Was looking in a dumpster at a construction site up the street and saw this....
Explain this one:
- Thread starter blume357
- Start date
Shrinkflation. Do it slowly and folks won't notice. I mentioned to my wife the the bars of bath soap we get are not only costing more, but are down to about 2/3's the size. But it's nothing new. Remember when ice cream came in an honest to goodness gallon size?
GypsmJim
GypsmJim
In a past life I developed a new type of readymix drywall joint compound. We increased the density in response to customer demands. As such, it would not fill the entire bucket. So, we had the bucket supplier slightly reduce the size so that the customer would not think they were getting short changed.
However, we did not sell a 5 gallon pail....we sold 50 pounds of compound. They still got 50 pounds. The price did not change. Actually, the change was overwhelmingly accepted because now the contractor was able to use less compound, which was a savings for them.
On a production line, buckets are on a scale and are filled by weight.
My guess is that SW made a process or product change and that was caused a short bucket. If they didn't, then its just another way of raising the price. If I was truly interested in learning about this I would try to find an old data sheet and compare the physical properties.
However, we did not sell a 5 gallon pail....we sold 50 pounds of compound. They still got 50 pounds. The price did not change. Actually, the change was overwhelmingly accepted because now the contractor was able to use less compound, which was a savings for them.
On a production line, buckets are on a scale and are filled by weight.
My guess is that SW made a process or product change and that was caused a short bucket. If they didn't, then its just another way of raising the price. If I was truly interested in learning about this I would try to find an old data sheet and compare the physical properties.
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Cost goes up, size goes down. A "pound" of coffee shrank from 16 Oz to 13 to 12 and now I see 10.5 Oz. Like we didn't notice...
Started using AI to make labels, and it hasn’t learned to round-off yet?
Either shrinkflation, as Jeepnik said, or, possibly, when it used to say 5 gallons, you actually got 4 59/64, and they are just being honest about it now. Or, maybe, some government agency caught them and made them put the actual amount on there.
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Generic search....A 5-gallon pail of primer often contains less than 5 full gallons—to allow room for tinting, mixing, and preventing spillage during transport, a common industry practice. This ensures that when pigments are added, the volume does not exceed the container's capacity, while still being marketed as a standard 5-gallon unit.
At least they are being truthful....
At least they are being truthful....
Terry Morgan
Single-Sixer
Wal-Mart cashier told me Wal-Mart doesn't use pennies now. The amount you pay is rounded UP or DOWN..
Well, at least you know exactly what you are paying for.
protoolman
Service-Sixer
Maybe it just got translated from a metric amount?
Reminds me of when A&W brought out a 1/3rd pounder to market against Micky D's quarter pounder. Didnt fly because folks thought it was less than the quarter. Perception is a huge part of marketing.
OP
I was thinking some California lawyer actually measured the amount in the bucket and sued Sherwin Williams... and that is the reason for the change....
the post above about having a bit less so that pigment can be added sounds about right to me.
the post above about having a bit less so that pigment can be added sounds about right to me.
So close to 4-15/16. Guess that remaining 1/64 was the deal-breaker. 
I'd like to see the production line equipment that can fill that accurately.
I'd like to see the production line equipment that can fill that accurately.
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My 1st wife's mother had a 220 gallon fuel oil tank for her furnace. I saw her oil bill on the kitchen table and I was amazed to see that she supposedly had 238 gallons of oil delivered. I mentioned it to her and she said that I didn't know what I was talking about.
I showed her a chart and she still wouldn't believe me.
You can't convince some people that they are getting ripped off.
I showed her a chart and she still wouldn't believe me.
You can't convince some people that they are getting ripped off.
add to it that a fuel supplier usually only fills to 80 or 85% of the tank
GypsmJim
GypsmJim
It is truly a sight to see. Continuous QC tests show that it is accurate to a fraction of an ounce. What is truly amazing is the speed at which it is all done.I'd like to see the production line equipment that can fill that accurately.
I started my career as a paint chemist in 1971 and it amazes me how technology has matured (think Elon landing a rocket back on the launching pad!)
I was just reading about Yuri Besmenov and how he said when the Soviet propaganda strategy vs the US was successful, this is how people would be. You could show them numerous facts to back a point they didn’t believe, and it wouldn’t sway them. Only a severe dose of physical pain might convince them otherwise (he cited a military boot crushing your testicles as a possible example).
A 275 gallon tank has a working capacity of 250 gallons. I had a part time job delivering fuel oil and when the alarm whistle stopped I would shut off the flow to the tank. A 220 gallon tank like my mother in law had would hold 200 gallons.
I figured out what was happening, the driver had a friend stop just around the corner from her house and fill a 55 gallon drum on his pickup truck. He might have gotten away with it if she had a 275 gallon tank but he didn't realize what size tank she had.
They also convinced her that she had a cracked combustion chamber on her furnace and that it needed to be replaced. I was going in for cancer surgery the day after they red tagged her furnace. I told the company that they were crooked but she still bought a new furnace that was half the quality of the one they replaced.
reuben_j_cogburn
Buckeye
I have 5 gallon water jugs that warn about the danger of overfilling........ 
Legally, the roundup is on (or off) the total, not each item. This was on some news years ago when the proposal of dropping pennies resulted in copperplated zink planchettes.
cleg
Bearcat
Unfortunately this will become straight across the board. Some places will still except pennies. Hold onto hair cause nickels are next on the chopping block. Cost of making nicely is like $2+ each to make them so. It is just matter of time before they disappear. I honestly feel that it just a way for hov to push everyone into constant digital money. I know it far reaching, but now after all this time coins are a problem to make yet spending billions everywhere else isn't.
Terry Morgan
Single-Sixer
The US dropped the half cent in 1857. It wasn't being used much anymore. I'm surprised the penny lasted this long.
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Chick-Fil-A rounds down. I assume it's for the final total. I only buy one breakfast sandwich! Burger King just doesn't say anything and if you have cents coming in change, they just don't give them to you!
Learn something new each day. Didn't know they made a fuel tank that size. Most al I have seen were 275 or larger.
MY WALMART TRIED THIS. THEY ROUNDED UP. I SAID HELL NO !
I HAD THE EXACT CHANGE.
ROUND DOWN OR DON’T ROUND AT ALL.
MANAGER CAME OVER AND BEEPED THE REGISTER
IT ROUNDED DOWN.
cleg
Bearcat
Well its only going to get worse. Rounding up or down depending on where the number five in the center dept hits. Unfortunately pennies being phased out is only the beginning. The nickel is next costing over $2 per nickel to produce them. I wonder how long before lose change is phased out completely and digital currency is implemented just like they want with all the bells and whistles that go with it. 100% control of you entire life.
The cost of minting currency should not even be considered...unless the purpose of the exercise is the elimination of currency entirely...which is the actual purpose. They could mint currency from Zamak, and it would still cost money to make the money. They are using the cost of minting currency to justify the digital dollar...in baby steps...and as you say:
"100% control of you entire life"
Not sure where you got that production cost from tho
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