# We're apparently gullible enough to pay a premium for watered-down juice **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 13, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352 "2009-03-13T18:01:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LunarPlexus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LunarPlexus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LunarPlexus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/21 "2009-03-13T21:48:01Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > **"We’re apparently gullible enough to pay a premium for watered-down juice "** > > (Honest to Buddha, I thought this was going to be a critique of the new Pit rules) I thought it was going to be about Mac users and drinking the Kool-Aid. ---
**Author:** ![Shawn1767](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shawn1767](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn1767)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/22 "2009-03-13T23:11:33Z")
Hmm… okay, in a similar vein. A couple of years ago, Listerine started marketing “Tartar Control Listerine.” It sold for a few cents more than normal Listerine. I looked at both labels side by side of the ingredients and it had the same exact ingredients in the same proportions on both labels. I wrote to the manufacturer to ask just what constituted the difference in “Tartar Control” as opposed to regular Listerine and the PR guy was unable to tell me. However, he did offer me some coupons. I stopped buying Listerine after that. Now, there are several different types of Listerine on the market. I haven’t checked lately to see if the ingredients list are the same on all of them or what. Anyone?.. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/23 "2009-03-13T23:17:56Z")
How about individually plastic wrapped jelly beans? They exist. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/24 "2009-03-13T23:32:11Z")
What exactly do you mean by _gullible_? Do you think the label of this product is misleading, and most buyers think it’s more than what it is? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/25 "2009-03-13T23:58:53Z")
Consider that most of the cost of the product is in the packaging, for most single-serving packages. By putting only half the juice into the container and filling the rest with water, they aren’t cutting their costs by 50%, more like 5%. Perhaps they figure that some people _like_ watery juice, and hope to sell more units by serving that market. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mighty\_Boosh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_mighty_boosh/32/1755_2.png) [@The\_Mighty\_Boosh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mighty_Boosh)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/26 "2009-03-14T02:08:06Z")
> [@aerodave](#): > > I understand that logic at some level; hell, that’s why I buy shredded cheese. But the AquaJuice premium isn’t justifiable, since diluting your own juice is pretty brain-dead easy—compared with grating cheese, anyway. 😃 Can someone please provide a graph demonstrating the relative difficulties of pouring water and shredding cheese? At a guess, I’d say that grating cheese is 1.25 times more difficult than pouring water, and that this is not difficult enough to justify buying it pre-grated. Now, peeling oranges is at least 4 times more difficult, and that is where my personal cut-off is; I want pre-peeled oranges. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/27 "2009-03-14T02:31:03Z")
I tend not to slice up my fingertips when pouring water. Well, unless it’s really _hard_ water. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/28 "2009-03-14T02:47:44Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Consider that most of the cost of the product is in the packaging, for most single-serving packages. By putting only half the juice into the container and filling the rest with water, they aren’t cutting their costs by 50%, more like 5%. > > Perhaps they figure that some people _like_ watery juice, and hope to sell more units by serving that market. What is strange, though, is that this is \*not \*single-serving packaging. The link is to a 52 oz. container. Because I have to admit I might even purchase the occasional single-serve of this. My thinking would go - I want something to drink - I want something sweet, not just plain water - I don’t need all the calories of pure juice - I don’t want to mess with pouring out half the juice and adding water (maybe I’m driving somewhere, catching a plane, I dunno) - I’ll get this “juice drink.” Because people mostly don’t purchase products, they purchase benefits or solutions to problems. And a dilute single serve might, on occasion, solve some problems for me. But if you’re buying the big thing of juice for the kids, how hard can it be to dilute it? Actually, I can think of a couple of reasons. One would be going on a picnic or something where you have to provide drinks for several kids. Essentially this juice product instead of a 2-liter of soda. It wouldn’t be convenient to dilute juice in that setting. Also, people with small/ full refrigerators. You could pour half the full-strength juice into a pitcher and dilute it, but now you have 2 things of juice to fit in the fridge. Kind of a pain. Also, people who don’t want to mess with washing the pitcher. A lot of the convenience of bottled drinks is not having to wash what they come in, so maybe some people find this a benefit. Finally, maybe kids whine if their parents blatantly water down the juice. Kids have3 been known to whine about less. Still, I don’t think this is the marketing genius of the year award. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/29 "2009-03-14T03:08:01Z")
> [@The\_Mighty\_Boosh](#): > > 😃 > > Can someone please provide a graph demonstrating the relative difficulties of pouring water and shredding cheese? At a guess, I’d say that grating cheese is 1.25 times more difficult than pouring water, and that this is not difficult enough to justify buying it pre-grated. > > Now, peeling oranges is at least 4 times more difficult, and that is where my personal cut-off is; I want pre-peeled oranges. You haven’t even factored in the trouble of having to wash the grater and bowl you grate the cheese into. You don’t have to wash anything other than your hands when you peel oranges. For me, it’s bag salad and sliced mushrooms. But I don’t like paying more for sliced mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/30 "2009-03-14T03:22:40Z")
> [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](#): > > Also, people with small/ full refrigerators. You could pour half the full-strength juice into a pitcher and dilute it, but now you have 2 things of juice to fit in the fridge. Kind of a pain. > > Also, people who don’t want to mess with washing the pitcher. A lot of the convenience of bottled drinks is not having to wash what they come in, so maybe some people find this a benefit. But people wouldn’t be chugging this stuff straight from the big bottle, would they? Well, I guess some people would, but I’m sure most would use a cup. If so, they could easily do what I already do when I buy bottled juice – fill their cup partially with juice, then add water from the tap. There’s no reason to mess around with putting the juice into a pitcher. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/31 "2009-03-14T03:27:14Z")
> [@Tomczyk](#): > > I find it terribly ironic that the advertisement that I see under the OP is for Fiji Water. Affordable luxury. Convenient water delivery. > > I’m still pissed that I had to spend $1.39 for an Aquafina in the cafeteria just so that I could have an empty bottle at my desk that I can fill up at the water fountain twice a day. Tastes the same to me. 😕 Buy a different bottle. The cheap plastic degrades and isn’t good for you. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/32 "2009-03-14T05:00:04Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](#): > > I hate sawdust in my juice. :mad: The fine grind is not so bad. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/33 "2009-03-14T05:45:24Z")
> [@Dan\_Norder](#): > > How about 100 calorie packs… You pay more money for less food for the convenience of having food pre-proportioned in round numbers. Take some cheap sandwich baggies, a regular package of foodstuffs, and check the calorie info on the box. The servings in the sandwich baggies don’t stay fresh, particularly if you use cheap ones! ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/34 "2009-03-14T05:46:43Z")
> [@Tomczyk](#): > > I find it terribly ironic that the advertisement that I see under the OP is for Fiji Water. Affordable luxury. Convenient water delivery. > > I’m still pissed that I had to spend $1.39 for an Aquafina in the cafeteria just so that I could have an empty bottle at my desk that I can fill up at the water fountain twice a day. Tastes the same to me. 😕 > [@mswas](#): > > Buy a different bottle. The cheap plastic degrades and isn’t good for you. Or you could do what I used to do; buy one of those sport bottles, fill it with water at home the night before and put it in the fridge to chill. I got one like [this](http://www.promopeddler.com/chiller/chiller-blue-sport-bottle-freezer-qqp240827.htm) with a freezer stick so it would stay cool longer. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/35 "2009-03-14T13:22:08Z")
I actually think this is a good thing. At least it’s an acknowledgment that just because juice isn’t soda doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to down it by the gallon. I see so many parents who would never hand their kid a 2-liter of soda encourage their kids to drink that much juice, not realizing that it has just as much sugar and calories. Like all things, juice is part of a healthy diet in moderation. I’d probably buy the individual sizes. I tend to water down my juice anyway, but thats not practical on the go. The large sizes do seem pretty silly though. As for the price. It’s all marked up. We pay waaaaaaay more than is reasonable for every single thing in the supermarket. Why worry about one more markup? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/36 "2009-03-14T14:53:11Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > Or you could do what I used to do; buy one of those sport bottles, fill it with water at home the night before and put it in the fridge to chill. I got one like [this](http://www.promopeddler.com/chiller/chiller-blue-sport-bottle-freezer-qqp240827.htm) with a freezer stick so it would stay cool longer. If **Tomczyk** is mad about paying $1.39 for one bottle, what makes you think he’s going to be happy to pay $570.56 for 72 of those bottles? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/37 "2009-03-14T15:00:52Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > But people wouldn’t be chugging this stuff straight from the big bottle, would they? Well, I guess some people would, but I’m sure most would use a cup. If so, they could easily do what I already do when I buy bottled juice – fill their cup partially with juice, then add water from the tap. There’s no reason to mess around with putting the juice into a pitcher. I guess I was thinking more of people who want to have something on hand for kids, and reduce their sugar consumption. Kids might not bother to dilute the juice. It still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. And your way has the benefit of leaving full-strength juice for those who want to drink that. This whole thing is making me realize that when you buy reconstituted bottled juice from concentrate, the amount of water is really arbitrary. Who’s to say what the optimal amount of water is? The amount that approximates what comes from the fruit? The amount that tastes best? No reason for those to be the same, necessarily. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/38 "2009-03-14T15:27:43Z")
> [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](#): > > This whole thing is making me realize that when you buy reconstituted bottled juice from concentrate, the amount of water is really arbitrary. Who’s to say what the optimal amount of water is? The amount that approximates what comes from the fruit? The amount that tastes best? No reason for those to be the same, necessarily. I’ve wondered this about one company that has marketed its juice as “100% juice”, unlike a major competitor that supposedly waters the stuff down. How did they determine the magic formula for 100% juice? Is it a secret like the formula for Coca-Cola? In another category of ripoff are the Magickal fruit juices that come from things like noni fruit, capable of curing your arthritis, preventing cancer and growing three-inch long hair on your arms. I adulterate Diet Coke with fruit juices (lately, things like pomegranate/cranberry mix). Mrs. J. thinks this is freaky. Do other people do this? > [@Turek](#): > > According to homeopathy, you can water (fruit juice) down infinitely and still get all the beneficial effects. According to homeopathy, you won’t get the benefits _unless_ you water it down to the point where there are no molecules of fruit juice left, just the “memory” of the fruit. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/39 "2009-03-14T17:22:16Z")
We’re also stupid enough to pay just 1 dollar less for 50/50 coolant and water mixtures. You can’t tell me that the bottle costs 8 or 9 bucks to make… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352/40 "2009-03-14T17:29:53Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I never get these types of rants. People like different things. The only way someone is getting ripped off is if the contents of the product are not disclosed, which is not the case here. > > If someone wants to buy a jar full of air for a dollar or a jar half-full of air for two dollars, then good for them. > [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I never get these types of rants. People like different things. The only way someone is getting ripped off is if the contents of the product are not disclosed, which is not the case here. > > If someone wants to buy a jar full of air for a dollar or a jar half-full of air for two dollars, then good for them. And if somebody posts twice the content with half the substance, nobody is forcing us to read it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-apparently-gullible-enough-to-pay-a-premium-for-watered-down-juice/489352.md?page=3)