Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Read The Fine Print

Here's an example of a 'deal' gone wrong. I was at Big Lots the over-stock store and I looked at their selection of toilet paper to find the best deal. I didn't want the cheapest quality and I want a good price. I use the stuff a lot for blowing my nose and also to remove make-up, etc... so I usually keep a roll by the sink. I picked up a big package and headed to the cash register. While I was standing in line I saw a display for Charmin toilet paper which is typically a nice paper, and it was a cheaper price. I put mine back and picked one out of the display.


I've been using the stuff for a month now and I finally realised that it is thin, one-ply tissue. Not at all what I expected from Charmin. I looked closely at the package and saw the word 'Basic'. Hmmm. In tiny print at the bottom were the words 'one-ply'. Gee, I didn't know Charmin even had a one-ply toilet paper. I guess that is why they were on sale at Big Lots. I bet this one-ply version was not very popular. I certainly wouldn't have bought it if I had realized it.

Well, lesson learned. Sometimes a good price is too good to be true and always read all of the label.

6 comments:

the weakonomist said...

The package says it. Their qualities are differentiated by color. Blue = best, red = good, yellow = crap. Looks like they were able to pull you in on brand recognition alone.

It might still be useful for makeup, but I can't speak from experience. I'm a red guy myself.

Over the Cubicle Wall said...

One ply toilet paper is a curse on humanity.

Daizy said...

Wow, weakonomist, I never noticed the different colors for quality. I think my regular grocery store only carries the good stuff. Not enough shelf space for all of those choices. I'll have to look next time.

Over the Cubicle Wall, I know! If I wanted one-ply I would buy Scotts. This is probably too much info but I don't flush my paper just so I can use the good stuff in the RV. I hate one-ply and camping TP.

Saver Queen said...

Oh, I hate it when you try to get a good deal and it doesn't work out!

I calculate the cost of toilet paper by the roll, and then consider the quality to make my purchase. I really don't think most people put as much thought into their toilet paper as I do!

Big Sis said...

I remember someone saying that the first thing everyone does with toilet paper is fold it in half, thereby making their own ply-ness to their liking. And I remember some crazy frugal person who actually spent time SEPARATING the plys of his 2-ply toilet paper to get more use out of it (they including a picture of him and his kids unrolling it onto a pencil).

But wow, I had no idea that Charmin's packages had color codes. I knew they had red and blue colors but I never knew they MEANT something. Ha ha ha I have never seen yellow Charmin! It's probably the cheap hotel stuff or something. The useful stuff I learn in your blog and comments...

Daizy said...

Saver Queen, I have heard of people who do that. I am impressed. I often wish I had a calculator with me when I am trying to figure out the best deal because they refuse to use the same units of measure. So annoying.

Big Sis, I'm a scruncher not a folder. Yet no amount of scrunching makes one-ply soft :( Seperating 2 ply is just odd. If you are going to do that you might as well just use cloth wipes and re-wash! I too am fascinated with my new knowledge of the Charmin color code. I need to go to the store and check it out!