Purex pricing: Wal-Mart vs. Dollar General...a business model exposed

Yep, a post/rant about detergent shopping; sorry. If I still have your attention...

I noticed I was needing to buy detergent more frequently after switching to DG from WM for most of my cleaning goods and such. I made the switch primarily for convenience b/c it's far easier to get in and out of a DG than a WM. I thought I was spending about the same and in some cases saving money, exhibit 1 of the latter...Purex.

I was buying what I thought was the same size for a bit cheaper than at WM but I was emptying it quicker. I bought a bottle at WM and discovered that though the bottles are nearly identical in size, the WM version (on right in pic) is filled with 100 ounces while the DG version (left) is only 72 ounces. The former is good for 64 loads per the label and the latter is 46 loads. Ugh.

From a pricing standpoint, the WM bottle is $6.50 ($.0650/oz) and the DG bottle is $5.00 ($.0694/oz). Thus, I was paying more at DG plus had the inconvenience of having to shop more frequently...just what I was trying to avoid.

From DG's perspective I assume this is not by accident but a part of their business model. I got the perception I was getting a great value (i.e. saving time & money) but in reality I was paying more and shopping more and likely buying more than I would otherwise (e.g. impulse buys, while I'm here buys). All of this by having a manufacturer provide less product in the same size packaging as a competitor...brilliant...and I'm sure used many times over in many industries.

Next up...toilet paper...not all rolls are equal.
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I think it's like that at all stores though.

As far as toilet paper, I buy in bulk.

 

thats why you should look at "UNIT COST".

Its all the doing of marketers. what a bunch of dbags...

 

LOL...a member on one of the other car boards I frequent figured out they're also screwing us on toilet paper. Funny stuff.

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=324334

RMX

 

Nice! I skimmed thru it; love this one:

You should post a link to this thread over there so they know about the Great Purex Swindle at DG!

 

Yeah, I do that in the store when comparing like products and/or different sizes but didn't think there would be such a contents difference b/w packaging of basically the same size for the same product. The WM bottle has 39% more in it than the DG bottle. What a waste of plastic (and thus $)...where are the green police when you need them?!

 

Interesting they both say the have XX% more!

Interesting that the people who generally shop at DG are, on average, in a lower socio-economic strata vs Walmart (yes, and don't start), and this is a typical example of how businesses stick it to the poorest folks.

 

I'm just shocked that it is considered cost-effective to offer sizes that are so similar.

 

...a typical example of how businesses stick it to the poorest folks.

I disagree. DG costs of operation tend to be much higher per sq.ft. than WMT due to where they are situated and how they are structured. They are a convenience store, not a discounter.

 

Does DG commission Purex to sell in a different size or is it that DG just picked up on a smaller, now discontinued, bottle size? Heinz would change bottle size every so often for marketing purposes and the discounters would always end up with the leftovers.

 

The walmart bottle contains more, so of course its going to be cheaper. There are some instances when this isn't the case. But $0.0044/oz difference is hardly getting ripped off.

Furthermore the poor are more likely to live paycheck to paycheck so saving the $1.50 in the short term may be of value. Obviously not just the $1.50, but when compounding with all other purchases. Not necessarily good financial decision, but it may make sense.

 

Not a rip-off but my point is that I believe DG is intentionally selling a smaller quantity in a similar sized bottle to give the impression it is saving the buyer money, which it isn't. Yes, on a per oz basis it is small but if compare like amounts, say 100 oz like the WM bottle, then the impact is more evident...$6.50 at WM vs. $6.94 at DG...DG is ~ 6.8% more expensive.

 

^This makes sense.

Extreme example that may happen much more often than any of us care to think about:

When momma is trying to give junior clean clothes and a full belly, today, and only has $7 in her pocket, Wal Mart may as well be Macys.

If she only had $5 in her pocket, she might do well to hit the "everything's a dollar" store, where the per oz price might be even higher. But for another night, the kid has something to eat and goes to school with the dignity of clean clothes.

Did you also know that senior citizen discounts, student discounts, and military discounts aren't out of the kindness of the business owner's heart? I think it might have been a post by Mike SRT or Yin that helped me come to that realization.

 

thats right. but they marketed as a discounter.
Lets all agree not to talk about biz sticking it to the poor. Its way to political.

 

If DG is a convenience store this is more an effort of the marketer to provide less for more in the hopes you're not really paying attention. They want the impulse purchase and believe that most won't go to the trouble of posting this rip off on places like F-chat It's more the doings of the crafty marketers at the Dial Corporation and catering to DG, to encourage customers to not differentiate where they buy their Purex(hey, looks the same?) even though they're getting jipped at DG. Dial I'll bet gives Wallymart a better price even though it's more product.

 

I don't think Dial gives them a better price, but doing business with Wally World means you sell at a price that WM wants to pay.

 

Wally World has such a huge buying power that they tell manufacturers what they will pay and it is up to the manufacturer to cave in to the pricing if they want to get the Wally business. Wally can go to Suavitel, Clorox or any number of other manufacturers. And if you will notice, many of the newer lower priced items are being manufactured in Mexico......Especially for the 99cent Only Stores.

I see it everyday because I work in the retail grocery business. Read the tags with the cost per ounce or unit price on it. That is the only way to save. Just because something comes in a big container does not mean it contains as much as it looks. Look at the larger appearing boxes of cereal for example. This will have larger outside dimensions but the box is thinner and actually contains fewer ounces........What appears to be a 15 or 16 ounce box is actually a 12.8 ounce box if you read the label........

Buy the store brand if possible. It is always cheaper than the national brand and is probably manufactured by the national brand anyway. The cost of a Kroger, Albertson, Safeway, Buddys, Vons or one of the other supermarket chains item will be less expensive than the national brands. Part is because the advertising of the store brands can be spread over the entire range of products offered. For the national brand to advertise, their cost is aimed directly at the item they are advertising. Frito advertises Fritos, Coke advertises Coke, Sara Lee advertises Sara Lee. The big supermarket or discount store advertises all these and many more and can spread the cost out. Thereby lowering their cost of advertising and can consequently lower the price being charged per item............

 

There's more money spent from the manufacturer on the package and shipping costs than in the actual material inside.

Always buy in bulk if you want to save money. That's how people like Sam's and Costco sell cheaper (that and taking shorter margins to promote volume sales).

 

I figured out the toilet paper scam years ago. FWIW, it also depends if you are a "wadder" or a "folder" as well, when evaluating usage patterns.

The thing that really pisses me off is the "bag of air" scam you often encounter when paying potato chips or taco chips. They are sold by net weight in our market.......so one bag of chips will have 65 grams and be the same size as a bag with 54 grams, due to the added air and same size of the bag the lighter amount product is packaged in. Which incidentally, is priced a little less, and has the net weight printed in almost impossible to find, and read, text on the bag.

 

I shop only on Unit Price. Total cost is meaningless today. I have also noticed that Walmart has exclusive product sizing. For example.... Mobil1 oil. Walmart is the only store that sells it in 5-quart jugs. Everywhere else sells 4-quart jugs that look nearly identical for the same (or higher) cost. When you start looking at unit pricing, it really is hard to beat Walmart on most common items.

Markets are also great at misleading you through packaging. The classic example is a bag of potato chips. Looks like a huge bag, until you open it and it's only half full.

EDIT: I see I was clearly too late with the potato chip example, haha

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110103-703824.html

All possible because they charge ME too much for Purex (and other items not yet discovered)!

 

Go easy on them.

The President is a client and his bonus has to be big enough to pay my bills.

 

Must be a hell of a flat bed charge. Aren't they based out of TN?

 

His office is in NY.

He commutes because he has no desire to live there.

 

That's a long way, but I'm sure he travels first class or better. Reminds me of the head of Saatchi advertising -- was a Kiwi based in Auckland who commuted to NYC instead of moving.