Most consumers know that the price of an 18.9-liter bottle of water - a "barrel" - usually varies from 13 to 20 yuan. What they don't know is that they may have paid different prices for the same product.

Wang Yuzhen, general manager of State-owned Jingrun Spring Co, has been in the industry for about 20 years. She said it is permissible, and common, for some brands to buy the water that they bottle from other companies. "The only difference between two bottles of water may be the labels, yet consumers pay much more for one of them," Wang said.

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