I hate to sound like a codger – well, I don’t really hate it because it’s part of my charm – but WTF happened with price stickers during the last couple of decades? Used to be, you’d go to a store and pick up something…maybe a new hammer, or a screwdriver, or like we did this afternoon, a couple of toilet plungers and a waste basket – and you’d go home and either the price stickers would come right off, or they’d be located somewhere like on the bottom of a waste basket so you didn’t have to remove them and you could just plonk the thing down on the floor and not worry about it.
If I had my way, there would be a You Tube series where various CEOs are somehow compelled to appear and demonstrate how we’re supposed to get into their impenetrable fucking products. It’d be called “You Do It.”
Why are price tags so hard to remove? So people can’t switch them in stores like Maxx. Of course no one here would do that. Your misery was told with wit and charm. Thank you. I would still be screaming….
I am never without “Goo Gone,” “Goof Off,” or an equivalent! My friends who have worked in retail say that the increased adhesion of pricing labels is a necessary evil. According to them, price tag switching has been developed into a high art.
This had me laughing out loud! Don't you love it when the stickers come off as little round thingies? It is crazy-making and the only thing that works for me is to use a warm rag with Dawn soap on it. Dawn, after all, is used for getting oil off of seabirds and seals.
Goo Gone or lemon essential oil are my go-to products. Oh, and purchasing as little as I can in TJMaxx, because their stickers are the worst. Recently found out from a cashier that scanning the UPC bar code will come up with the price, don’t even need the stickers. They exist solely to make our existence Hell. Look for the item without a sticker
Remember the (very) old "song" "They're Coming to Take Me Away (Ha Ha!)"? This is the *perfect* photo to illustrate it. Maybe you were even humming it at the time? This morning the green sticker on my Fuji apple took three minutes to remove, and it came off in five pieces. I have Goo Gone but don't believe it's approved for use on food -- maybe someone would invent an edible version? My fingernails are mostly useless at this point because either they've broken or I've chewed them off.
There's a product called rubber cement thinner. It soaks thru the paper and dissolves the glue which is rubber cement based. If there's any residue you can wipe it away with the corner of a tissue or paper towel soaked in the thinner.
love that just about as much as the clamshell packages that use to encase any electronic thing - valuable or not. I thought those were gone but got something recently in a clamshell package. Fortunately it opened without having one hand amputated by the screwdriver.
In 2012 Jessica Ballard (of Kingsport Tenn) realized her wastrel son Jeffery needed a job that would allow him to sleep indoors. She spoke with an old friend from the glue business. Jeffery was put in charge of 'Sticker Stuff' and well, here we are. Jeffery now has a beautiful eight room house out on Lewis Lane and lives with Elvira and her fourteen cats. There's a display of stickers out on the front lawn next to a beautiful blue and white Trump 2024 flag.
You might want to try nail polish remover too. I recently bought some "Non Acetone Nail Polish Remover" and it works well on those pesky stickers that Goof Off and Goo Gone had trouble with. Otherwise, "I feel your pain!" Damn frustrating, those price stickers.
Acetone (a/k/a plastic solvent) is probably what ruined your toilet brush holder, Lucian. So the non-acetone in this advice is crucial. Acetone and nail polish remover used to be synonymous. But Tracy must know about solvents … ?
Ha ha ha! Been there, done that! I use Goo Gone. It does the job eventually but it does attack plastic and clouds whatever finish is on it. Next time also try pouring almost boiling water first, then soak the bugger with Goo Gone - or Goof Off, love the name - and leave for a bit. Very boring but you don't have to stare at it! If the item can be put in the dishwasher put it through. But some advice... on plastic things, like your toilet brush (not to be too personal), it's better to leave some goo on it rather than scrape it off. It will eventually dry up and wither away - or not. There! Problem not solved, but you might find some solace in the universality of the problem. Defense de gratter! And look away when you're in the guest room loo. That scar will be there forever but after all it is a toilet brush. If you and Tracy are tortured by it go to a local hardware store and get one without the mass retail, indestructible price tag on it. You're welcome!
I agree about “Goo Gone” or an equivalent - it is an essential part of our home “toolbox.” But one trick is to check the product in the store before you pay for it. Many of the same product on the shelf may have the price sticker in a different location on the item. Better to select one that has it in a hidden or less obvious place in the first instance, so when you get frustrated trying to remove it, you won’t throw as much of a fit as you might if it was in a prominent location. Doesn’t always work, but anything helps in this type of situation.
It would please me to no end to have the people who develop all these packaging nightmares, who mandate over-reliance on indestructible plastic containers with the shelf life of plutonium, and who green light undecipherable instructions written by idiots to have to exist for eternity in a level of hell somewhere below Dante's ninth circle.
If I had my way, there would be a You Tube series where various CEOs are somehow compelled to appear and demonstrate how we’re supposed to get into their impenetrable fucking products. It’d be called “You Do It.”
Why are price tags so hard to remove? So people can’t switch them in stores like Maxx. Of course no one here would do that. Your misery was told with wit and charm. Thank you. I would still be screaming….
I am never without “Goo Gone,” “Goof Off,” or an equivalent! My friends who have worked in retail say that the increased adhesion of pricing labels is a necessary evil. According to them, price tag switching has been developed into a high art.
that's a tad pathetic, since there IS still the barcode...they need to try harder for a better excuse.
This had me laughing out loud! Don't you love it when the stickers come off as little round thingies? It is crazy-making and the only thing that works for me is to use a warm rag with Dawn soap on it. Dawn, after all, is used for getting oil off of seabirds and seals.
Goo Gone or lemon essential oil are my go-to products. Oh, and purchasing as little as I can in TJMaxx, because their stickers are the worst. Recently found out from a cashier that scanning the UPC bar code will come up with the price, don’t even need the stickers. They exist solely to make our existence Hell. Look for the item without a sticker
Remember the (very) old "song" "They're Coming to Take Me Away (Ha Ha!)"? This is the *perfect* photo to illustrate it. Maybe you were even humming it at the time? This morning the green sticker on my Fuji apple took three minutes to remove, and it came off in five pieces. I have Goo Gone but don't believe it's approved for use on food -- maybe someone would invent an edible version? My fingernails are mostly useless at this point because either they've broken or I've chewed them off.
There's a product called rubber cement thinner. It soaks thru the paper and dissolves the glue which is rubber cement based. If there's any residue you can wipe it away with the corner of a tissue or paper towel soaked in the thinner.
Wonderful stuff, but if you haven't used it know that it evaporates in a blink and flares like lighter fluid, so keep away from anything very hot.
love that just about as much as the clamshell packages that use to encase any electronic thing - valuable or not. I thought those were gone but got something recently in a clamshell package. Fortunately it opened without having one hand amputated by the screwdriver.
Oh YEAH! Those cases are ridiculous.
Why tin snips a necessary household clamshell opener.
In 2012 Jessica Ballard (of Kingsport Tenn) realized her wastrel son Jeffery needed a job that would allow him to sleep indoors. She spoke with an old friend from the glue business. Jeffery was put in charge of 'Sticker Stuff' and well, here we are. Jeffery now has a beautiful eight room house out on Lewis Lane and lives with Elvira and her fourteen cats. There's a display of stickers out on the front lawn next to a beautiful blue and white Trump 2024 flag.
how about spending extra on an organically grown peach or mango or to
heirloom tomato, only to have this problem?
Nailed it! So fun to read, have to share with sis!
You might want to try nail polish remover too. I recently bought some "Non Acetone Nail Polish Remover" and it works well on those pesky stickers that Goof Off and Goo Gone had trouble with. Otherwise, "I feel your pain!" Damn frustrating, those price stickers.
Acetone (a/k/a plastic solvent) is probably what ruined your toilet brush holder, Lucian. So the non-acetone in this advice is crucial. Acetone and nail polish remover used to be synonymous. But Tracy must know about solvents … ?
Excellent point, thank you! Yes, avoid the acetone.
By the fourth generation, some of the magic has dissipated. But humor remains in these difficult times.
Ha ha ha! Been there, done that! I use Goo Gone. It does the job eventually but it does attack plastic and clouds whatever finish is on it. Next time also try pouring almost boiling water first, then soak the bugger with Goo Gone - or Goof Off, love the name - and leave for a bit. Very boring but you don't have to stare at it! If the item can be put in the dishwasher put it through. But some advice... on plastic things, like your toilet brush (not to be too personal), it's better to leave some goo on it rather than scrape it off. It will eventually dry up and wither away - or not. There! Problem not solved, but you might find some solace in the universality of the problem. Defense de gratter! And look away when you're in the guest room loo. That scar will be there forever but after all it is a toilet brush. If you and Tracy are tortured by it go to a local hardware store and get one without the mass retail, indestructible price tag on it. You're welcome!
I agree about “Goo Gone” or an equivalent - it is an essential part of our home “toolbox.” But one trick is to check the product in the store before you pay for it. Many of the same product on the shelf may have the price sticker in a different location on the item. Better to select one that has it in a hidden or less obvious place in the first instance, so when you get frustrated trying to remove it, you won’t throw as much of a fit as you might if it was in a prominent location. Doesn’t always work, but anything helps in this type of situation.
Enjoy your TJ Maxx products!
It would please me to no end to have the people who develop all these packaging nightmares, who mandate over-reliance on indestructible plastic containers with the shelf life of plutonium, and who green light undecipherable instructions written by idiots to have to exist for eternity in a level of hell somewhere below Dante's ninth circle.