65+ diabolical packaging designs meant to fool us

Grocery shopping is a part of everyone’s life, I mean where else would you shop for the necessary goods in your home? However, it is best to be careful about what you buy, especially with plenty of bad products that bait you into buying them. Sometimes, you can’t help but be fooled because of its enticing packaging design that seems like offering you a good deal, except it’s not. If you want proof of these, allow us to present to you 68 packaging designs that make the customer look like a fool.

1. This packaging can make you sad

The person who tweeted this was so excited to open his box of Turkish delight and knowing that the treats are thin, he expected to have more because the box was quite long. And then, this happened.

2. This canned hazard

This confusing packaging design can cost you your life if you’re not careful. It may look like a canned drink, but it is full of chemicals meant to clean radiators!

3. Typical sale in Russia

Did you really think you could fool us by portioning the product and making us believe that we actually get more? These packaging designers need to be more creative than that!

4. How can I cut this one out?

Again, I ordered a pair of scissors because I don’t have one. How am I suppose to cut this one out?

5. This awful toothpaste scam

Whenever we see the words “value pack”, we always immediately think that it’s wise to buy it rather than getting the regular sized items that cost more. Apparently, this toothpaste’s packaging is not in any way valuable because it evidently gives you less than what you paid for!

6. What a waste of material

Packaging materials are definitely not cheap. But apparently, if they are meant to deceive people, I guess some companies are really willing to shed some cash to get people to buy more.

7. Can’t understand this packaging design

This is not the first medicine that I’ve seen with this kind of unbelievable design. Why do pharmaceutical companies even pack their products this way? It seems to be such a waste of packaging.

8. Why, oh, why?

I’m sure any child would find this treat really cute and tempting. Seeing that the panda is not part of the treat will surely break an innocent child’s heart!

9. The bottle is too thick

Sometimes, you need to shed a light on things to see the real score, as in literally placing them somewhere really bright! This person thought about placing his expensive cologne against the light of the lamp and look what he found out. That’s one thick bottle!

10. Long box, short product

It seems like Waitrose has a knack for putting smaller products in bigger packages. Being consistent is not always a good trait, especially if you’re consistently trying to trick you customers.

11. Prolong Deliciousness

The main selling point of this product is that it is supposed to be long and delicious. Now, it’s just short and sad.

12. What’s the difference?

A lot of people buy from fast-food restaurants and are used to deciding whether to buy bigger or not. But, this Redditor who loves to eat at McDonald’s found out that there is actually no difference between its large and medium-sized drinks! That’s just disappointing.

13. Why use two trays?

I don’t really know what to make of this. If you are going to offer a 5-pack promo, don’t you think it’s better to use one five-slot tray for your product rather than using two and leaving out empty slots? Or better yet, you could just offer an 8-pack promo!

14. This elaborate packaging

Pretty packaging is one of the most effective ways to lure buyers into purchasing some products. But, after seeing this very elaborate packaging just for one tiny cookie, will you still feel the need to buy something just because it’s packed cutely?

15. Mustard in your tea?

These mustard and honey products look so alike that you could easily mistake the mustard for honey and pour it into your tea! They could at least make an effort and change the color.

16. What a waste of packaging

This product’s packaging is not only a waste of resources. It is also a trick that makes the buyer believe that they are getting more for value for their money!

17. Not a valuable pack, after all

Moms are always after getting the best products for less. Imagine being excited about buying this many vitamins for less and opening the box that you bought to realize it’s not such a valuable pack after all.

18. Cute, but totally impractical

Don’t you just love this product’s packaging? However, it is so impractical that all your love will turn into hate before you even get to open it!

19. This one’s seriously intentional

Putting the shrimps in this position and placing a wide red stripe in the middle of the container to conceal the actual size of the products is not just a coincidence. They totally wanted their buyers to believe that they are buying bigger shrimps and it’s infuriating!

20. Read the fine print!

You really need to practice reading the finer prints on a product. That’s where all the truths are revealed!

21. This gummy bear cup will make your child cry

Kids love candies so much and seeing a cup full of gummy bears will surely catch your kid’s attention. Just imagine their disappointment when they find out that they were tricked big time!

22. This packaging is meant to infuriate you

You really need to be more careful when grabbing items on your grocery list. Sometimes, you just have to pull the right part to uncover what truths the packaging is trying to hide from you.

23. When you buy salmon

Why does salmon have packaging that is twice the size of the fish? It’s not cheap food and seeing that you are tricked to think that you got more is just not fair.

24. This evil packaging

Packaging designs are supposed to be user-friendly. However, this evil packaging is meant to bring disaster to its users.

25. A bigger bottle does not mean more products

Most people buy using their eyes instead of being very meticulous about the product details. When they see a big bottle, they immediately think that it has more when in reality, the actual contents don’t even reach half the bottle’s height.

26. What a way to trick kids

This treat’s deceptive packaging design will make kids believe that they have more candy when they actually don’t. Although, that does not really mean it is okay to trick people that way.

27. This jar’s indented bottom

Now, here’s another trick that companies do in order to trick their customers about their product’s size. This jar may look big but if you look at its bottom, you will see the sad truth about you being ripped off. Just look at how big of an indentation is that!

28. This lip balm that you thought was extra

Lip balms are normally packaged in thin bottles. However, this lip balm looked bigger than the usual because it had a bigger box. That’s until you open the lid and see how you were tricked by its wicked packaging design.

29. That art is totally misleading!

Unfortunately, there are also products with packaging designs that are downright misleading! Just like this rope that is portrayed to be used by a climber in its package art, when in fact, it is not suitable for such activity! It’s not just misleading, it can even be a safety hazard.

30. The expensive cologne that just became even more pricey

Not everyone can buy signature brands. That’s why when this guy saw this Burberry package with four different types of cologne inside, he felt like he could finally buy an expensive cologne for less and with four variations at that! But when he opened the box, there were four kinds, all right, but not quite the size he was expecting.

31. Big box, small chocolate

It’s really frustrating when you un-box something that you were excited about and you suddenly find out that you’ve been cheated! Instead of using bigger packaging, can’t these companies be more realistic in letting the customers know what they are paying for?

32. This confusing rice packaging

We don’t really understand the reason behind all these packaging designs but is it too much to match the product with the right color? It makes the job easier and less confusing, you know.

33. Be happy!

Buying these cute nail stickers was supposed to make the buyer happy. But, after seeing the deceitful packaging design of this product, I’m sure they were more mad than glad.

34. This bizarre packaging for medicine

Bizarre as it may be, this packaging design for medicine is quite common. Some drugs have empty slots just to fill the gap between the foil and the box. Instead of adding empty slots, don’t they think it’s more cost-efficient to just trim the box?

35. This cunning packaging design

Here is another example of packaging where half of the box is made of hollow carton. Don’t you just find this intentional trickery so infuriating?

36. …And other ingredients

If it’s 100% juice, then what could be the other ingredients mentioned here? This packaging totally aims to deceive by using different font sizes, but we know better.

37. This item’s incorrect instruction

When a product is sealed, you heavily rely on its packaging for the instructions on how to use it. These things should pass quality inspection anyway and that adds to your confidence knowing that the instructions were checked. However, this product can easily give you trust issues if you ever happen to come across it.

38. Please pay

It’s a good feeling when you see something given for free. But not this bottle of water. People not observant enough can be easily deceived by this bottle’s tricky play of font size.

39. Can you add?

There are a lot of numbers on this product’s packaging, and it is quite misleading! Can you please just make up your mind, and let us know how many razors there are in this pack?

40. Container does not match the product

To put it bluntly, this is nothing but pure deceit! Of course, people would buy the ones with the longer containers only to be infuriated once they see the real size of the product.

41. Swapping these bottles can lead to disaster

Some companies take uniformity to a fault so much so that products that are entirely opposite in purpose have the same packaging design and feel! Can you imagine what would have happened if you swapped these two?

42. No tube present

Here’s another item that totally missed the point when it comes to packaging. Why put slots when there are no tubes present? Can you just use one slot for the actual product or does this company just have a lot of resources to burn?

43. This can totally make you cry

All you wanted was to have a decent meal and this is what you get? These two slices of small sandwiches disguised as one long delicious meal are never acceptable for anyone, especially if that person is quite hungry!

44. They did not even think about concealing it completely

Did this Irish company really think that they could get away with their blatant lie? They did not even bother to cover the backside of their product!

45. Cut it until it matches the advertisement

Really? Is this how these companies want to play with their customers? I’ll tell you what. Give me a knife and I can even cut it into 24 really small bites and you can claim next time that your product is a 24 pack.

46. When you thought you had more cookies but you’re wrong

Have you ever experienced buying a product thinking that it is more and finding out later on that you were totally tricked? This packaging design is nothing but a trick meant to lure you into buying it.

47. Pizza Disasta!

What a disaster this is. Looks like a pizza with lots of meaty goodness but then again, it looks like it has more cheese than pepperoni.

48. 1000 caps or 200 capsules?

Now, this is what you call confusing. You’d think you’re opening a 1000-capsule bottle only to realize that you only get a fifth portion of that quantity.

49. This screwdriver’s packaging

I ordered a screwdriver because I don’t have one. And now, this packaging tells me to unscrew the item from its packaging? How on Earth am I going to do that?

50. Another pizza disaster

These pepperoni pizzas that were packed to make buyers believe there is more meat inside are starting to get suspicious. If you happen to find one at a grocery store near you, it might be wise to give it a really good check before purchasing it.

51. Too little toothpaste

The weight of the toothpaste inside the tube is actually the same as what’s being advertised in the box. We just can’t understand why they would need a bigger box when it’s just a small tube inside!

52. Expectation versus reality

This is a classic tale of expectation versus reality. You expect to have bigger modeling clay and realize that you only have eight small versions of what you expected. What is that hollow part in the middle of the box for anyway?

53. That’s just heartbreaking

Just imagine the joy and excitement you felt when you bought your favorite Nutella and realized that it is just half of what you expected! What a heartbreaking sight to see.

54. This tragic cookie story

Seeing this packaging lie is truly a tragic story. Is it too much to have one more cookie?

55. This sad excuse for a Valentine gift

If you ever decide to give chocolates for Valentine’s day, make sure it’s not packed like this deceiving product! You might just lose your shot at love just because some company decided to make more packaging than the actual treat.

56. What’s bigger?

It’s definitely enticing when you find out that you can get more of your favorite soup for the same price. However, if you realize that they tricked you with this wicked packaging design, you’ll surely feel cheated and manipulated.

57. Pack inside a pack

This pack of M&M’s was supposed to be 281 grams. But, when the buyer opened it, he saw another package inside, and lo and behold, the net weight became 0.3 grams lighter! Guess the second packaging weighed that much.

58. That’s quite deceitful

This is just being cheated! It’s not fair to the customer who paid for four slices to then not even ger 3 whole slices. Whoever did this packaging is just evil.

59. A box full of orange crayons

This is totally wicked, yet hilarious at the same time. If your box of crayons is missing an orange, it probably went astray and transferred to this box.

60. Santa would be so disappointed

When you’re dealing with products that are meant to be given to kids, make sure that these items are packed well and fairly. Children don’t deserve to receive this kind of trickery.

61. Gluten-free?

If a product has claims about them being the healthy choice, make sure that you really find the time to read the fine print on the packaging. Sometimes, there are products that say they are like this and then they have a tiny disclaimer on the back of the pack saying the exact opposite.

62. Open it!

If you did not get mad with the screwdriver and scissors from before, this one might hit home and really drive you nuts. The packaging even challenges you to open it! How can you even do that when you did not have any opener to begin with?

63. The shrinking salmon

Did the salmon really shrink? Or was it placed in a ridiculously sized packaging that was more than twice the salmon’s size? You be the judge.

64. Now, you know.

Have you ever wondered why oranges are placed inside red colored food nets? Why not blue or green? That’s because putting them inside red packaging makes them even more orange.

65. Two more cookies, please!

This cookie product’s packaging can still hold two more cookies. If they only intend to put that amount of product inside their packaging, why would they even design it that way?

66. Boxes inside a box

Have you ever thought of the reason why beauty products are placed in small containers within large boxes? That’s to make you feel that you’re buying such an expensive beauty item is justified! However, this packaging design takes the trickery a notch higher.

67. Half of the packaging is a carton

The kind of packaging where half of it is just a hollow carton is notorious for deceiving people and making them believe that they are buying bigger. Seriously, can we just stick to the right size of the product and not lead people into false beliefs?

68. Not my kind of holiday present

This “value” pack seems to be the perfect gift this holiday season. But, beware because its seemingly thick and creamy cheese bars are not as thick as you’d hope them to be.

Most of us had probably become a victim of these at least once. Our first reaction would be disappointed and infuriated at the same time. At the end of the day, we’ll just let it go with a laugh.

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Source: Bored Panda