Monday, January 23, 2012

Confusion Central

Cricket and Stacie won the copies of my upcoming Intrigue. I'll be in touch, ladies! Thanks for posting!

I spent the weekend trying to get all the Christmas decor packed, labeled and stored so that it's not still stacked in my living room. Yes, I said Christmas decor. Don't rush me; I'm busy. :) And besides, this is not, by far, the worst year. The worst year was the one where my brother came by to visit and carried my entire tree, decorations and all, into the garage....in May.


So I was doing some catch-up shopping also as you can tell I'm behind on everything and I've decided I am quite confused. By toilet paper. Whatever happened to those big packs you could get at Walgreens 2 for $10? Yes, I know, inflation and all that and technically, they've got you over a barrell, because well, toilet paper is sorta necessary for most folks.

But now, it's like selecting the best piece of confetti out of a trash bag full of it.

I can even narrow it down by brand - I've always liked Charmin - but that doesn't get me any closer to the best bargain for the money. They have all this used car salesman stuff going on - 36 double rolls equals 72 rolls, 20 extra padded rolls equals 32 regular rolls, and on and on and on.

I look at the packaging and try to figure out the logic of breaking the price down by roll and there's not any. Sometimes, it appear that the exact same roll of toilet paper may differ in price by a dollar. WTH?

So I'm making a suggestion to toilet paper manufacturers - price toilet paper by the foot. Feet are easily compared. And no one foot equals two foot plus a club foot nonsense. Just tell me how many feet of toilet paper I get in a package and let me do simple math.

Anyone who hasn't Liked my Facebook author page, please do so. I'm going to do giveaways there and want all my readers to have chances to win.

Today, I'm going to give away two copies of my upcoming February Harlequin Intrigue release to two blog posters. So post a comment with your email for a chance to win a copy of THE LOST GIRLS OF JOHNSON'S BAYOU.

Deadly DeLeon

19 comments:

Jenn said...

LOL, I know exactly how you feel. I went to the store yesterday, picked up two four-packs of Scott and when I got home I realized that $3.29 each was NOT a good deal. At almost $1 a roll, you gotta be kidding me. I was just so excited to see some at this store (it's a discount store and usually only have their brand, which is so thin you use twice as much). I guess next time I'll need to bring my calculator. :)

Anonymous said...

Too funny! Your post reminds me of a scene in the movie Father of the Bride with Steve Martin. He throws a fit in the grocery store because he believes the hot dog people and the hot dog bun people are conspiring against the consumer. Hot dogs were sold in packs of 8 while buns were sold in packs of 6.

I do agree with your insights on TP though. It does seem the price is going up while the roll size is shrinking.

geishasmom73 AT yahoo DOT com

Rebekah E. said...

That is funny. That is the one product I will stock up on when I think I find a good sale.

rockinspike(at)q(dot)com

Jana DeLeon said...

Jennifer - but was it the double roll? That darn thing doesn't even fit on the holder. :(

Jana DeLeon said...

Stacie - SM is absolutely correct on that one. That conspiracy has always been in place.

Jana DeLeon said...

Rebekah - but how do you know it's a good sale? Seriously, any tips are appreciated. :)

catslady said...

lol It's amazing how much time I spend trying to figure out the best prices - add a coupon into the mix to make it even more complicated and of course they do it on purpose so you can't figure it out. And the first thing they do is make the size smaller and then they raise the price!

Jana DeLeon said...

catslady - exactly! You see the word "sale" and think maybe it's a good deal, but then it's a dollar less on regular price at a different store. The package is blue and not red, but it looks like the same thing.

It's simply exasperating.

Cricket said...

When I'm feeling *really* industrious and on top of my game, I compare the square footage. (It's in microscopic print at the bottom of the front usually.) But lately I just don't have the time or the energy. Just another example of the man keepin' us down.... :)

Jane said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jane said...

They do the double roll stuff with the paper towels, too. I remember not too long ago when you could get four rolls for a dollar.

janie1215 AT excite DOT com

Jana DeLeon said...

Cricket - I've already unpacked and stored all the rolls I bought last time, but next time, by God, I'm going to bring my glasses and look for that square footage number!

Thanks!

Jana DeLeon said...

Jane - yep, I accidentally bought the double roll paper towel one time and it took weeks before we'd used enough that it fit on the paper towel holder. What is the point, I ask you?

G Cochrane said...

Hi Jana- Loved both of your earlier Intrigues.

As for the TP issue, it has been a noted in this household. The TP manufacturers have made the inside tube bigger around, and the width narrower. Like someone stated earlier they don't fit right anymore. I don't enjoy playing the retail game with them, but like you said we don't have much choice.

Jana DeLeon said...

Gayle - those bastards. I knew something was up. Don't get me wrong, my memory is horrible, but I didn't think it was that off. Glad to know I'm not losing it. :)

Whalehugger said...

Charmin is nice but I tend to go for Angel Soft. Just as good and tends to be a bit cheaper. Also go looking for the store putting them on sale.

kagashi AT fmtc DOT net

Heather said...

My peeve is when a store makes you buy a certain number of one item --or make you buy an item in conjunction with another (often an iten you don't like/use/want)-- in order to get the sale price. I mean, if it's five boxes of cereal I like for $10? Yeah, I'll probably buy it, because it will last a while. But when it's something like buy 5 jars/cans/packages of a product you maybe only buy once or twice a year in order to get the really super low sale price? And especially if it's perishable? Sooo not worth it.

Jana DeLeon said...

Whalehugger - is it just as good, really? Because I do see it on sale sometimes. Hmmmm might have to try it. :)

Jana DeLeon said...

Heather - I agree. I avoid those sales because I'm inconsistent, at best, on using lots of product (except paper towel and toilet paper) and I hate waste.