TPiR 10/2 A

[tvmitch]

Today, a contestant played "Now or Then" as the third game for some appliances. The "then" date was December 1999.

One of the grocery items on display was a set of Gladware with interlocking lids. The price listed was a "then" price (contestant got it wrong).

I would bet a stay in the iso room that this specific product was not available ten years ago with that specific feature. The product did not exist ten years ago; therefore, this game is unfair. Perhaps the interlocking lids feature means they're more expensive now, etc. Too many variables. It is akin to asking an October 2009 "now" price on Crystal Pepsi, or a December 1999 "then" price on a Sony Walkman. (they still make them apparently)

Not the first time I've seen this either, where current iterations of products are shown with a "then" price. To stay fair, this game should stick to simple products, like Milky Way bars, Pam cooking spray, and marshmallows.

Just sayin'.

[Clay Zambo]

I didn't see today's episode, but, y'know, this sort of thing made me wonder, too.  It seemed to me that one way to play the game was to look for products that weren't sold in the target year and call them "now."

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'tvmitch\' post=\'227450\' date=\'Oct 2 2009, 08:24 AM\']I would bet a stay in the iso room that this specific product was not available ten years ago with that specific feature. The product did not exist ten years ago; therefore, this game is unfair. Perhaps the interlocking lids feature means they're more expensive now, etc.[/quote]
I can verify that, but, as a satisfied user of said product, I can tell you with certainty that the design change on the lid did not change the price of the product one iota.

(By your own argument, incidentally, none of the products you've suggested are "fair", either, because I promise you that the size of the candy bar. bag of marshmallows, can of cooking spray, whatever, has changed in the last ten years. In fact, I would say, good luck finding ANY "fair" products.)

[Neumms]

I'm surprised Gladware has been around that long, period. I wonder if the premise would be better on bigger prizes, like the price of a Broyhill dining room set. Or they could can it and make the "Price Was Right" deal from Dougie's version into a one-player pricing game.

[CJBojangles]

Another strategy commonly seen is applying a "Now" price to a product with the word "New!" right on the package.

I haven't seen a product like the Glad containers with "New" on the package and a "Then" price in quite some time, if ever. If I was running the show, I definitely wouldn't have selected them for use.

Then again, I also know that the game always uses 4 "Nows" and 2 "Thens", so I had the game won as soon as she knocked off half the board.

[tvmitch]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'227452\' date=\'Oct 2 2009, 11:45 AM\']I can verify that, but, as a satisfied user of said product, I can tell you with certainty that the design change on the lid did not change the price of the product one iota.[/quote]
Fair enough...I don't buy the things, and I just assumed it was a more expensive feature to the existing product...not something that comes standard in Gladware, etc. I did some Google and could not find an intro date for the product. It's hard to believe Gladware is 10 years old, FWIW.

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'227452\' date=\'Oct 2 2009, 11:45 AM\'](By your own argument, incidentally, none of the products you've suggested are "fair", either, because I promise you that the size of the candy bar. bag of marshmallows, can of cooking spray, whatever, has changed in the last ten years. In fact, I would say, good luck finding ANY "fair" products.)[/quote]
Yes, I realize that as I wrote; however, I think there's a broad line here. The vast majority of staple products have undergone package shrink in recent years, but the price has remained the same or increased, not decreased. A 1999-era half gallon of ice cream is comparable to a 2009- 48 or 56 ounce container today.

Some products improve and/or transform over time, and it's exactly those products that should not be used for this game. "Now & Then" should be played with the most "regular vanilla" products in the grocery store. Regular Pam cooking spray, regular Bounty paper towels, regular Arm & Hammer baking soda. Not Light Pam with olive oil flavor, Select-a-size Bounty paper towels with flowers and teddy bears on them, or Arm & Hammer refrigerator freshener disc things.

My fear is that the staff are picking random items from their inventory and applying rough inflation calculations to the prices to obtain the "then" levels, which is unfair in the very least. And if that's how the game has worked from the beginning, so be it, but I don't think this is true.

[rjaguar3]

[quote name=\'tvmitch\' post=\'227460\' date=\'Oct 2 2009, 01:14 PM\']My fear is that the staff are picking random items from their inventory and applying rough inflation calculations to the prices to obtain the "then" levels, which is unfair in the very least. And if that's how the game has worked from the beginning, so be it, but I don't think this is true.[/quote]

According to golden-road.net, the "Then" prices are found by Kathy Greco, who goes through old newspaper advertisements.

[Kniwt]

[quote name=\'rjaguar3\' post=\'227463\' date=\'Oct 2 2009, 12:26 PM\']According to golden-road.net, the "Then" prices are found by Kathy Greco, who goes through old newspaper advertisements.[/quote]

Wouldn't that lead to prices that aren't the "actual manufacturer's retail price"?  If it's advertised, it's almost certainly on sale.

One would think they could just get prices from their own vast show archives.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'tvmitch\' post=\'227460\' date=\'Oct 2 2009, 11:14 AM\']It's hard to believe Gladware is 10 years old, FWIW.[/quote]
Disbelieve all you like, but I was buying them when I was living in Bellevue. Which was ten years ago.

A 1999-era half gallon of ice cream is comparable to a 2009- 48 or 56 ounce container today.

Some products improve and/or transform over time,

Pick one.

My fear is that the staff are picking random items from their inventory and applying rough inflation calculations to the prices to obtain the "then" levels, which is unfair in the very least.

And also seriously, seriously unlikely. (And, as a rjaguar3 said, not the case.)

If they want to use a product that didn't exist at the "then" date, like those Arm & Hammer discs, so long as it's a Now, I don't have a problem with that. If you're actually nitpicking them for using a Then price on a roll of paper towels just because it was perforated or printed different back then, then I ask you: how's Zach?

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Kniwt\' post=\'227464\' date=\'Oct 2 2009, 12:32 PM\']Wouldn't that lead to prices that aren't the "actual manufacturer's retail price"?  If it's advertised, it's almost certainly on sale.[/quote]
...which makes the game even easier, actually, since you're now even FURTHER away from the Now price.

[tvmitch]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'227466\' date=\'Oct 2 2009, 03:50 PM\'][If they want to use a product that didn't exist at the "then" date, like those Arm & Hammer discs, so long as it's a Now, I don't have a problem with that.[/quote]
This is exactly my point. They shouldn't be using products that didn't exist "then" when "then" is the correct answer. I should certainly be rewarded for knowing that the "now" product didn't exist "then." That's all.

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'227466\' date=\'Oct 2 2009, 03:50 PM\']If you're actually nitpicking them for using a Then price on a roll of paper towels just because it was perforated or printed different back then, then I ask you: how's Zach?[/quote]
He's fantastic, he lives in the shed in my backyard. I feed him a dozen old VHS tapes from my collection every other week.

Earlier in the discussion, you could recall that you've been buying Gladware for ten years, which is equally extraordinary. :-) Calling "Zach" on my comment about paper towels is unwarranted; perhaps if I had said that said towels appeared on the 10/1/04 ep of TPiR, then we're getting close.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'tvmitch\' post=\'227468\' date=\'Oct 2 2009, 01:14 PM\']This is exactly my point. They shouldn't be using products that didn't exist "then" when "then" is the correct answer. I should certainly be rewarded for knowing that the "now" product didn't exist "then." That's all.[/quote]
There is a huge difference between "it didn't exist" and "the lid was different."

The flavored Pam I will spot you; making that a Then (if the olive-oil one didn't exist Then) because Fingers found the price for ordinary Pam is questionable if it was used in the copy that Rich reads, and lazy on the part of the prop wranglers if it wasn't.

Earlier in the discussion, you could recall that you've been buying Gladware for ten years, which is equally extraordinary. :-)

One is remembering something that directly affects my day-to-day life. The other is nitpicking.