- [Narrator] When you
purchase something, it's nice to think you're getting
your money's worth. But unfortunately the
truth is many companies are shortchanging you in some way. Often they achieve this by
using sneaky manipulation that you probably don't even notice to squeeze extra cash out of ya. But stay tuned because
by the end of this video you'll know how to spot
these sneaky tactics and avoid being swindled. (playful music) Companies know that turning
the pressure up is an extremely effective way of turning an
uncertain potential customer into a guaranteed sale. Online sellers often create
that sense of pressure and scarcity by listing
how many people are viewing a product at that moment. But what few people realize
is that many of these now watching numbers are completely fake. One Twitter user uncovered
an instance of this by inspecting the coding of
the displayed number of people looking at a specific flight
on an airline's website. They soon made the
eyebrow raising discovery that the displayed number
was actually determined by a random number generator. A lot of companies are
currently under investigation for this borderline illegal practice. So next time you see a now
watching number online, boot up Chrome right-click
and choose inspect and you might be surprised
at what you find. One of the most common
forms of customer deception is the packaging used on toilet paper. Often you'll see nonsense
like this with each type of paper stating it's superiority when compared to regular rolls. These nonsensical numbers and comparisons are designed to confuse
you into buying the package with the largest number displayed. But what's more, the packaging
will make comparisons against a regular roll, but
there's no industry standard for what regular even means. It's a completely arbitrary measurement set by the manufacturer. For all, you know, they could be comparing a thousand sheet roll
against a standard roll with only 50 sheets. To avoid getting sucked
up into this nonsense look for the listed
quantity in square feet on the packaging so you know
what you're really getting. An even more important thing to check for in store is the weight of items. These Doritos, for example,
claim to be a bigger bag for share. One glance at the weight label however, reveals that despite the bag being taller it's exactly the same weight
and hence the same quantity of chips as the regular bag. Unfortunately, not even hot dogs are safe from the clutches of this deception. This hot dog packaging employs a common tactic of appearing
to offer two extra free except turning the
package sideways reveals that the extras have simply been taken from the regular section,
leaving it only partially filled and ultimately giving
you the standard amount. Unbelievable! McDonald's is equally
guilty of under-delivering on the implied product. At least the McDonald's in
India this Redditor visited is. With its misleading wasteful
access of cardboard, the big spicy chicken wrap
should come with a disclaimer, big not included. These chocolates are even worse using an all too common tactic that could prove embarrassing for anyone giving these chocolates as a gift. The packaging is extremely literal in as much as the
chocolates visible through the clear plastic are the
only ones you actually get. The rest of the space is just
wasted space, which translates into more profit for the devious
chocolatier's responsible. This Jameson whiskey gift set is so outrageously misleading. The manufacturers must've been drunk on their own supply when they designed it. while the box implies, you'll
be receiving a big bottle of Jameson's and a little
ginger ale to accompany it, the exact opposite is true. Damn, after a scam like
that you'll need a drink. Electronics aren't safe from
misleading practices either. This Redditor purchased a speaker set and was shocked to discover
the smaller upper speaker was totally fake and non-functional. While some companies will mention cosmetic or decorative additions in the fine print of their product descriptions some neglect to mention it entirely. So next time you buy some electronics, keep an eye out for the word, decorative, check the reviews and make
sure you're not being swindled. And in an infuriating development, some companies like Samsung
are now displaying adverts for their other products as
unsolicited notifications on their smartphones. Imagine the frustration
of hearing your phone buzz only to find it's an advert. If you paid for their
product, surely the company shouldn't be annoying you
by trying to sell you more. Let me know your thoughts on
this in the comments below. Mobile phone networks are even worse than the phone companies themselves. Having begun favoring sponsored
deals over user experience in a pretty outrageous manner, certain sellers pre-install bloatware for my associate
companies on their phones, clogging up your phone's
memory before you've even turned it on for that first time. But the worst part is that many
of these pre-installed apps can't even be deleted
and can only be disabled. Yet they remain right there on your phone, mocking you with their presence. All the while the phone network profits from your inconvenience. Real nice! Moving on to shady eBay sellers now, it had pays to keep your eyes open for this kind of trickery. Some sellers use star emojis
in their descriptions like this to trick you into believing
they have a genuine five-star rating. Genuine high quality sellers
don't need to fake their scores as they review speak for themselves. Faked ratings on the other hand are almost always a marker
of inferior products. So before you make a purchase, make sure to count those lucky stars. Occasionally the audacious
tactics companies utilize to get your attention are
actually kinda impressive. Like this Instagram advert
which uses a fake hair to get you to swipe up and
open their online shopping page as you try to wipe the
hair off your screen. Companies measure their online success by how often people
interact with their content. So even if you don't buy
anything from their store, simply interacting and visiting their page is still a win for them. Next time you're in a clothing store see if you can spot any point
of sale cards like this. They're intended to catch
your eye and draw you over to a section. But on closer inspection
the deals are rarely what they seem. In this example, the enormous $3 number only applies to selected items, likely one or two of the many on the rack. But for the store deceiving
you, it doesn't matter. What's important as they get you looking at the clothes up close. By drawing you into browse hands-on you're more likely to make a purchase than if you just meander
through the store. So remember to look upon
these big bold signs with a skeptical eye. Surprisingly some of the worst
forms of customer deception can be found on store bought
juices and cooking oils. For example, thanks to the
wily ways of corporate lawyers companies can legally claim a bottle like this contains 100% juice when it actually only contains 27% because they technically
use juice in the product they can imply that it makes
up a 100% of the drink. In reality is 73% of the product is water and other ingredients. Similar deception can be found on products like this avocado oil. Just because it contains some avocado oil, manufacturers can legally imply that's what the product mainly is. But only up to 10% is actual avocado oil. The rest is generic canola oil. If you're looking for the real deal, always check the bag label. The online holiday booking
industry is equally guilty of using sneaky tactics
to maximize profits by any means possible. One Reddit user shared her
experience as an Airbnb host where she stumbled across
this advert for her place. While the picture was accurate their advertised price was only
half of the per night price the Redditor charges for Airbnb. Her discovery exposed the fact that Airbnb were straight up lying in their ads, luring in customers with false promises of cheap accommodations. But hotel owners listing
their accommodations online are some of the guiltiest of all when it comes to deceiving
potential customers. This Polish hotel's Trivago page depicted a pleasant looking place to stay, which conveniently crumps
out the ugly power plant immediately behind the hotel. Similarly, the booking.com
page for this hotel in Vietnam boasted an impressive infinity bowl which turned out to be
more like a bathtub. If all this swindling
is stressing you out, I wouldn't recommend tucking
into a double Snickers bar to calm down. The duo bar may be a few pennies cheaper than buying two individual bars but you also receive 20% less product than you would buying two separately. In many cases including this one it's worth calculating the price by weight because it actually works out cheaper to buy two individual items. Leave it to China to take the
helm of the most outrageously cheeky packaging con of all though. This box of jumbo shrimp seems guaranteed to fill stomachs until the
central label is peeled back. The dastardly company
sneakily pre-cuts their shrimp and spreads them apart to
make them appear bigger. It seems there's no limit to the lengths companies will go to appeal to the bigger is better mentality that many shoppers unfortunately tend to have. But while some scams are almost immediate other companies opt for the long game through a rage inducing practice known as shrink fallacious. This is a process whereby
companies make their products smaller while keeping the price the same. Cadbury's and their
parent company Mondelez are among the guiltiest
parties when it comes to shrink inflation. In fact, the past few
years have seen Cadbury literally cutting corners
with their dairy milk chocolate bar. By rounding the corners
they use less chocolate and save themselves money
it costs to the consumer. The new rounder design
is a shocking 8% smaller than the previous iteration,
all while steadily increasing in price to match general
economic inflation. Is it so much to ask to
eat delicious chocolate without feeling like the
victim of a pickpocket? Other chocolate companies
also like to appear sweet on the outside while the center
is, shall we say lacking. This Godiva chocolate, for
example looks delightful from the outside but it's promises of a full solid bar melt away
once the packaging is removed. A hollowed out candy bar like this saves on the production costs
by removing approximately half the expected volume of chocolate while leaving the customer feeling empty in pocket and belly. Popcorn gift sets like these easily match and possibly even exceed
Godiva's confectionary cons. What seems like a nice full popcorn box once out of the packaging
is revealed to be scarcely a 1/3 full. Slyly, the cardboard sheet inside the box stops you from realizing
until you've already bought the set and opened it up. And worst of all,
according to the Redditor who shared this fine,
the popcorn was stale. But if there's a king when it comes to finding innovative
ways to leach more money out of their customers,
it has to be Apple. For starters, there's
the debacle that occurred in 2019 when Apple
announced they'd be selling the stand for their
latest Mac pro separately for a thousand dollars. Yep, a stand for a grand. But Apple also employs
much more subtle methods of convincing consumers to cough up cash. The presentation of their
iPhone 11 on their website is a prime example. In a bid to convince
potential buyer's to opt for their most premium devices, Apple displayed the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max next to the regular 11 on
their website like this. By choosing a dark wallpaper
for the premium models Apple created the illusion
that there's essentially no visible notch at the top of
their most expensive phones. Meanwhile, the regular 11's
notch was clearly visible and stood out as less sleek by comparison. Of course, in reality, all
three models feature the notch but by creating the
illusion that the premium phones possess a more seamless display, like they're fully notch free competitors, Apple were subtly nudging customers towards the most expensive phones. But it's a pointless effort if you ask me. I was already sold when as soon as I saw the inbuilt fidget spinner. Have you spotted any sneaky ways businesses deceive their customers? Let me know in the comment section below. Thanks for watching. (suspenseful music)
