UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

Crap! This was supposed to be posted last night! I guess I misremembered again

Quick-hitters:

- Did the Lakers really lose to Charlotte a couple days ago?

If they lose to Memphis tonight, they should be forced to forfeit their playoff spot, wherever that may be.

- My sister’s laptop has been posted on Craigslist four days ago, and I’ve only received a single inquiry on it. And it was NOT a 419 scam attempt! Amazing!

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1700, and that includes the $100 I received today.

- Screw you, Amazon.com.

I won’t go into too many details, but let’s just say that Amazon.com will gladly remove my items for sale because of “misrepresentation” (missing UPC or missing original packaging, and I wasn’t even aware of the rules violation), while many other sellers get to keep their rule-breaking listings active.

After a bit of back-and-forth with Amazon Seller support, they decided it would be fun to simply send me form letters, completely ignoring my grievances. At least they didn’t use the ever-popular “we’ll take your concerns seriously” line.

*shudder* I might have to start selling on eBay again.

- So I went grocery shopping yesterday with my sister, who, incidentally, is starting a “full-body nutritional makeover.”

(For you that have an aversion to euphemisms, that’s what I call a diet.)

Long story short, yesterday was NOT the day for her to go grocery shopping with me. Having little to no will power, it was awfully difficult of me to pass up on Triscuit crackers (w/cheddar!), Cheez-Its, Fudge Shoppe cookies, Golden Grahams, and Cookie Crisp. If Vons or Ralphs sold Mexicoke, my sister would have been in real trouble.

After adding each item to my cart, I felt a death stare from my sister. She eventually accused me of intentionally buying junk food, knowing full well that she can’t have anything I was purchasing.

I will neither confirm nor deny that :P.

- (from Consumerist) Finally, this article absolutely made me LOL. Apparently, Wrigley’s Gum is going to introduce a new, slimmer packaging for their gum, and by “slimmer,” I mean “fewer pieces for the same price.” The quotes from Wrigley execs are simply priceless, including this gem:

“To them the value goes up because they’re getting a better tasting product in a better package. Price is not the way the consumer is looking at this,” he said.

Um, when I go shopping, price is usually a BIG factor in what I buy! Better package? Two sticks of gum weigh that much, eh? As far as the better taste is concerned, I guess I can buy that. Tell me, though; where on the packaging does it allege that the gum is better tasting than before?

This phenomenon, known as “package shrink,” has been around for years. Just think about how small a Pizza Hut medium pizza has shrunk over the years.

(Tangent: “Package shrink”…what a horrible euphemism! And yes, I have a sick mind.)

Regarding package shrink, I loved this quote:

Brian Morgan, senior research analyst at Euromonitor, Chicago, concurred: “[Package shrink] is the strategy that has been used in many categories to accomplish a price increase without consumers really noticing or to smooth over the negative reaction.”

Go to any grocery store forum (BargainShare or Slickdeals, e.g.) and tell me that people either don’t notice these shrinkages, or don’t exactly get “smoothed” over once they find out that they’re getting less for their money.

Mr. Morgan added,

Morgan added that, in the gum category more so than in other categories, consumers would likely respond positively to slimmer packaging: “Packaging innovations like that do make a difference, independent of what that does to the price.”

Sure, and pricing increases make a HUGE difference, independent of the packaging innovations. By the way… “packaging innovations”? Since when has removing two sticks of gum from a pack of 17 an “innovation?” Short of the pack actually popping out a stick of gum on demand, I can’t understand how “less product” = “packaging innovation.”

Seriously, is a 17-stick pack of gum creating that much drag in your pocket/purse/etc., or do the extra two sticks cause an exponential increase in the gravitational pull on your body? By the way, doesn’t Wrigley’s also offer five-stick packs of gum?

Finally,

Though the new packaging is, in effect, a price increase, Wrigley is hailing it as a packaging breakthrough. “Consumers like the fact that [the envelope] is slim, sleek; it feels very contemporary,” said Chibe.

AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA. Contemporary? Are we talking about a pack of gum, or an MP3 player?

This is just my opinion, but I’d be much happier with the extra two sticks of gum. Why can’t these companies just state the obvious: costs of manufacturing have gone up, and therefore, the company needs to either raise their prices, or offer less product? I’d almost respect a company more if they were willing to state these facts! Then again, would you buy a bottle of Tide detergent if it had a sticker on it that said “Now with LESS product!”?

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to have a bowl of Golden Grahams. Wait a second…this box has only 12 oz. of product! I love it! It’s much more aerodynamic than before, which is really important when you’re in a rush, and have to quickly pour yourself a bowl of cereal!

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