Subtle Ways Companies Trick Their Customers Without Them Knowing About It

Companies all around the world are constantly devising ways to make their customers spend more and more until they are down to their last cent. Their methods vary mainly in terms of efficiency and cost; some keep it simple, while others go overboard and are all up in your face.

When you are a loyal customer of a certain product, being told that the people who make your favorite item are cheating you and taking advantage of your loyalty is both heartbreaking and saddening.

The posts below expose some of the most common methods these companies use to deceive their customers, and some of them are quite sneaky.

1. "Turns out, some brands replace cotton in their 'tissue tees' with cheaper and much thinner synthetic fabric. Because of that, these t-shirts appear almost see-through."

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2. "According to Metro, last year, a man named William Knight happened across a 'vintage' 1996 Mars bar at the bottom of an old box in his loft."

After measuring the old bar against a modern-day one, the man was surprised by how much bigger the 'vintage' one was. Despite that, the price of the bar has more than doubled since then.Flying_Dutchmen

3. "Last year, someone on Reddit noticed that a 'Bigger Bag, More To Share' pack of Doritos actually contained the same amount of chips as the regular-sized pack."

'More air to share,' someone joked in the comments.AApickleAA

4. "At the beginning of this year, someone on Reddit noticed that Powerade was also affected by shrinkflation. Apparently, the original 32 oz bottles were downsized to 28 oz, but the price remained exactly the same."

putinmania

5. "Turns out, some bags of Lay’s potato chips contain fewer chips than others."

Lay’s regular 'Family Size' packs are 10 oz, but the company’s bags of flavored chips are 9.5 oz, yet both sell for the same price. According to the Associated Press, the difference is equivalent to approximately 5-6 chips.

Target

6. "Over the years, a Double Stuf Oreo pack has changed from being 16.6 oz to 15.35 oz and is still being sold for the same price."

Instacart

7. "Customers have noticed that over the years, many cereal brands have been reducing the amount of cereal they’re selling in a box while keeping the price the same."

Many brands have been making the boxes thinner, so at first glance, they appear to be the same size as they used to be.

ms.akr

8. "As you may know, a standard US pint is 16 oz. Apparently, some bars in the US practice 'short pouring' their customers by using glasses that are only 14 oz."

Since these glasses are the same size as the real ones, most customers tend not to notice it. These glasses are usually called 'falsies' or 'cheater pints.'Bernt Rostad

9. "For quite a while now, the length of toilet paper rolls has been shrinking."

Apparently, once upon a time, the standard size of a toilet paper roll was 4.5 inches by 4.5 inches. Fast forward to now, most rolls are a half-inch shorter than they used to be. Despite that, consumers are still paying the same price.WCPO 9

10. "Many well-known chocolate bars have been downsized over time, but their prices haven't changed."

For instance, a Twix bar is now about 14% smaller than it was in the past. Apparently, in 2012, Mars, Inc. (the makers of Twix) announced a 250-calorie cap on all single-serve chocolate bars, and as a result, many of their products have been downsized.Scouse Smurf

11. "Back in 2017, consumers started noticing that the size of family-size cartons of Tropicana had downsized by almost 9 percent. Despite the change, the price remained the same."

caroleluck

12. "For a long time, the clear glass cookware brand Pyrex was known for making fireproof glassware."

Ironically, a few years ago, the pans started exploding when they got too hot. Apparently, the manufacturer switched to a cheaper ingredient that strengthened the glass against being dropped but weakened it against thermal shock.Wikimedia Commons

13. "A month ago, a user on Reddit shared how they noticed that Hefty bag cartons went from containing 90 bags to containing 80. Despite that, the price stayed exactly the same."

wulkes

14. "Back in 2016, Toblerone announced they were altering the iconic design of their UK bars by adding bigger gaps between the mounds, which meant that the bars would contain about 10% less chocolate for the same price."

Apparently, the unfortunate change was due to an increase in the price of the ingredients. People weren't too happy about it, to say the least. Two years later, the company decided to bring back the original shape. Sadly, the price of the bar had to be raised as well.Wikimedia Commons

15. "In 2014, Coca-Cola reduced the size of their large bottle from 2 liters to 1.75 liters. However, the price remained the same."

Nan's SuperValu Ballymun

16. "In 2016, fans of Pringles started noticing that their beloved chips were now smaller."

In addition, some noticed that the tube itself also shrank, making it harder for some people to reach in. Despite that, the price stayed the same. 'Is this Pringles can getting smaller or is my arm getting fatter?' a consumer expressed on Twitter. The company explained that the reason behind these changes was that manufacturing shifted from the USA to Malaysia. 'The equipment we use in Malaysia is a bit different from our sister factory in the US... you’ll notice that both the chip and the can are a little smaller to fit with the production facility,' the company explained.CalamitytheKid