# A Thread In Which We Call Out Ripoff Products **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2018, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270 "2018-01-23T04:11:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/101 "2018-01-25T01:04:55Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Best to buy the biggest box of [Ticonderogas](http://www.boardroomproducts.com/images/products/display/96ctpencils.jpg) you can find and use those. _Ticonderoga pencils are on their way to fame A fine American pencil with a fine American name_ ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/102 "2018-01-25T01:44:28Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Nathan’s hot dogs - each hot dog has gone from 2 ounces to 1 1/2, and the package of “dinner franks” has gone from 4 x 4 ounces to 5 x 2.4 ounces. The only reference to any change is that their “bigger than the bun” hot dogs are now “bun-length.” WHAT!!! No more bigger-than-the-bun??? Life is getting less and less worth living. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/103 "2018-01-25T04:04:48Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > You know, I used to work with people who were so diligent with that name-brand detergent that I could fucking smell it on their clothes. To me (the definitive fragrance-averse person) it was as though a thousand infants had barfed upon them. But I guess once you get used to the “clean” smell you stop noticing how vile it is. OMG, ‘Gain’ is the absolute worst one! I can smell it on someone a mile away. It makes me ill. I have noticed that women’s deodorant and men’s deodorant are of different sizes. Do men stink more? Yeah I guess they do. But, women’s cost more, that seems wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/104 "2018-01-25T04:17:12Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > You know those [Tetra Pak paper containers](https://assets.tetrapak.com/static/us/publishingimages/gable-top-bio-based.jpg)? The half-gallon, quart and cup sizes? > > Next time you buy a non-dairy product in a Tetra Pak, look at how many ounces it actually holds. A half-gallon (64 oz) now holds 55 oz. And you’re still paying the 64 oz price, too. But does it still say “half gallon” etc. A lot of products (ice cream is a big one, I think) that typically came in some specific size container and now come in a smaller but similar looking one no longer say “HALF GALLON” or “QUART” in giant letters across the front. It’s one of those cases where I understand why people are upset, but I’m not sure what people want. The other option is to keep the size the same but increase the cost. In your example, if you 64 oz item was $5.00, it would probably go up to around $5.99. That would anger the other half of the customers. Costs increase and you can’t keep everyone happy. As for the paper towel/toilet paper thing. When I see the Double Rolls, Mega Rolls, Jumbo Rolls, Single Rolls. they all say something like 6 Double Rolls =12 Single rolls and 9 Jumbo Rolls =18 Single Rolls. Basically, every package says how many single rolls are in it. Ignore weather or not a double roll is actually twice a single roll or the size of the tube in the jumbo roll or anything else to confuse you. Just to all your math based on the about of “single rolls” in each package. ---
**Author:** ![TheMightyFro](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themightyfro/32/20081_2.png) [@TheMightyFro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMightyFro)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/105 "2018-01-25T12:38:31Z")
I grew up thinking the Oreo cookie was ripped off by Hydrox. Imagine my surprise to learn that the Hydrox actually predates the Oreo. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/106 "2018-01-25T13:14:40Z")
The many many sizes of things so you think you’re getting a deal. I’m looking at you, WalMart and Home Depot. If I know my cleaning supplies costs and see a deal at Home Depot, get it home and it’s a smaller size!! Well shit, no deal at all. And it seems to me that Walmart has a special smaller sized coffee, again, so I think I’m getting a deal, but when I throw the empty can on the shelf (we use them for paint), lo and behold, it’s a small can! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/107 "2018-01-25T13:25:06Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > Laundry detergent is the first thing that came to mind. If you read the label carefully and look at the cap carefully you’ll probably find that you’re only supposed to use about half a capful or less of detergent per large load. They make the caps big on purpose, hoping you’ll use a full cap of detergent every time. They also make the fill-line markings on the cap hard to read, often white markings on a white cap. If you’re over 40 you don’t stand a chance of seeing them in less than perfect lighting conditions. Using more detergent than you need won’t get your clothes cleaner but can lead to incomplete rinsing which may irritate your skin, cause dingy clothing, and weaken the clothing fibers. I’ve heard this a lot and believe it to be true, but I have no sense of smell so I feel really anxious about being clean. I fill up my detergent cup to the max every time. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/108 "2018-01-25T13:26:56Z")
To be fair with toilet paper double rolls having a larger cardboard tube. In may toilet paper holders you can’t really get a double roll in it as it hits the back. By enlarging the tube you can make the TP ‘cylinder wall’ thinner but containing the same amount of TP as smaller cardboard tube one. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/109 "2018-01-25T13:30:11Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > OMG, ‘Gain’ is the absolute worst one! I can smell it on someone a mile away. It makes me ill. > I have noticed that women’s deodorant and men’s deodorant are of different sizes. Do men stink more? Yeah I guess they do. But, women’s cost more, that seems wrong. Yes I’m sure there is $ at the center of this, however women might not desire to see their deodorant the same size as mens and want one that appears visually different and ‘feminine’ sitting next to the man’s one. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/110 "2018-01-25T15:06:16Z")
Apart from the dishonesty, what really bugs me about some of the [grocery shrink ray-ed items](https://consumerist.com/tag/grocery-shrink-ray-2/) is that they mess with established recipes. Say you’ve got a pumpkin pie recipe that called for one universally-standard 16-ounce can of pumpkin. But, now they’ve been shrink-rayed, and all that you can find today are 13-ounce cans. I suppose you can reduce the amount of each ingredient proportionally, but then, you won’t have as much mixture to fill your pie shell. Canned tomatoes, canned condensed and evaporated milk, chocolate chips, all smaller than they were a generation ago. Grandma’s recipes are getting harder to make every year. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/111 "2018-01-25T15:08:17Z")
> [@MacLir](#): > > Obvious to you, oblivious to them. 😃 Ha! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/112 "2018-01-25T17:46:27Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > Or, they make you buy a ridiculously expensive “access code” for the online content, which expires and cannot be used but for 1 term. I’ve got 2 in college myself, so I know exactly what you are talking about. Now that’s not true. They usually last a full year 😃 But yeah, college textbooks are a HUGE ripoff. I honestly wonder if there isn’t some kind of kickback system in place. Years back, I too a course at the local community college. There was online content doing some exercises (it was a computer course) so you HAD to purchase the online key as well as the book itself. You could theoretically get by without the hard-bound book, as the content was all available, but it was not available in a format where you could browse through easily, and though you could “download” pages, they were all as huge graphic PDFs which meant no searching either. So, you really did need the expensive book. And the really frustrating part: There were a lot of code snippets in the book, that supposedly you could download from their site - but they were not available from my login for some reason. I actually stumbled across a PDF version of the textbook, accidentally (well, I found some not-by-accident but they were all on questionable sites); didn’t realize it what I’d found until I saw that the thing I’d clicked on was downloading a huge file. Yeah, it was probably pirated but as I’d paid my $$$$ for the book, I didn’t feel too bad. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/113 "2018-01-25T18:31:44Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > OMG, ‘Gain’ is the absolute worst one! I can smell it on someone a mile away. It makes me ill. > I have noticed that women’s deodorant and men’s deodorant are of different sizes. Do men stink more? Yeah I guess they do. But, women’s cost more, that seems wrong. Wait, why do men stink more? Do you mean men are more likely to work physical jobs, the kind where it makes sense the person should smell sweaty afterward? I don’t consider deodorant having much to do with that. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/114 "2018-01-25T18:52:52Z")
Textbooks, airport food and broadband. Almost universally regarded as ripoffs, primarily because their markets are rigged. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/115 "2018-01-25T19:10:23Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Textbooks, airport food and broadband. Almost universally regarded as ripoffs, primarily because their markets are rigged. I had a college professor that would tell [his] students to get last year’s textbook if they could find them. Typically about half the class could find one at the book store for a let less money. Then he’d teach out of both of them. Chapter for Chapter, they were almost exactly the same. He would just give assignments out of the current one and then make adjustments for previous one. He agreed that it was a ripoff, there was no reason for there to be a new book every year or two just so they could correct a typo or change a few end of chapter questions while at the same time make all the old books “obsolete”. Unless there’s something new in the world of college level, entry physics, a 5 year old book will do just fine…and I bet the school would make more money selling the same book for $100 (and buying it back for $10) for 5 years, than selling a new book each year for $200 that probably costs them $100. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/116 "2018-01-25T20:01:44Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Textbooks, airport food and broadband. Almost universally regarded as ripoffs, primarily because their markets are rigged. Don’t forget the king daddy of them all… printer ink. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/117 "2018-01-25T20:50:48Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Wait, why do men stink more? Not really more, just, the male chemistry. I have a bottle of Apple brand shower-spritz with the motto boldly emblazoned on the front: _ **Stink Different** _ ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/118 "2018-01-25T21:00:18Z")
Energy Star appliances. My “Energy Star” refrigerator runs for hours nearly every single time I open the door. My sister’s “Energy Star” dishwasher runs for hours every time she washes the dishes. This is supposed to save energy? ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/119 "2018-01-26T00:51:33Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > I last bought a Hershey bar about a month ago. That one was as thin as a credit card. I bought another one the other day. Not only did they manage to make them _ **somehow even thinner** _, but it tasted primarily like brown shortening and wax. I will not bother with Hershey bars again. > > I’ve got lots more, but now it’s your turn. For what it’s worth, Mr. Hershey’s ‘great innovation’ in chocolate manufacturing was the realization that a portion could be substituted with [food grade] wax filler, people would still buy it, and great(er) profits would be realized. Hershey’s chocolate (bars, kisses, whatever) has always seemed waxy and relatively flavor-deficient, so I tend to avoid the brand and its subsidiaries. I prefer Swiss style or even German style chocolates – even British\* Cadbury chocolates taste and feel better to me. > [@gigi](#): > > Three words. Crest. Gum. Detoxify. I was excited because I have gum issues and thought this might do something extra for me. So I compared it with Crest ProHealth and lo and behold, exact same active ingredient in the same percentage. Exact same list of benefits, except Gum Detoxify will also leave your gums feeling cool during and after brushing. :rolleyes: For more than twice the price! > > So is it fair to say they took the same product and got legal permission to call it “Detoxify”? ☹ Back in the 1980’s there was some smart shopper TV show that was examining the “Tartar Control” claims of toothpaste manufacturers. They notice the ingredient lists in both the regular and tartar-control versions were the same, so they asked one of the manufactuerrs what was so special about the latter. The manufacturer noted that the packaging for the tartar-control version included explicit instructions to brush for a specified minimum amount of time and that specified brushing period helped reduce the build-up of tartar along the gum line. I haven’t seen the “Detoxify” product but, then again, I haven’t been looking for it. I’m wondering it that’s just another “tartar control” spin on the latest dental health trend. > [@AllShookDown](#): > > “Mega” toilet paper rolls. When I first started buying the bigger rolls they were actually bigger. Then costs must have gone up so, instead of using the same amount of paper and raising the price, they made the hole bigger and used less paper. Paper towels, tissues, and toilet paper have actually become more absorbent over time due to improvements in the way the paper is embossed and/or woven. Still, it’s hard to know what the advertisers/packagers/PR Spinners are considering 1-fold or baseline product for their comparisons. 😕 Back in the 1980’s there was a newspaper article that investigated the shrinking boxes of dry goods at the store. It described a reporter making a bunch of phone calls and getting various answers but eventually settling on “The box makers are making our boxes smaller so we have to put less in there.” as a decently believable explanation. But I thought No, no, no! That’s crap. Who is telling the package-maker what dimensions to use? The people who make the packages can make them to any size and follow the specifications of the people putting the product inside!$ Which brings me to… Cereal. Year after year after year it seems cereal is either getting more expensive or being sold in smaller quantity packages – but most people don’t seem to notice because the boxes are displacing the same rectangular space on the shelves. They’re getting away with this by making the boxes thinner. Next decade I expect to see my crisped rice cereal sold in a box that’s still 12"h x 8"w but only holds a single thickness of rice – that would be about half the thickness of today’s smartphones. The entire volume of edible product will fill a single coffee cup for five times today’s price of a box of cereal! –G - I think they’re owned by a Canadian company now. $ We know this because they’ll wait a few months and then bring out the formerly regular-sized package so they can sell them as “30% more for the same great price!” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/120 "2018-01-26T01:05:47Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > For what it’s worth, Mr. Hershey’s ‘great innovation’ in chocolate manufacturing was the realization that a portion could be substituted with [food grade] wax filler, people would still buy it, and great(er) profits would be realized. > > Hershey’s chocolate (bars, kisses, whatever) has always seemed waxy and relatively flavor-deficient, so I tend to avoid the brand and its subsidiaries. I prefer Swiss style or even German style chocolates – even British\* Cadbury chocolates taste and feel better to me. > !" Cite? Becuase if so the FDA would like to know. (cheap choco does sometime contain some, like forhollow easter bunnies, but mostly a tiny tiny amount is added just to give a glassy finish.) No, the difference is the _Hershey process_, which is part of chocolate history: > **[Hershey bar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hershey_bar)** > > The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar (commonly called the Hershey's Bar, or more simply the Hershey Bar) is a flagship chocolate bar manufactured by The Hershey Company. Hershey refers to it as "The Great American Chocolate Bar". The Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar was first sold in 1900. > Hershey chocolate bars had their origin in Milton Hershey's first successful confectionery business, Lancaster Caramel Company, which was founded in 1886. After seeing German chocolate manufacturing machinery at the W... " The Hershey Process milk chocolate in these bars uses fresh milk delivered directly from local farms. The process was developed by Milton Hershey and produced the first mass-produced chocolate in the United States. As a result, the Hershey flavor is widely recognized in the United States, but less so internationally, especially in areas where European chocolates are more widely available. The process is a company and trade secret, but experts speculate that the milk is partially lipolyzed, producing butyric acid, which stabilizes the milk from further fermentation. This flavor gives the product a particular sour, “tangy” taste that the US public has come to associate with the taste of chocolate, to the point that other manufacturers often add butyric acid to their milk chocolates.[1] The American bar’s taste profile was not as popular with the Canadian public, leading Hershey to introduce a reformulated Canadian bar in 1983.[2]" I am not a fan of Hershey choco and it’s fine if you arent either, but lets get the facts straight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270.md?page=7)