This makes sense! Why buy the cheaper bottle of stronger dandruff shampoo, when you can buy a smaller, pricier version of the same shampoo in a weaker strength? Such is the reasoning at Walmart, as witnessed by Consumerist reader Steve.

He snapped the photographic evidence of the dueling versions of Equate anti-dandruff shampoo while at Walmart, writing: “An 8.5 oz bottle of shampoo with 2.5% solution of active ingredients costs $3.44, while a 6 oz bottle with 1% active ingredient (labeled as ‘extra strength’) cost $4.47.”

The proof is in the pudding — the only difference seems to be that the “extra strength” (new!) version has a “gentle fragrance,” and is just labeled “coal tar” as opposed to the original formula’s “USP Topical Coal Tar Solution.” In either case, the coal used in both shampoos is medical grade, despite the difference in wording on the box.

Good luck selling that more expensive, weaker product, Walmart!

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