Thread: Halloween candy disappointment

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I had to do a little grocery shopping today, so I picked up a bag of the "fun size" Baby Ruths for my trouble. When I picked up the bag, my initial impression was it felt light, so I grabbed another bag, same thing. Figured it was just me. When I got in the car I decided to have one or three, and when I grabbed one, it just didn't feel right. I swear, they're easily 15-20% smaller than they used to be, and even on sale that stuff just isn't cheap these days. Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed the candy is smaller?

The price of chocolate has gone WAY up in the last couple of years. The regular price of candy bars is up to 85 cents in the stores, and it used to be 50 cents just two or three years ago. Now, I'm getting the candy bars on SALE for 50 cents. As a result, all of our candy is going to be getting smaller, or they will put less in a bag so they can still offer us a good price.

I dip chocolates for Christmas, and I'm afraid that the dipping chocolate is going to be SO much more expensive than it used to be. I'm starting to wonder if my neighbors I give them to are worth it!

Check for coupons and sales...I just picked up 40 full size hershy bars for free....and I have 80 m&ms full size that were also free...you just have to watch the sales and go to stores that double coupons...my stores sold them 2/$1.00 and my coupons were .50 (doubled = FREE)

We just noticed the same problem last week when we started our candy shopping (little bit, every week). Bags that were once one pound each have shrank to 10-11oz over the last few years. Our local grocery chain has most 2/$5, but we're getting less than ever.

I also remember reading earlier in the year that the price of chocolate has gone up, no doubt in part to the unrest in Ivory Coast where most cocoa is produced.

It used to be so much easier, but now I find myself doing quick math in my head, comparing prices and how many ounces per bag.

Originally Posted by pumpkinpie

Check for coupons and sales...I just picked up 40 full size hershy bars for free....and I have 80 m&ms full size that were also free...you just have to watch the sales and go to stores that double coupons...my stores sold them 2/$1.00 and my coupons were .50 (doubled = FREE)

Gawd, I wish! We don't get deals like that around here lol. Best deal I'll ever get is a coupon for $1 off 3 bags, and if I get the candy at a 2/$5 sale, I'll pay $6.50 for those 3 bags.

I think a lot of food vendors are keeping the prices the same while reducing volume....helps keep their profit margin up now that many ingredients are costing more....

@ MissMandy...scope out gas stations...you will often find tear pads with coupons for at least .50 off 2 (full size candies) snag what you can and then wait for a sale...also if you do get coupons on bags of candy...check at Target.com for corresponding coupons...they will let you stack manuf. coupons with Targets printable coupons and you can save big...its just a matter of hunting out the coupons It's hard to get into the coupon thing but you can save a fortune...trust me I have over 10K in cleaning products (home and body) currently in my home and I probably paid less than $200 for it all (excluding the newspapers). I think I have left extreme couponing and headed right on over to HOARDING

Originally Posted by pumpkinpie

@ MissMandy...scope out gas stations...you will often find tear pads with coupons for at least .50 off 2 (full size candies) snag what you can and then wait for a sale...also if you do get coupons on bags of candy...check at Target.com for corresponding coupons...they will let you stack manuf. coupons with Targets printable coupons and you can save big...its just a matter of hunting out the coupons It's hard to get into the coupon thing but you can save a fortune...trust me I have over 10K in cleaning products (home and body) currently in my home and I probably paid less than $200 for it all (excluding the newspapers). I think I have left extreme couponing and headed right on over to HOARDING

LOL am I gonna see you on TLC's show? I coupon, to a certain point. Around here, the best deals are in the drug stores (CVS, Rite Aid, etc). I've purchased Dove bodywash for men for .50 a bottle and once the store paid me to buy toothpaste Only one grocery store around here doubles their coupons (only up to .99) But still, the sales aren't super fabulous. Ex: They had Betty Crocker Supreme brownie mixes on sale 2/$5 . I had a coupon for .50 off 2 boxes, in which they doubled that to $1.00. So, I ended up paying $4.00 for 2 boxes. That's a regular sale! LoL

I am trying to stay away from the candies this year since I have been sick in the hospital and I at this moment had lost 34 pd. i want those 34 pd to stay away.

I caught a $4 off per box of 30 full size bars coupon at BJ's 2 months ago, and asked everyone I knew if I could get their coupons as well. It brought the price of 30 bars down to about $9, or 30 cents a bar, which is a GREAT price. The challenge has been not to crack open the 4 boxes I bought and start eating the candy for the ToTers!

I do home made truffles for the holidays every year. Last year the price of couverature chocolate was OUT OF SIGHT expensive (3x what I used to pay). It doesn't appear to have gone down at all since then. The only saving grace here is that I scored another great buy at the local super market on "leftover" baking bits (raspberry chips, york peppermint chips, toffee chips, etc...) at $0.25 per bag. I use these for the various truffle fillings. I swear the super market people must be incredibly stupid. Those baking bits have a five or more year shelf life, yet they get them in for the holidays and close them out right after the holidays, when they aren't even six months old!

Craig