When a product is discontinued

@maximax8 (31055)
United Kingdom
August 1, 2012 11:10am CST
I like my shampoo and conditioner to be vegan products. I liked a conditioner called Original Source Mint and Tea Tree. The company strangely discontinued their shampoos and conditioners. However they still sell body soaps and hand soaps. I think this is very strange. I have been so lucky to find some of their conditioners for sale on the Internet. Today the postman delivered four conditioners. I am delighted because I find it hard to find a conditioner as good as that one. Have you had a product that you like discontinued? Did you use a particular product for years then it wasn't for sale anymore? Are you doing an on-line shopping instead of getting what you need from shops?
2 people like this
12 responses
@adforme (2114)
1 Aug 12
When products are discontinued, IT FREAKS ME OUT! It is just a fact of life that this happens from time to time, but it is not the end of the world. I find myself looking for alternatives that may be equal in quality if not better. If I go to Ebay or sometimes Amazon, I can sometimes find a discontinued item. If I can't find it on Ebay or Amazon, I am most likely out of luck. I love the idea of my favorite products being around forever. Well, if something is not broke, why "fix" it. As long as some product makers have that attitude, I should have some of my favorite things for years to come.
1 person likes this
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
2 Aug 12
Yes, I got the 4 conditioners from Amazon. I found them very cheap but the postage was very pricy. I knew I probably would not get them from anywhere else so I was so very grateful to get them. I can see the when a product you like is discontinued it freaks you out similar to the way I felt. Thanks for your superb response.
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@adforme (2114)
2 Aug 12
Glad you appreciated the response. Good luck to you on your hunt for your hard to find items. If they are out there, stock up on the last ones.
1 person likes this
@deazil (4723)
• United States
3 Aug 12
Happened to me too. A hair product I loved. Better than all the rest. Made by a well known brand, can't remember who. But it was the best. I couldn't find it on the internet either. But the worst one for me that discontinues things all the time is Trader Joe's. I really like their food but so many times I like something, buy it every week or almost, next thing I know it's gone. When I ask they say they're not carrying it anymore. Grrrr.
1 person likes this
@much2say (53664)
• Los Angeles, California
4 Aug 12
Yes, that happens a lot at Trader Joes!! I remember they did that with their canned refried beans. It was discontinued once - then put back but with a texture change which was bad - then taken off again (well, now it's back and just right). They discontinued a great instant pudding product last year. And they also discontinued their sausage ragu with penne . . . I used to get as a lunch treat when I went shopping there and one day they just didn't carry it anymore . . . booooooo
1 person likes this
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
2 Aug 12
I like and use regularly the lynx range for men, and in particular Africa deodorant. They suddenly stopped it and I couldn't get it anywhere, I did write to the manufacturer but they wrote back saying that this product had been discontinued. They still had the Africa shower gel range but not the deodorant. Typical! I tried using another range but it wasn't the same.
1 person likes this
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
2 Aug 12
Hello Wolfie. It is great that you wrote to the manufacturer and it was a shame that they wrote back saying that the Lynx Africa deodorant had been discontinued. It was a pity that when you tried a different product it wasn't as good. Thanks for your great response to my discussion.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
1 Aug 12
Yes. Pantene Flat to Volume. I FINALLY found something that really does do to my hair what the commercial says it will do! I can shampoo/condition with that and use curling iron and it will hold all day, I sleep on it and it holds curl the next day and sleep on it and the third day...still some curl! Makes my hair so soft and managable and shiney. Then...they suddenly change...the bottle, design, color everything! So I have had to try the new 'version' of it, and it still does good, but not as good as before! I get 2 days instead of three, but still... I'll stick with it as at least I get the 2!~ I watchfor it on sale..just today...it was 3.99 at the grocery and I had a coupon for $1.50 off 2 so it was $2.50 each..which is a deal. So since I had 2 coupons, I got 4...I do this only when on sale and have collected a couple bottles to keep me in the future! But I sure do hate when they discontinue a good product.
1 person likes this
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
2 Aug 12
At least I know they have discontinued the mint and tea tree conditioner and so managed to order four of them remaining available. There are so products that I am wondering about. I love to eat Summer Fruit Bars but they seem to be unavailable and have been for months. It is a shame that the new version of the shampoo isn't as good as the old one. I like it when I have a money off coupon. Thanks for your great response.
1 person likes this
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
2 Aug 12
This happened to us a few months ago with shampoo that we were using from the local supermarket. It was plant based and environmentally friendly but then one day it was not there anymore. In fact their whole range of household products were missing! So we went over to the higher priced organic store and bought from there instead. They are now back with new packaging so perhaps there was a just a little down time while things were changed over.
1 person likes this
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
2 Aug 12
It was awful when the supermarket didn't do the environmentally friendly shampoo anymore. It was wonderful that you found it in a higher priced organic shop instead. I stopped shopping at one supermarket when they changed one biscuit recipe. My kids loved those coconut biscuits. Now we can't have them anymore. Thanks for your super response.
1 person likes this
• India
2 Aug 12
Hi friend, good to know that you got your favorite conditioner. I too have some favorite items discounted their service. WE can find some of the missing products in online, since it is the best way to shop the old things. I am using the same shampoo for around years
1 person likes this
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
2 Aug 12
Hi my friend. It is great you are managing to use the same shampoo for years. Every customer has his or her favorite products. One vegan food company found it hard to get one of its ingredients. The health food shop stopped selling their products because of this. I can't get the Summer Fruit Bars from the local supermarket anymore. The other health food shop has gone out of business. Thanks for your superb response.
1 person likes this
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
1 Aug 12
i used to buy this immune boaster medication that really helped me from getting every little bug that passed by. i took it for several years and then found out, much to my dismay' that the company stopped making the product. they said there were going to 'reformulate it' which pretty much meant, you could kiss it goodbye which was true because they never came back out with it. right now, i am not really taking any sort of immune boaster at all.
1 person likes this
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
2 Aug 12
It was a great shame that the company discontinued the immune boaster medication. I waited ages for a fruity bar to be reformulated. I got a pack of 20 of them and had one. It tasted worse and I have the other 19 fruity bars are still in my cupboard. Thanks for your wonderful response.
1 person likes this
• United States
1 Aug 12
This has happened to me more times than I can possibly keep track of. Unfortunately I think it's just the nature of commercial products, especially (I think) health/beauty products. I think most companies act like it's more important to attract new customers (not that that's NOT important) than it is to keep current ones. Even more frustrating (in some ways) is when they change the formula of something you love and the "new and improved" product doesn't do it for you. Complain to the company and they just blow you off, if they respond at all. The only time I remember a company going back to the old way was after the huge backlash from the "New Coke" back in the 80's. I've had some success occasionally with getting a product online after it's no longer available in stores, but eventually, if they aren't making it, the online sources are going to run out, too. One thing I wish was still available (showing my age here)is Long N Silky conditioner for long hair (from the 70's). Unfortunately, if it were still being made today, it would have been reformulated and wouldn't be anything special anyway.
• United States
2 Aug 12
Thank you for responding to my response lol! One of the most disappointing examples I can remember is the Aussie shampoo line. Their AussieMoist shampoo from the late 80's/early 90's smelled WONDERFUL (between 1/4 to 1/3 of my shampoo/conditioner "experience" is about the smell) and made my hair feel great, too. Then somewhere around the "turn of the century" they changed the formula and the smell was completely different, just a generic citrus-y smell if I remember correctly. I should have seem the handwriting on the wall when they changed the packaging from the tan bottles to the purple ones, well eventually they changed the shape of the bottles and pretty much completely replaced their whole line with stuff that made my hair feel like straw and is no better than anything else in that price-range. So frustrating!
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
2 Aug 12
It is awful that it has happened to you more times than you can think of. Yes, it is terrible that most companies just want new costumers and aren't bothered keeping their current ones. I used to use henna for the Body Shop but it got discontinued. I don't bother to henna my hair anymore. Sometimes a replacement for a discontinued product can't be found which I believe is a shame. Thanks for your super response.
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85129)
• Shingle Springs, California
4 Aug 12
Suntory Oolong tea, original Chapstick before they changed the formula back in the 80's, Koala Springs drinks... Too many thing disappear, never to be seen again.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Aug 12
I have a handful of brands that I like. However, I am willing to be flexible and try new products as long as they meet my requirements--organic, no animal testing, etc. I am big on supporting local shops. Here, that is fairly easy to do--a lot of local stores at which to shop.
1 person likes this
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
7 Aug 12
I used to work for a big consumer product manufacturer. I was in charge of launching a lot of make ups, perfumes, lipsticks, and even shampoos and conditioners. There are a lot of reasons why products are discontinued. But from my experience, it is usually just because anything that comes out actually has a 'life' expectency in the market. Marketing needs to constantly come out with new products because competition out there is really tough for consumer products. You should scoop up all of the products available online.
1 person likes this
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
1 Aug 12
its because they have stopped due to the fact that the production is low and the people are not wanting to get it expect you.so i have so many products of those kind like soaps,tv etc.but due to low demand supply has been stopped.anyways we have to upgrade
1 person likes this