5 ms·

Honestly I've known about the story of the baby carrot and the whole "ugly" produce being unacceptable. But it also seems to apply to food packaging as well. I

Honestly I've known about the story of the baby carrot and the whole "ugly" produce being unacceptable. But it also seems to apply to food packaging as well. I have seen countless shoppers (myself included at times) avoid a box of say something like cereal that may have been dropped and the outer cardboard box dented or damaged in some way. Now I know it's highly unlikely that the actual product has been damaged (for something like cereal at least), but why do we do this? I feel 99% certain the product isn't damaged in any way but I always want to avoid the damaged box and go for the non-damaged box. Where did this "pretty" produce, "pretty" boxes, etc mentality originate?

eric_h 12y ago
You have two identical products, with the same price, next to each other on the same shelf. The box is damaged for one of them - it's the natural choice to choose the one that's not damaged in any way. Now, if the damaged one is a little bit cheaper, you'll probably have a greater chance of accepting the product with cosmetic damage over the more expensive, "perfect" product.
- jordan0day 12y ago
  I was just thinking -- if there was a way to somehow be able to offer instantaneous discounts on "damaged" products, supermarkets could probably avoid throwing away a lot of "damaged" goods. But then I realized people would just start damaging them themselves, in order to get the discount.
  - kbart 12y ago
    I've seen a lot of supermarkets doing just that. They simply place a sticker with new price to avoid the problem you described.
jeffwass 12y ago
There's something psychological about a product being in its clean and pure undamaged state. And it goes well beyond fruit. Even for products that get wear and tear through normal usage, it's somehow better if we're the ones who do that wear and tear. Eg, say you're at a book shop buying a paperback. If there are multiple copies you'll choose the one with the crispest cover and cleanest pages. Even though it'll get bent up and dirtied as you read it yourself anyway.
- sliverstorm 12y ago
  Given two identical products for the same price with different levels of wear, it's only sensible to chose the less-worn item. It will almost certainly last longer for the same money.
breadbox 12y ago
Similarly, appliance stores will sell you a refrigerator at half price if some of the paint got scraped off on one side in transit.
Steuard 12y ago
Sometimes that instinct serves us well, though. My understanding is that dented cans really can be dangerous: if the dent includes any level of break in the can's airtight seal (even something too small to see) then you're at risk for serious food poisoning. And even apart from illness, a badly dented box of (e.g.) corn flakes might well contain more than the usual amount of cereal crushed into dust. Rough handling can impact the quality of a lot of foods. So I don't want to cheer for waste, but I don't think it's fair to write off this heuristic as completely irrational, either.
WalterBright 12y ago
I didn't know the actual story, but I've long assumed that baby carrots were made from cosmetically blemished carrots. Just like I figure fruit juice comes from the less than perfect fruits.

eric_h 12y ago

You have two identical products, with the same price, next to each other on the same shelf. The box is damaged for one of them - it's the natural choice to choose the one that's not damaged in any way. Now, if the damaged one is a little bit cheaper, you'll probably have a greater chance of accepting the product with cosmetic damage over the more expensive, "perfect" product.

jordan0day 12y ago
I was just thinking -- if there was a way to somehow be able to offer instantaneous discounts on "damaged" products, supermarkets could probably avoid throwing away a lot of "damaged" goods. But then I realized people would just start damaging them themselves, in order to get the discount.
- kbart 12y ago
  I've seen a lot of supermarkets doing just that. They simply place a sticker with new price to avoid the problem you described.

jeffwass 12y ago

There's something psychological about a product being in its clean and pure undamaged state. And it goes well beyond fruit. Even for products that get wear and tear through normal usage, it's somehow better if we're the ones who do that wear and tear. Eg, say you're at a book shop buying a paperback. If there are multiple copies you'll choose the one with the crispest cover and cleanest pages. Even though it'll get bent up and dirtied as you read it yourself anyway.

sliverstorm 12y ago
Given two identical products for the same price with different levels of wear, it's only sensible to chose the less-worn item. It will almost certainly last longer for the same money.

breadbox 12y ago

Similarly, appliance stores will sell you a refrigerator at half price if some of the paint got scraped off on one side in transit.

Steuard 12y ago

Sometimes that instinct serves us well, though. My understanding is that dented cans really can be dangerous: if the dent includes any level of break in the can's airtight seal (even something too small to see) then you're at risk for serious food poisoning. And even apart from illness, a badly dented box of (e.g.) corn flakes might well contain more than the usual amount of cereal crushed into dust. Rough handling can impact the quality of a lot of foods. So I don't want to cheer for waste, but I don't think it's fair to write off this heuristic as completely irrational, either.

WalterBright 12y ago

I didn't know the actual story, but I've long assumed that baby carrots were made from cosmetically blemished carrots. Just like I figure fruit juice comes from the less than perfect fruits.