It's almost like we could start an completely separate blog dedicated to Target pricing.

Probably a merchendising error by a member of staff, putting the 16oz+16oz bottle in the place of the 32oz bottle. Those shelf tickets are for different SKUs, the 16oz+16oz freebie would of course have the same SKU as the plain old 16oz bottle, and scan as such at 4.84.

I've seen this sort of thing all the time, replenishment staff do it because it allows them to clear off a box when there's no space for the product. It's just laziness.

There was an old New Yorker cartoon that showed a store manager talking to a customer and standing next to some stack of widgets. The price was marked, "10¢ apiece or two for 25¢."

Manager: "You wouldn't believe how many people buy two!"

Maybe it was just an honest mistake, that's it, nothing more.

I was buying Target's knockoff of Tums & the 96 tablet bottle was cheaper per tab than the much bigger bottle, around 170 tabs in that bottle.
Those Minnesotans are all crooks!

When does this type of story become preaching to the choir. Perhaps consumerist could purchase a TV commercial that reiterates stories like this to the people who really need to hear it, as I think that the consumerist readers know how to avoid this pitfall.

Well, it is alcohol free, so maybe the "Bonus 100% More Free" just means the "bonus" product is also alcohol free, er actually, more alcohol free than the original half.... umm... right... Sorry, Target. I tried.

I'd want to see if the UPCs on the back of the two bottles matched. If the UPCs match it doesn't matter what the label on the shelf says - the larger bottle will ring up as 16oz.

@Sockatume: Agreed.

Although maybe not even laziness. I mean, the bottles that *usually* go there would be just about that size, right? ;)

That might confuse me if I were a stocker.

I've seen a double-pack of Nyquil at Walmart years back that cost more than 2 single bottles the same size. Just goes to show that no matter where you go, you gotta pay attention.

This happened to me the other day with Listerine at Duane Reade. The 1.5L bottle said "50% more - more value for the same price as 1L" but was on the shelf for $8.99 next to the 1L's for $5.99. I tried to talk to the manager about it but his response was, "You get more, you pay more." Even after showing him the label and everything. He claimed that it was more expensive because it was a larger bottle and that it wasn't supposed to be the same price as the one liter. GAH! Luckily it rang up at $5.99 :)

@SunnyLea: At any other store, I would agree. Judging by Target's past behavior with "buy 1 get one" and "x% larger", I would actually bet against this hypothesis.

Or next week it could cost less than the regular version - this *is* Target we're talking about here

@Sockatume: I'm pretty sure these two items would have different UPC'S. Usually bonus sizes like this are a temporary promoton, therefore, the bar code cannot be the same as the standard product.

ARHHHHHHHHHHHH !

@DJBS77: These kind of stories are a running joke now, they pop up every other week, and the regulars get a giggle out of it. I doubt if target is actually maliciously setting prices to confuse people.

Target: The Best Schizophrenic Store You Will Visit Today.

It smells like Crest is also to blame here. If this is really supposed to be the 16oz bottle with 100% extra, it should have the same UPC as the regular 16 oz bottle, and therefore it would ring up the same through the scanner. Unless TGT cashiers are instructed to treat it differently, there's nothing they could do to change the price.

So I'm guessing Crest is enabling this abuse by giving the "Not 16 but 32 oz" bottle a different UPC than the regular 16 oz bottle.

I don't like it when different sizes or brands of similar products have their price per unit in different units. If I'm comparing toilet paper, why can't all products be in price per sheet, or square inch, or whatever?

@mbz32190: Agreed, bonus sizes almost always have a different UPC codes than the non-bonus item. At the store level, they should resolve to the same SKU in the store's system, but nothing's stopping them from pricing it as a seperate product.

I'm willing to believe it's a stocking error. Even when the boxes have pick-tickets on them with the store's SKU's to help the stockers stock in the right location, I'm sure a lot of people just put it out where they think it goes in the interests of speed.

@Raekwon: A parallel universe, one might say...

@wargames2007: But that would ruin the joke for all of us. Plus....Target is well known 'round these parts for silly pricing mistakes like this.

@Oddfool:

"Constant Vigilance!"

~Mad-Eye Moody

They're probably charging tax on the "free" product.

For example. One of my first jobs was in a gas station. If we had a two for one deal, the price would always be a little more than the single item, even though you get it for "free," which is because we had to charge tax on the "free" product.

I agree that it's just misshelved - if Crest is doing a limited run of a bonus size, then the 16+16, while it'll have a separate UPC from the 16, will still have to be cross-referenced with the 16 in Target's system to prevent inventory issues.

OP here:

I'll be in the area tomorrow and verify 100% on your suggestions. I'll check the UPC too to see if it is the same as the smaller bottle. I need to buy a new bottle anyway... maybe it'll be one of their special "deals".

@TylerJ: Tax is usually taken in to account at the register.

@TylerJ: I don't think a store is supposed to do that. I'm not sure if a free item should be charged tax or not (some stores do, some don't) but if you are supposed to pay sales tax, the sales tax should be charged to the customer. And if sales tax is not supposed to be collected, well then sales tax shouldn't be collected at all.

I think stores have to specify how much sales they have, and thus how much tax they have to pay - so if they did raise the price to cover the sales tax on the free product, it mixes up sales with taxes, which I'm pretty sure is a no-no.

I think stores raise prices on buy one, get one and bonus items because they can. Most people will just see the deal and go for it.

Walmart in my part of the world (Phoenix AZ) have begun this sort of pricing. Today a pound of frozen vegetables was 97¢, and the 2 lb bag was $2.28. I've seen other examples in WM besides this one lately.

@Carlee: Some states require that sales tax be paid on the full value of a product, BEFORE any discounts. If you read the fine print of many instant rebates/discounts of major chains, you should see something about sales tax may be charged at the full price before any discounts....

I think you should just go to the checkout and pay the 4.84 price for it. Anyone buying this it buying a 16oz bottle (the rest is free) and should demand to pay that price. Whatever price they might have on 32oz bottles is not an issue since you arent buying one.

I had a problem similar to this at Target. I had a coupon for a few dollars off a 10 oz bottle of contact lens solution. The bottles were 20 percent more free so they were now 12 oz (it was marked on the packaging with 10 oz plus 2 oz free). The cashier wouldn't give it to me because the bottle wasn't 10 oz.

@Oddfool: Same goes for Degree deodorant. A lot of places I go seem to like to charge more for a two-pack than for individual sticks.

Crest bungled this with the word FREE on the front highlighted in yellow . But who is responsible for giving you the free stuff Target or Crest ?

@Sockatume: I think your right the Target people put a newer 32 oz bottle in an older slot . If Crest uses the same UPC number then Crest should pay the difference because that's a labeling error on their part .

The only logic I can think of to justify the higher cost is thar you are paying for the larger bottle and not the liquid . The 1.15 is for the extra plastic .

@Raekwon: That's not right. I just bought some yesterday. The 16-ounce bottle was on sale for $3.99, but Crest upped the bottle size to 32 ounces (the "16 oz" is crossed out on the bottle, one of my favorite marketing ploys. As if implying that it was a last-minute bonus and they didn't have time to reprint the labels). I scanned it at one of those self scanners, and the 32 ounce was in fact $3.99, despite the 16 oz bottle being advertised.
That $5.99 looks Photoshopped. Why someone would do that I don't know, but I can attest that it is in fact $3.99.

@Carlee: As ShurggingGalt said below, some states require it, as is the case where I live. Probably should have mentioned that :p

I think most Target's have scanners you can use scattered around the store. Why not take both bottles and scan to see how they ring up?

I bought this last week, and the 32oz "100% more" bottle rings up at the 16oz price. The $5.99 tag refers to the regular 32oz bottle. This photo is a combination of mixed up shelving at Target and confusing marketing by Crest.

@katstermonster: I wager it's more of a stocking mistake or a goof on Crest, than pricing. I've done freight and pricing both for Target in the past, and they frequently receive bonus size items from the vendor that not only goofs up the shelf plan by giving Target surprise changes in product size (a spacing nightmare), but making them too similar to other products they already carry. This is way more easily partially Crest's fault than Target's.

The bonus size (which very rarely, if ever, carries its own shelf label) almost always goes on the shelf in the same place the regular size does. Whoever stocked it probably just put it in the 32oz space without checking the product ID first, something overnight freight stockers are notorious for overlooking.