I see this notice on items in a six pack, on sticks of butter in a container, a lot of items at the grocery store. I understand why the manufacturer would want to prevent retailers from breaking up expensive packaging and (likely) reaping an added margin. But what is the legal purpose of such notices, and what prevents retailers from going against them?
I would think that it’s because of lack of dietary information as well as ingredients and such. But that’s just my uneducated guess.
Reverse the logic. It informs potential buyers that the item(s) in question are part of a larger whole. It protects the buyer.
Yes, that’s what I always assumed as well (and 2 assumptions are better than 1, right?)
But since it is a legal requirement for food products intended for consumption and offered for sale to have nutrition labels, it is probably a good bet that it is a case of the companies who manufacture these food products Covering Their Ass.
To clarify, although this might seem like I am attempting to negate the assumption because of my use of the word “but”, what I meant was, “but, I did a little research (proud cite link to a legal document), and it turns out, this is true”
This would be part of the rationale for edibles, but it doesn’t really apply with bundled products like batteries and videotape. You could still look at other labelling laws, but (in the case of, say, VHS 3-packs) it would be just as easy (or easier) to mark each individual package with “Made in Japan.”
You might run into problems with UPC codes, but that’s really the retailer’s problem.
I think it mainly has to do with the manufacturer’s desire to price their products according to volume. If they give an individual product an MSRP of $3 and a $3-pack an MSRP of $7 dollars, with a similar breakdown for their price to wholesalers, that’s a good marketing strategy to increase their volume of sales.
This creates a temptation to the wholesaler or retailer to just stop buying the singles, though. What’s to stop them from only buying lots of the “bulk” consumer packages, breaking them up, and selling them at the single-unit price, pocketing the break for themselves? Nothing, unless you mark the individual packages as part of a larger unit.
Yes, but I was curious about what legal power does that carry, to simply mark individual units that way. What would happen to (say) a convenience store that decided to break up bulk packages against the mfgr’s wishes?
I would be very surprised to learn that there’s anything specific in general law.
More likely this is managed through purchase contracts. Say, a wholesaler (or retailer) has a purchase contract from the supplier that includes provisions for special pricing on bulk packaging. The contract specifies that bulk packages aren’t to be broken up for resale. If they turn around and violate the agreement, they’ve broken the contract and may no longer be eligible for special pricing.
There’s probably nothing in law that says “If you put these magic words on individual packages, they will be sold as a set.” There may be other applicable laws that have the effect of preventing breaking up of packages, (eg; like labelling laws or proscriptions against selling single cigarettes,) but in the case of bulk packages it seems most probable that it’s entirely down to agreement between supplier and reseller, and enforceable by contract law.
In the UK, at least, I have seen slightly different wording used: “Not Labelled For Individual Sale”.
That leads me to believe that it’s due to the lack of legally required info, i.e. ingredients, weight etc.
Aside from the listing of ingredients, and the UPC that will ring up a can as a six-pack, it isn’t a big deal. Many small groceries will sell you a stick of butter or two eggs. You can get a single Coke almost anywhere. Some Kwik-E-Marts even sell single cigarettes.
nothing - b/c technically the c-store is the owner of the merchandize and can pretty much do as they please
Sometimes a manufacturer or distributor packages items as a special bonus to customers–Buy One Get One Free. I found this was often the case with packs of cigarettes back when I smoked.
And once during one of those two-packs-for-the-price-of-one promos in my area, I went into a neighborhood variety store and was sold a pack of that brand, which was marked “not for individual sale.” It still had the stickum on it that had glued it to the regular price pack. . . I didn’t shop there much after that.
Hmmm . . . it’s been a long time since I looked a pack of cigarettes close up, but I seem to remember that each individual pack bears a state tax stamp on the bottom. Would there be tax implication if a retailer opened up one of those long boxes of several packs and sold them individually? Or if it opened up an individual pack and sold them by the stick?
Not really. The ciggy tax is paid at the wholesale level. The retailer pays only sales tax on its goods. The sales tax is proportional to the price, though, so it increases as a carton is sold as packs, and a pack is sold as single cigarettes, because the price-per-unit goes up.