon booklets in the mail, and indeed, I seem to also be receiving fewer flyers from small businesses in the area.

The digital coupon offerings via Meijer's mPerks app have also been rather disappointing of late.

Made-to-order pizza prices have definitely shot up. The prices were already getting jacked up during 2020 and they've continued to climb since then. Jet's Pizza seems damn near double the price I recall paying a decade ago, and their coupon sheets here in the Metro Detroit region definitely are nowhere nearly as generous as they once were.

Although, I do have to say I was thrilled to receive a coupon for a free small pizza in the mail from Green Lantern a month ago. They don't skimp, and I have to say the pizza I received (I only had to pay for 3 of the 4 four toppings) from their Berkley restaurant was outstanding. Better quality than I remember from their longtime location in Madison Heights.

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 30, 2022 7:04 pm

Most consumers don't notice. That's what makes shrinkflation so lucrative. People are uneducated.

It's impossible not to notice when the can of juice used to be the same size as a beer can is now about the size of a pill botle.

Our box of tissues we buy used to have 120 tissues and now has 100. The box is still exactly to same size.

Turkeytop wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 30, 2022 10:07 pm

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 30, 2022 7:04 pm

Most consumers don't notice. That's what makes shrinkflation so lucrative. People are uneducated.

It's impossible not to notice when the can of juice used to be the same size as a beer can is now about the size of a pill botle.

Our box of tissues we buy used to have 120 tissues and now has 100. The box is still exactly to same size.

You are probably much more observant than most Canadians. Happy Canada Day btw.

Turkeytop wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 30, 2022 1:36 pm

CurlyHoward wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 30, 2022 1:28 pm

also, it might just be due to issues with the USPS, but I'm getting far fewer coupons mailed to me for pizza places, auto service centers, etc.

No. They're all putting them online now. They want us to go looking for them and print them off on our own printers.

It better be a damn good deal if they expect me to print it myself. Ink was expensive even before all of this.

Does anyone even remember the last time time they bought a half-gallon container of ice-cream, or orange juice? The first shrink went from 64 oz (for MCRF's 'uneducated' masses, that's a half-gallon) to 59 oz; the most recent - which was still a while ago - took it down to 52 oz.

The first time I took notice of the shrinkage method of hiding price increases was back in the 80's, when Labatt cheated us out of can #24 in a case by dropping the can size from 12 to 11.5 oz...

I've heard some responses like "Oh! -oh! -oh! - We're going metric!" to explain the reason for the product size differences over the years. The US has been 'going metric' for over a half-century.

More comedy from our northern neighbour. Most digital coupons are redeemed by putting your phone number in at the checkout. Yes, they track you vs. a generic flyer, but there are some stores that will give you the discount anyway... But printing a coupon out?

Be sure to use your dot-matrix rig, TT.

You mean I'm supposed to tell them my phone number at the checkout? Why don't they ask me for it, then? How was I to know?

So after I tell them my number, do they hand me a fist full of coupons?

I don't pretend to know how Canadian stores work. I got my Kroger and Meijer coupons via the mail until this year. Now, they do everything digitally.

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 01, 2022 6:27 pm

I don't pretend to know how Canadian stores work. I got my Kroger and Meijer coupons via the mail until this year. Now, they do everything digitally.

Meijer still comes in the mail for me. Also, TT would stop shopping at a place that required an app. He probably has the last rotary phone.

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 01, 2022 6:27 pm

I don't pretend to know how Canadian stores work. I got my Kroger and Meijer coupons via the mail until this year. Now, they do everything digitally.

My phone is on the kithen wall and doesn't have a screen or connect to a printer.

Matt wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 01, 2022 6:38 pm

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 01, 2022 6:27 pm

I don't pretend to know how Canadian stores work. I got my Kroger and Meijer coupons via the mail until this year. Now, they do everything digitally.

Meijer still comes in the mail for me. Also, TT would stop shopping at a place that required an app. He probably has the last rotary phone.

I am probably on his shit list because I order all my food online and do a Kroger or Meijer pickup. The coupons are better for pickup customers anyways. Being that I have nerve and back issues, I usually cannot do a shop in a big store any more. If I need to run to the local supermarket, I will do that but normally that's just a handful of items. That's only when I need something quick because they are around the corner.

COSTCO used to sell a brand of 4 year old Canadian cheddar. They still sell the brand, but now it's only 2 years old.