OT Shrinkflation and the overall lower quality of products

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Natebishop3

Natebishop3

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I have noticed a pretty obvious downgrading in the quality and size of products due to the huge increase in inflation and prices.

Couple that stood out to me recently:

The frozen taquitos at Costco. I used to love buying these things because they were super easy to throw in the microwave when I'm hungry. I just bought another box of them recently and the quality has gone down drastically. It's like they reduced the amount of cheese and chicken in the taquitos, so they're just very empty now. Also they changed from a re-sealable bag to just straight up plastic bags that you tear open. I have actually noticed a bunch of companies make this cost cutting change.

Also, I needed to buy some more deodorant and the quality of the plastic they're using now is very very thin. The old casing was sturdy and it's clear that they reduced the density of the plastic to cut costs.

Anyone notice anything else?
 
It's cold this week. That's what's causing the shrinkage.

Besides, size doesn't matter, right?

barfo
 
Natebishop3 said:
I have noticed a pretty obvious downgrading in the quality and size of products due to the huge increase in inflation and prices.

Couple that stood out to me recently:

The frozen taquitos at Costco. I used to love buying these things because they were super easy to throw in the microwave when I'm hungry. I just bought another box of them recently and the quality has gone down drastically. It's like they reduced the amount of cheese and chicken in the taquitos, so they're just very empty now. Also they changed from a re-sealable bag to just straight up plastic bags that you tear open. I have actually noticed a bunch of companies make this cost cutting change.

Also, I needed to buy some more deodorant and the quality of the plastic they're using now is very very thin. The old casing was sturdy and it's clear that they reduced the density of the plastic to cut costs.

Anyone notice anything else?
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What really sucks is after inflation settles down, these products aren't going to go back to what they were. One big one I've heard about is chips, they've reduced the bag sizes (especially on the bigger bags) but kept the price roughly the same, guess they figure you won't notice when it goes from a 14oz bag to an 11oz bag.
 
The one that made me the saddest several years ago was when the standard half-gallon of ice cream was reduced to 1.75 qts. Of course, I don't buy ice cream anymore, so I have no idea if that's changed at all since then.

I will say I swung by a McDonalds for a couple cheeseburgers and an apple pie a couple weeks ago, and both were much lower quality even by historical McD's standards.
 
I've noticed that the length of granola bars has gradually gone down while the length of the wrapper they come in has remained the same, now there's about an inch of air space in the wrapper.

Toilet paper, which we refer to as "shit tickets" down here, not only has fewer sheets but the roll is also quite a bit narrower than it once was. They probably did this in small increments over the years in hope that we wouldn't notice. But the rolls are now noticeably narrower once you look at them after placing them on the spool of the holder...if they get much narrower you'll be able to get 2 rolls on the spool...sneaky way for toilet paper manufacturers to boost their "bottom" line. (pun intended)
 
PtldPlatypus said:
The one that made me the saddest several years ago was when the standard half-gallon of ice cream was reduced to 1.75 qts. Of course, I don't buy ice cream anymore, so I have no idea if that's changed at all since then.

I will say I swung by a McDonalds for a couple cheeseburgers and an apple pie a couple weeks ago, and both were much lower quality even by historical McD's standards.
Click to expand...

For fast food, the one that really stood out to me was Taco Bell. I don't eat there very often anymore, but holy crap their quality is bad now. The hard shells were flaky and brittle. Much worse than in the past. They didn't hold together at all. Clearly they have reduced the density to try to cut costs. Also they're just very badly made, but the price has gone up a ton.
 
Car prices are crazy. New or used. All of them. And I read that car manufactures, dealers, all perfectly fine with keeping like this. Sell less cars but for much more. And eventually people who drive cars will have to buy so might as well keep them priced high. Sucks.
 
Things that have set weight/volume (pound of butter, half gallon milk, etc) are just more expensive. I couldn't believe what eggs cost and I need a lot for Thanksgiving.
 
calvin natt said:
Car prices are crazy. New or used. All of them. And I read that car manufactures, dealers, all perfectly fine with keeping like this. Sell less cars but for much more. And eventually people who drive cars will have to buy so might as well keep them priced high. Sucks.
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Used car prices have leveled off. My fingers are still crossed that Carvana declares bankruptcy. That would probably help if they have to liquidate their inventory. Their stock price has been in a bit of a tailspin.
 
Shaboid said:
Used car prices have leveled off. My fingers are still crossed that Carvana declares bankruptcy. That would probably help if they have to liquidate their inventory. Their stock price has been in a bit of a tailspin.
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Have they? I am looking and can’t believe the prices. I even talk to the dealers and they agree.
 
calvin natt said:
Have they? I am looking and can’t believe the prices. I even talk to the dealers and they agree.
Click to expand...
The demand has at least decreased. No doubt prices are up y-o-y, but they looked to have peaked. I'm hoping it's true at least. I'm looking at a few options between $10k-15k and could use a break.

https://www.axios.com/2022/11/08/used-car-prices-dropping

https://www.carscoops.com/2022/11/j-p-morgan-expects-used-car-prices-to-drop-10-20-next-year/

I trust J.P. Morgan and Axios about as much as I would trust a used car dealer, but I hope they're right.
 
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Mrs HCP has been complaining about shrinkage a lot lately. I kept telling her it's because of the cold water in the shower.
 
I have noticed that many clothing items have gone done in quality at popular discount retailers such as T.J Max, Nordstrom Rack, Ross, Kohl’s ext….
 
BigGameDamian said:
I have noticed that many clothing items have gone done in quality at popular discount retailers such as T.J Max, Nordstrom Rack, Ross, Kohl’s ext….
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Since when? TJ Maxx and Ross have always been shit quality in my experience.
 
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