Name brands vs generics.

Inspired by another thread, when do you go with name brands and when do you go with generic brands?

What types of products are so important to you that you will accept no substitutes and are willing to pay more for the name (I'm talking products under $20)?

For me it goes like this...

1) Condiments, I always choose the generic brands. Mayonnaise and ketchup pretty much taste the same no matter who makes them. Store brand ketchup is better than Heinz if I save store 20 cents by going with the store brand.

2) Antiseptics such as rubbing alcohol. Who gives a ****? No matter who makes it, it's gonna hurt when you put it on wounds. And no matter who makes it, isopropyl rubbing alcohol is isopropyl rubbing alcohol. Isopropanol isn't some copyrighted name by a certain company, it's the damn chemical name of what you're buying. Isopropyl alcohol is ALWAYS gonna be isopropyl alcohol, or else it'd be illegal to market it as such.

3) With toilet paper however, I accept no subsitutes. I've tried cheap-ass generic toilet paper before, and it didn' work out well for me. When I am cleaning up feces, one thing I demand is that I don't get feces on my hand because I used an inferior paper that wasn't up to the standard level of quality. With toilet paper, I go name brand all the way. It's worth paying a bit more for toilet paper that isn't going to break.

Anyway, I thought that this might be a fun tpoic. For what kinds of products do YOU just buy the cheapest thing, and for what kinds of products do YOU always stick with a trusted brand name even if that comes with a higher price?

And again, I'm only talking about the kinds of products that are cheap to begin with. When you're spending hudreds of dollars on a television, most people are OBVIOUSLY not going to pick a "Magnetbox" or a "Sorny".

Did the Top Romen inspire you?

And generic, is basically the same exact stuff, just cheaper. Seriously, I've read the back of packages, its usually the same....

I paid alot of attention to this when I was buying mouthwash, Listerin was like $6 a bottle, but the Krogar brand was only $2, so I compaired the 2 to see if it was really worth saving $4. If it has the same ingredients, taste the same, and is manufactured in the same town, and even uses the same wording on the back of the bottle, and have the same tradmark, then I think it is safe to assume it is most likely a name brand product for a couple bucks cheaper.

But for some things, I'll still buy brand name or store brand (Store brand > generic), like TP, as stated in the original post. Softness is important.

hah, only when there is a genuine difference in quality - and that particular product being of top quality actually matters

like electronics

things like food/clothing nope

Nothing's ever really matched up to Heinz for me... As for other things, soda's never been bad when it comes to generic. Soda's soda. It's all tasty. Chips can be okay, but not normally. I never even knew there was such thing as name brands for... any type of medical thing, though...dreDREb13

With soda, it's sort of weird for me. NORMALLY soda is close enough regardless of the manufacturer that I don't care. I mean, Coca-Cola doesn't taste quite like Pepsi, and store brand cola doesn't taste quite like Coke or Pepsi. But thy're close enough. Similarly, grape and orange cola always taste like orange and purple. No matter who makes it, it doesn't taste like grapes or oranges. It just tastes like Orange or Purple. If you're buying fruit flavored soda, go with the generic brand every single time.

But there are exceptiuons. Store brands try to rip off Dr Pepper, and they usually fail miserably. If I want a Dr Pepper flavored drink, I go with Dr Pepper every time (at least, that is, before I decided to boycott Dr Pepper).

Similarly with ginger ale. Store brand ginger ale has a ginger ale flavor to it, but somehow it just seems to taste like ass. Store MOSTLY get the formula right. But the small part that they got wrong just makes the **** taste disgusting. With almost all sodas, I go with the store brand because it's cheaper. But when I want ginger ale, the hell with the store brand. It's Canada Dry every single time, even if I have to pay $3 more for a twelve pack.

im just looking around my room here looking for things i actually do purchase the #1 brand for

if i could only do one - it's the razor blade

mach fusion BIG difference, not because of the 5 blades but the pivot and the smoothness

Nothing's ever really matched up to Heinz for me... As for other things, soda's never been bad when it comes to generic. Soda's soda. It's all tasty. Chips can be okay, but not normally. I never even knew there was such thing as name brands for... any type of medical thing, though...dreDREb13

im just looking around my room here looking for things i actually do purchase the #1 brand for

if i could only do one - it's the razor blade

mach fusion BIG difference, not because of the 5 blades but the pivot and the smoothness

BobSacamento

Holy hell dude.I've never experienced toilet paper that actually breaks... is that what its like over there with the cheap brands?

Anyway... brands... ehh.For alcohol I usually try and get the finer stuff.Beer : Guinness (And the ironic thing is I live in the country its made in.And its the most expensive here than it is anywhere else in the world) and whiskey: Jim Beam, Jack D, and Jameson Irish...

For food I'd also usually go with brand names and not just store stuff... I have a reasonably good pallet and I can taste the difference between brands and store manufactured food.For example, the Heinz example you brought up... I usually go with them for beans.One day I got store brand beans, and they sucked in comparison.

As for clothes.. I don't really mind.If clothes suit me, I'll get 'em no matter what they are.I usually like hand knitted sweaters though :P

GTA_Dude is right,most things are the same. I just look at the ingredients and if they are the same buy the generic. Something like TP,you are right they are not all the same.

As for stand out things. I am a smoker,and I buy bugler and roll my own with a little machine I got. Not only is it a lot cheaper,but its fresh cut,it does not get a lot of the nasty chemicals that name brand rolled cigs do,so they kind of taste better.

In fact, Im rolling up a pack right now as I peruse the forums:lol:

some things with food i'll notice

like i bought rice cripsy squares, and then the no name ones

the no names had like 0.2 trans fat (marshmellow and rice crispies i dont understand how) and the name brand was healthier

the name guys just have more money and research in giving us elitists exactly what we want

I don't usually buy generic. I'll never substitute my Burt's Bee's though. Never. I usually just pocket it in the store anyway, so it's not like I'm paying 3 dollars for a tube :(.oh_god_ya

[QUOTE="oh_god_ya"]I don't usually buy generic. I'll never substitute my Burt's Bee's though. Never. I usually just pocket it in the store anyway, so it's not like I'm paying 3 dollars for a tube :(.muthsera666

Name brand OFCOURSE, no generic version of Dr.pepper beats doctor pepper

no generic versions of: Funyuns, Hot fries, Doritos, Cheese curls, Pork rinds, Big Mama's, Skittles, snickers, butterfingers, reese beat the brand versions Nevar !!!

I once made the mistake of buying the cheap toilet paper. I will NEVER make that mistake again.

I once made the mistake of buying the cheap toilet paper. I will NEVER make that mistake again.

Guybrush_3

I hear ya on that one. Toilet paper is one thing you just gotta go all out for.

Whatever's cheaper, which is usually the generics. Both taste the same anyways.

I love to buy name brands. Sometimes we would have to go generic for a while though, to save money.Nerd_Man

[QUOTE="Nerd_Man"]I love to buy name brands. Sometimes we would have to go generic for a while though, to save money.Ontain

Oh we got to Costco. They're the BEST store ever. They sell name brands there too, but in bulk, at reasonable prices. That's always a good thing.

[QUOTE="Ontain"][QUOTE="Nerd_Man"]I love to buy name brands. Sometimes we would have to go generic for a while though, to save money.Nerd_Man

Oh we got to Costco. They're the BEST store ever. They sell name brands there too, but in bulk, at reasonable prices. That's always a good thing.

[QUOTE="Nerd_Man"]

[QUOTE="Ontain"] i would suggest a membership to costco or BJ's then. the store generics for costco are very high quality and cheaper. of course buying in buck helps too :)muthsera666

Oh we got to Costco. They're the BEST store ever. They sell name brands there too, but in bulk, at reasonable prices. That's always a good thing.

I think they're pretty much the same thing. Just like comparing Wal-Mart to Target - whichever you prefer best I guess.