What is a deceptive package? And what does the unit price give away?
A deceptive package looks just like before but has less inside. Rocky loosely stuffs a sack with hay and puts a sign in front of it: SAME PRICE. The scale shows four kilos instead of five. The unit price gives it away: it tells you what one kilo costs, so you can compare big and small packages. You’ll find it at home on flour, rice or juice, too. Most of the time, nobody reads it.
Good to know: we explain how things work in Germany, where the books are set. Rules and numbers can be different where you live.
How the guinea pigs explain it in Volume 5: Everything Costs More!
Does a higher price automatically mean more profit?
No. Ina runs the numbers for Knut: A price is not just a number. A price is a calculation. A sack of hay used to cost him €4.20, he added an 80-cent markup and sold it for €5.00. Now the sack costs him €5.10. At €5.00 he would lose money on every sack. The new price is €5.90, and the 80-cent markup is still 80 cents. Ina’s line: More expensive does not automatically mean greedier.
What is a deceptive package? Shrinkflation explained
A package that looks the same as before but has less inside. Rocky loosely stuffs a big sack with hay and puts SAME PRICE in front of it. The luggage scale shows four kilos instead of five. Filip sums it up: The same price is only the same if the same amount is in it. Knut explains what’s allowed: You can sell smaller sacks, but then it has to say so on them. If the sack looks the same as before even though there’s less inside, it’s fooling people.
What is a unit price?
The unit price tells you what one kilo costs, Ina explains. It makes big and small packages easy to compare, and at home you’ll find it on flour, rice or juice too. Most of the time, nobody reads it. Christian does the math: €5.90 for five kilos is €1.18 per kilo. Rocky’s sack, €5.00 for four kilos, costs €1.25 per kilo. So the same price is more expensive than the expensive price.
- The same price is only the same if the same amount is in it.
- Smaller packages are allowed. Fooling people isn’t.
- The unit price tells you what one kilo costs. €1.18 versus €1.25: the same price is more expensive than the expensive price.
Grundpreis
unit price
In the books, every paragraph is in German with the English right below it. That way you pick up new words in both languages along the way.
Your turn: take the quiz
No account, no score, nothing gets saved. Just tap an answer.
1. €5.90 for five kilos or €5.00 for four kilos: which is cheaper per kilo?
2. Is Knut allowed to sell smaller sacks?
3. Does a higher price automatically mean more profit for Knut?
Volume 5: Everything Costs More!
Why prices go up and the same money buys less later on. For kids ages 10 and up, bilingual German and English, 90 pages, illustrated in full color throughout.
