Thanks for finding that post. Foxy. That’s probably the answer there. Slimy stores counting on us not to be paying attention.
That plus the manufacturers reducing the amount in a standard package. Like the “16-ounce” cans that now contain 15 ounces.
The other thing that hasn’t been mentioned is the effect of volume buying BY THE STORE.
It may well be cheaper for the stores to buy the smaller cans, because they buy huge amounts of it. They probably buy much less of the large can.
I work for an electronic components distributor (think Radio Shack on a BIG scale). There are many times when bigger/bulkier/higher value parts are less expensive, because 100x as many of them get used. It’s cheaper for the company making the parts, it’s cheaper for the distributor, it’s cheaper for our customer.
I ran into a pretty blatant instance of this phenomenon when buying store-brand ibuprofen once. Each of the three available sizes had a really big yellow price sticker declaring the pill count and the price. It went like this:
50 tablets: $1.99
100 tablets: $4.99
200 tablets: $10.99
So, for the same number of the same pills of the same medicine, I could buy four little bottles for eight bucks, or one big bottle for eleven. Even two of the 100-count bottles was a better deal than the big bottle.