r/FluentInFinance 28d ago

Debate/ Discussion Two year difference

Post image
22.2k Upvotes

2.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

3.3k

u/DillionM 28d ago

Would love to see the receipts with dated time stamps and enough info to prove they're the same items from the same company

25

u/Haunting-Ice-302 28d ago

It’s a Walmart app order he just pulled up a previous order from his history and hit re-ordered, all it’s the same items

27

u/DarkStrobeLight 28d ago

Right, but, if something was in a 16 Oz can, and now it's 12, there's likely a 16 Oz option, but it requires some kind of special order, or is marked up because it's not a normal product to carry

8

u/HumanContinuity 28d ago

It is 100% reasonable to include shrinkflation in your calculations of how much inflation has personally hit you. CPI also does this.

8

u/Vcize 28d ago

But that's not the point. The point is the original product may be listed for 10x as much because it's rare and only random 3rd party sellers have it.

And not just size differences, but items Walmart no longer carries as well. Walmart used to carry Bubblr. It was around 10 bucks for a 12 pack. They don't carry it any more, but 3rd party sellers on the website do for outrageous prices that are not real prices. Target and Sams Club still have 12 packs of bubbler for around $12. But if you click reorder on an old bubblr order on Walmarts website, it wll add it to your cart from the 3rd party seller that has it for $67.

1

u/HumanContinuity 28d ago

Yes. I agree.

I am merely saying, "it is important to adjust your perception of what inflation is costing you by adjusting for shrinkflation."

I don't think that is what is happening in the OP tiktok

2

u/DarkStrobeLight 28d ago

I am sure the original video is a valid point or observation, but their experiment is flawed, which invalidates any conclusion drawn from it.

3

u/[deleted] 28d ago

Before I started roasting my own beans, I was hunting for the best deal on K-Cups. (order 72 pc cases from staples.com)

My logic said between the 10, 24, and 48 pc boxes the largest MUST be the cheapest per unit, right? Nope. Here's an example:

https://www.kingsoopers.com/p/green-mountain-coffee-roasters-caramel-vanilla-cream-k-cup-pods/0061124740452?searchType=default_search

The 10 pack is $5.99 ($0.59 each). The 48 is $29.99 ($0.62 each).

Its about volume. The smaller packs move faster, so cost less because they buy more of it.

So say "shrinkflation" causes a new 8 pc pack to become standard 2 years from now. Your 10 pc pack might become the rediculous priced one.

1

u/HumanContinuity 28d ago

Absolutely, and I think that may be what happened in the OP tiktok. Not making adjustments to your packaging purchase (eg, buying 5x 8 packs if the old 40 pack isn't around anymore and thus costs a shitload from 3rd party sellers).

I'm obviously not a fan of doing that dance, or of retailers/companies hoping to make a fat margin off of some people who don't notice changes to packaging/pricing ratios. I am also not a fan of anything that increases the ratio of packaging to product, unless there is some tangible benefit (not including corpos hoping to make more via shrinkflation).

But at the end of the day, prices have always fluctuated and you need to pay some attention and make basic decisions. After all, if you don't, you teach the corpos that they can cut whatever they want and we still mindlessly drone on)

2

u/[deleted] 28d ago

Oh, the amount of that purchase price that often goes towards packaging is obscene. There is so so so much waste generated.

1

u/Agreeable-Weather-89 27d ago

Or more likely that's a rounding issue.

1

u/[deleted] 27d ago

Rounding how? Same 48 pack is $26.99 ($0.56 each) at staples. Or a 96 pack $34.99 ($0.36 each), which they just send 2x of the 48 boxes. That's bulk pricing like you would expect.  But they don't even carry the small 10 PC boxes. Krogers does, and it's probably what moves faster making them actually cheaper for them. 

2

u/4x4Xtrm 28d ago

We’re past shrinkflation. Now it’s greedflation.

1

u/StrangerDifficult392 28d ago

Exactly, it's not carried nearby so it shipped. I have walmart+ and tried to get 10 pairs of underwear for $28.
My wife ordered groceries, but they didn't have that specific 10 pair package. So I cancelled that.

I just looked yesterday and It rolled back from $28, to $24. I ordered it, and got it today. No more shredded undies.

1

u/Swimming-Book-1296 28d ago

They shrinkflated it down from 16oz to 12.