Here’s how toilet paper manufacturers are tricking you – don’t let their supply games wipe out your household budget

What a load of shit!

While the apocalyptic days of extreme toilet paper shortages may be behind us, the industry is still playing with supply and demand, a new report reveals.

Since 2020, what nature calls a necessity has been subject to wild price increases — and in subsequent years has been subject to serious contraction, analysts at LendingTree said.

Many brands are saving on the number of sheets, according to the number of crunchers. The analysis cited one culprit, Angel Soft, which minimized their output of twelve mega rolls from 429 sheets in 2019 to 320 this year.

Don’t be fooled by the price drop from $9.97 to $8.44, experts warn.

“Its price per 100 sheets increased from 19 cents to 22 cents, meaning consumers are paying 13.5% more per 100 sheets,” the report said.

The industry, which Vox calls “big toilet paper,” has also mastered BSing the techniques around sheet counting, especially overpacking.

Companies keep the dirty details where the sun doesn’t shine and push the illusion of value – instead of showing a more transparent cost breakdown that would show price increases.

“The consumer wouldn’t like that, so they all keep it a little dark,” Neil Saunders of consulting firm GlobalData told Vox.

Often, brands compare their size volumes to thin single-ply alternatives in the fine print.

Another dirty trick some stores do is to show the price per 100 sheets vs. the whole roll—similar to how snackers would have to determine the calories of an entire bag of chips versus the listed serving size.

“I really can’t think of any other category that is as confusing as toilet paper,” Saunders added.

The market also allows the industry to remove good customer practices, especially with Internet buyers.

Chuck Bell, a director of advocacy programs at Consumer Reports, said unit pricing is “directly mandated in only nine states,” while ten others do it voluntarily.

“It’s hard to compare products online for value for money.”

A former consumer protection attorney, Edgar Dworsky, doubled down that these toilet paper gimmicks are eroding consumer confidence.

“I switched to a bidet 10 years ago,” Dworsky said as he poo-poohed “the business of making you think you’re getting more.”

“It’s all a name game, it’s all a numbers game, and if you just don’t take that into account, you’re going to get bogged down.”