Can you instantly tell me which one is cheaper/better deal among these options?
A) 700 gm. @Rs.94/-, B) 1.5 kg @Rs.198/-, C) 3 kg @Rs.460/- with a free bucket, D) 4 kg @Rs.445/-.
The prices were taken from actual packets of a reputed detergent powder manufacturer for the same product. Unless you are doing your grocery shopping with a calculator in hand, or spending few minutes on mental calculation for each item, you cannot possibly know whether you are getting the best deals & savings. This will get even more complicated if you start comparing products of different brands, and this may happen for every product like detergent powder, shampoos, soaps, of different companies being sold in different weight/quantity/volume of packaging. Sometimes it is very difficult also to find the price/quantity details on the product packaging, you have to really search for it.
Sometimes companies will keep the size & shape of the packet/ bottle same but change the weight/ volume of the content inside for different product variants. You will find that in products like shampoos, lotions/ creams/ moisturizers, cornflakes packets, etc. Companies launch different variants of the same products, keep the price same, use the same sized packets/ bottles for packaging, but reduce the content inside.very difficult to find this if you don’t check the weight of the content.
And that’s not all the trouble we the consumers face while shopping. Try searching for the Expiry date of a product, many a times you have to really hunt for this information on the product packaging, sometimes after lot of searching you will find a note "Best before 15 months, please check below the crimp/top/bottom for Manufacturing date" - what nonsense.now you have to search again under the crimp for manufacturing date and add 15 months to it just to know the expiry date of a single product, and you have to buy 50 grocery items today!
Wait.the agony is not over yet for you. You buy an electronics/electrical appliance, food containers, or toys from a reputed brand only to discover later at home that somewhere in the packaging it was mentioned that the product is actually "MADE IN CHINA", and imported & marketed by your favorite brand! Now you have unpacked the product, partially destroyed the packaging, and may be have used the product also.hence, you cannot return it. You can only pray that the product doesn’t live up to the reputation of being a "Made in China" product and dies within 2 months, or doesn’t kill you with its toxic materials:). Sometimes to give you a bit milder shock, your favorite brand would mention that the product is "Made in PRC", some consumers may not figure out that PRC=People’s Republic of China:). This is a big problem nowadays, as many reputed Indian & foreign brands are actually selling "Made in China/PRC" products under their brand name, but quality remains a major issue.
THIS HIDE & SEEK PRACTICE MUST STOP:
Companies must not play these soft marketing/sales tactics with us. The game must be fair & transparent for us, we have a right to know everything about the product without searching for it. I recommend the following guidelines that I feel should be mandatory for all products sold in India:
Apart from actual price & quantity/volume of the product, price of per kilogram/litter/piece of the product must be mentioned. Like Price: Rs.170, Weight: 375 gram, Price per Kilogram: Rs.453.33/-. In the example of the price of the detergent powder above, you will notice that per kg. prices are different for different pouch sizes even for the same detergent powder of the same brand. A) 700 gm @Rs.94/-, price/kg. is Rs.134.28/- B) 1.5 kg @Rs.198/-, price/kg. is Rs.132/- C) 3 kg @Rs.460/- with a free bucket, price/kg. is Rs.153.33/-, hence, the bucket is not actually free! D) 4 kg @Rs.445/-, price/kg. is Rs.111.25/-. For products like teabags & diapers, price per piece should be mentioned. This will help us to clearly compare & understand the actual prices of each product even if the brand/weight/quantity/volume of the products are different for different products.
Very clearly mention the manufacturing date & expiry date together without any fuss.
Clearly mention in BOLD letters the country of manufacturing as this is a very crucial information.
Finally, all these information must be in a single place, not scattered around the product/packaging. And if the product has a removable packaging, like a shampoo bottle in a hard paper jacket, or a home appliance in a hard cardboard packaging, then all these information must be there in both places. I suggest that there should be a "Most Important Information Box" with bold outlines on every product. It should be of the size 1.5*1.5 inch for a soap or shampoo bottle, for very small packaging like a small Vaseline LipGuard tube, it should cover minimum 33% of the entire back side, and the box should be suitably big & clearly noticeable for bigger items like 5 kg detergent powder packet.
The "Most Important Information Box" should contain the below-mentioned 7 information in one place:
A. Actual weight/quantity/volume:
B. Actual Price in Rupees:(After discounts/offers, if any)
C. Price per kilogram/litter/piece:(If there is a discount offered by the company, then the calculation should be on the discounted price)
D. Manufacturing date:
E. Expiry date:
F: Country of Manufacturing:(If it is "Made in China", then write "Made in China", not "Made in PRC", use the most recognizable name of the country).
G: Any certification like ISI, ISO, Agmark, Energy Consumption Rating, etc.(If the product doesn’t have Govt. certifications like ISI, Agmark, then that should also be mentioned, like "Non-ISI" or "Non-Agmark" product, wherever applicable, we have a right to know that also).
Online shopping websites should provide all these information very clearly on the product details page. While buying an induction cooktop I found that online shopping websites are not providing Country of Manufacturing for any product, I emailed to 5-6 major online shopping websites for this information as I did not want a Made in China product no matter under what brand name it was being sold, but none could provide me that information. Later a salesman at Spencer’s store told me that almost all induction cooktops sold in India are re-branded Chinese products. I strongly believe this practice of marketing re-branded Chinese products under a trusted brand name is nothing but misuse of trust & goodwill and grossly unethical. And this is increasing day by day, the trend is certainly alarming.
Just below the "Most Important Information Box" detailed address of manufacturer and importer/marketer should be mentioned. Other details like product composition, attributes, hazards(if any), etc. should also be there. This will help us to take an informed decision while shopping. Only "Jago Grahak Jago" slogan is not enough, we must fight for our rights.
I am looking forward to your opinion/suggestion/feedback about this issue. Please also share your experience on this issue.