There’s an unspoken agreement between consumers and the companies that sell us things. We will give them money in return for the thing they are advertising, if it’s something we want or need.
Which is why it can be so infuriating to discover a product that breaks that agreement, either through false advertising or finding some way of giving us less than what we think we’re paying for.
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For example, take this makeup pump.
From the outside, it looks like proper amount of face primer is provided. Until you take it apart and see that it’s actually a plastic layer the same color as the primer. There’s much less than it seems.
Here’s another case of packaging designed specifically to mislead.
This isn’t a case of one bottle size being used for multiple amount options. The bottom of this bottle is specially molded to fit the tiny interior section.
This library has a dictionary in stock, right?
Because if they do, they should look up the definition of “free.”
Or maybe the coffee was once free, but now they have to charge $1? Either way, they need a new sign.
No driver is going to see that tiny text while trying to find parking and watching for pedestrians.
Which is exactly why the text is so damn small. And once you’re in the garage, most people will just give in and pay it.
Want less sugar in your oatmeal? Just eat less for the same price!
Instead of actually changing the formula of their product, Quaker just puts less in the package. Which does mean that you get less sugar than before, but also less of the good stuff, too.
Yes, the package indicates that there are five sticks inside, but that just makes it more nefarious.
Once again, the company is banking on the fact that most consumers are terrible at paying attention and the larger container will result in more sales.
I guess they weren’t technically lying.
There are, in fact, three pepperoni on this pizza. Which is three times as good as one pepperoni. Triple, in fact.
Still a dick move, though.
In a similar vein, how many people can visualize what 3.5 oz of Skittles looks like?
Exactly. That’s why companies package things in larger containers that you can’t see through.
And this is why you can never trust the size of a bottle.
Most people won’t take the few seconds to look at the actual amount listed on the packaging. They’ll just see the bigger bottle for the higher price and buy it, even though there isn’t actually more inside.
Dippin’ Dots, why do you do this to me?
I actually quite like you. You have this cool effect of being like tiny popsicles and ice cream all in one and you’re less messy to eat than an ice cream cone.
But your prices are ridiculous and this trickery is just plain evil.
How many times did you read this to figure out which button to press?
To actually uninstall, the correct button to press is “No”. Both “Yes” and “Cancel” will end the process.
There is a special place in hell for people who do this.
You want to pass along a message, fine. Do it with an actual tip included. That server isn’t going to appreciate your message when they can’t afford to buy diapers on the way home.
Wanna bet that the sunflower oil is most of this bottle?
Not that you’d notice it in that color on that background. Put this on a high shelf and it would be impossible to read.
Oh, you thought this was a full-sized deodorant? Nope, just a travel-size in misleading packaging!
Psych!
If the key to profitability is repeat customers, it amazes me that so many companies still try to pull this stuff.
Well, at least they were transparent about this even if they didn’t mean to be.
It’s hard to tell who missed whose memo, but now we have a product that’s obvious about how little you actually get at once.
Hey, did you buy this product specifically so you could put it in the microwave?
Well, it turns out that putting a random cardboard flap here was a lot more important than telling you whether you could actually do that or not. Oops!
Are they confused or are they just hoping to confuse us?
If there are no artificial flavors, but the product is artificially flavored, then just what do we actually have here?
Seriously, guys.
From the looks of it, this package is absolutely bursting with cookies, right?
Well, all five of them will be ready and waiting for your eager taste buds!
Yeah, that’s it.
If it seemed like there was more salami in here than there turned out to be, there’s a devious reason for that.
It turns out that they put a little plastic bump in this package to create that illusion without actually giving you the meat to match that impression.
Totally necessary.
This charming kit will definitely give you what you need to make your own jewelry.
Unfortunately, it looks like you’ll be making a lot less of it than you expected to.
Weird, I wonder what could have possibly gotten your hopes up?
Well, well, well, it looks like somebody created a fun little candy burger for the kids!
Oh, did you expect that burger to actually have a bun? Sorry, that’s made of plastic for some absolutely inexplicable reason.
Here’s a nice little malicious idea that somebody’s hoping you won’t notice.
These packages look exactly the same, but if you look closely, you’ll see that the newer of the two actually gives you less soap.
Oh, what? You didn’t realize there was only a small amount of moisturizer here? Whatever could have given you that idea?
Surely, that big, unnecessary box around the tiny container of actual moisturizer couldn’t have caused any confusion.
This is a horrible waste of packaging.
The margins on heavy cardboard to mimic the weight of a big roll can’t be good enough to merit this amount of trickery. Just sell the stickers in a sheet like normal company and you won’t lose customers every time they discover this.
Nice, it looks like there’s a nice, juicy steak to look forward to here.
And yes, it does look like that. At least, it does until you open the package and realize you’ve just got two little ones.
For $4.49, I expect better than this in a sandwich.
Companies that do this are banking on customers being in too much of a hurry to notice any oddness in the weight of the product. And unfortunately, they keep doing it because it works.
