In the case of potato chips, the space is filled with nitrogen to preserve freshness:
https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/the-surprising-reason-why-your-potato-chip-bag-is-half-empty/
The nitrogen space also provides a cushion so if the bag is tossed around or you throw it in your cart the chips don’t crumble immediately.
I can handle when companies play games like this to increase the price of the product without changing the sticker price.
What I cannot handle is when they quietly reduce quality to do the same thing. This is a BIG problem for me in the stain remover category and in things like high quality toilet paper.
Sometimes you cannot even buy the quality you remember because the price would be too high… for example, canned chili… the stuff in the 70s was so much better than what we have today, because great canned chili would probably cost $8 a can.
I wasn’t alive in the 70s, but from what I hear, I would much rather have our overall supermarket selection at current prices than 70s quality canned chili for $3 and the rest of the 70s supermarket and prices to go with it. I don’t know how good the canned chili was back then, but I would guess a larger proportion people today are buying the ingredients and cooking much better tasting chili from scratch today than they were back then. And we surely have way more options for ingredients and way more places to buy it.
The chart on that site doesn’t go past 2015, but assuming the price of beef hasn’t skyrocketed, and you weren’t enamored with canned chili in 2015 either, whatever canned chili you were eating in the 70s must have had less beef if it was cheaper than today. That, or it included other tasty ingredients we don’t use anymore. Or, and I think this is the most likely scenario, we remember the past as better than it actually was. If you did a blind taste test comparing a 70s recipe can of chili to what we have today, you probably wouldn’t consider the old chili that much better.
Yeah thats what I was thinking. Also our tastes in food differ from our youth as we age to adults.
Or maybe it was just a specific brand that you really liked which changed for the worse? I mean that certainly happens.
I’m partial to the Charmin Ultra sold at Costco. For some reason the same thing sold elsewhere isn’t as good. I also find the variety of sheet sizes, lengths, and prices within the same brand line extremely annoying.
Hmmm… these 3 things may be related 
LPT to those who travel a lot. In the larger stores, it will be difficult to find things like toothpaste that are meant for travelers (meaning 3.4 oz or less). The options will be 1 oz (price/ounce ver high) or 3.5 oz or larger (asshole design).
If you go to the dollar stores, you will often find items that are acceptable travel size (i.e. 2.7 oz) at a cost/ounce similar to those in the larger stores. Most people shopping at dollar stores don’t travel a lot, so the brands aren’t selling their “travel size” goods there.
You can refill the travel size tubes from the regular tube many times before the plastic degrades. Or you can get one of these, it’s more durable and easier to refill.
Thats the one thing that makes it unique!
I like the toothpaste2go kit for travel. On the note of toothpaste in general, I’ve found that the dollar store tends to have pretty good prices on a per-volume basis and I can find the kind that doesn’t have sweetener added.
most toothpaste here now are made in Mexico.
That’s also why Costco fills their tires with nitrogen… freshness. 
Last weekend, I wanted to buy toothpaste. I almost bought Colgate but then I remembered this thread so I bought Sensodyne Pronamel instead. $6 for a 6.5 oz tube! That will show them! Colgate uses SLS anyways.
You guys pay for toothpaste? I just steal it from my dentists whenever he is not looking. You guys must be rich!
Better than Sensodyne and cheaper than all … hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. I’ve been using this for 30+ years and, so far, I’ve still got all of my teeth.
ETA: Plus I didn’t fall for that fluoride Commie plot. 
I asked for toothpaste at a hotel, and they brought me these. I took a picture, just forgot about it until now. It looks like I’ve found out where all that additional toothpaste is going.
I have never liked the quality of Colgate, to begin with. No scientific testing, but the “mouth feel” when I wake up in the morning… my teeth have a nasty texture with Colgate that I don’t get with Crest or Sensodyne; they feel smooth and clean still with those products. I am not sure if others have that experience.
In the past week, some regions of Safeway had Crest for $0.99 price with additional $2 off coupon, or about $1 overage. I don’t remember the last time when I had to “buy” toothpaste.
Just in case you’ve gone a toothpaste-palooza and are running low, Walgreens has the 5.5oz tube of a brand that I’m sure you remember - Pepsodent. I’m guessing it’s a brand brought back to life by some company that doesn’t realize that very few remember it or it’s funny commercials.
The price is 3 tubes for $1.98. Since I make my own, I’m not sure how good of a price it is.
