Brand vs Generic

[WebLady]

How brand conscious/brand loyal are you?

*poll coming*

[WebLady]

Well I don't have a problem paying more (within reason) for better, but if I can get comparable quality for less then I am all over it, for the most part at least.

There are certain things I will only buy branded because I think it is better than the cheaper version for whatever reason, but there are plenty of other things that I will seek out the generic/store brand on.

So for me I guess it depends on what it is and how expensive the brand is.

[Micah's bride]

It really depends on what it is, most of the time I buy what's cheapest. Certain things, Mac N Cheese, cereal, and potato chips are usually the biggest "have to buy the name brand" items for me. It drives my mom insane that I use store brand cleaning products. But I learned a long time ago when my dad started working for a major ketchup company, that they produce like 100 other brands of products. So most of the time the stuff comes from the same place, anyway.

[Kfancii]

I tend to buy mostly store brands because as Micah's Bride said, most of them are manufactured by the same companies that make the name brands. There are a few things that I get picky about though even though I can't think of any of them right now! :o

ETA - Now my DH isn't nearly as cost concious as I am so he likes to go brand names over store brands all the time. The big one he made a fuss over was Butter - has to be Land of Lakes for him. I do sneak in the store brands though for cooking or baking. Can't see paying the extra $1 or more just because the box is prettier.

[kgvettegirl]

Mom taught me that there 2 things you don't skimp on.

1. Toilet paper- Let's face it the suff is made from wood. Who wants to have splinters anywhere close to there.

2. Peanut Butter- I hate to have it seperate and have oil sitting on top

The rest of it doesn't really matter. Sometimes the sales make the name brand stuff match the cheap stuff.

[savepaws]

I buy store brand when I can but like others said, there are certain things I don't like to skimp on.

I won't skimp on toilet paper either! You have to use like a half a roll because the paper is so freaking thin!

[SerendipityCrafts]

I buy only name brand bum wad (only the best for our tushies :)).

I buy only Heinz ketchup.

I will never buy no-name cereals again. I tried to make rice crispies squares with a knock off brand (because no one would eat it and I didn't want it to go to waste) but even when mixed with marshmallow & butter, they tasted horrible!

I buy name brand mac n' cheese (it's gotta be KD!).

I also buy name brand dish soap (liquid) and clothes soap because I find the store brands are too watered down and are pretty much ineffective. <<<With that said, I don't have to buy Tide or Sunlight or whatever .... I buy whichever name brand is on sale and I stock up when they are on sale.

[Ninedays9]

I've actually found sometimes the generic brand is better. Like I prefer the brand Our Family for macaroni and cheese much more over Kraft. FH thought I was silly til we finally found a place that had Our Family brand (not many seem to), and he liked it better, too.

We just took our first really huge grocery shopping trip (we needed everything!), and I found how much he refuses to buy generic stuff. There were some things he was ok with, though... like, surprisingly, he picked out the store brand of milk.

And I agree there's some things you have to go with brand name on. Like pudding.. it's gotta be the Jello brand. I can't think of anything else, but I know there's others like that.

[MrsDM]

It depends on what I'm buying. I really like Wal-Mart's "Great Value" items. Their peanut butter for one, it doesn't seperate and has a better flavor than most pb IMO.

Also, their garlic bread. Its not overpowering, but it tastes like restaurant quality to me.

Laundry detergent, shampoos, soap, I refuse to skimp on and soda. I hate generic soda!!

[WebLady]

I don't like generic sodas most of the time either ... I only buy Mayfield milk ... I perfer brand Peanut butter, TP, napkins and paper towels ... DH is picky about ketsup too. We shop at Aldi a lot, but only for like dry stuff.

Other than food: I shop at Old Nacy and Target a lot for clothes. I like Levi's and Old Navy jeans and that is pretty much all I will wear. I will only wear brand sneakers too; I usually like New Balance or Adidas, but I will wear sort of "off" other types of shoes as long as they are cool and made well. I am not usually big on fancy designer things.

I will get generic Rx's when I can too.

[Jacklynn]

There are certain things I can get generic and certain things I absolutely have to have a certain brand.

I can't in any way have generic peanut butter... gotta have my jiffy :) I also have to have my Charmin. I care much less about things like veggies, and canned soups (like cream of ______) also cheese doesn't matter to me. I get my prescription meds generic, but not any of my over the counter meds like Tylenol or couch meds. But generic vitamins are fine.

Wow, I'm weird :)

[lillypad]

Depends on the item, and just how much money I would be saving. I have had the worst luck with generic frozen foods, they all taste like water. But paper plates, cleaning supplies stuff like that I cannot tell the difference.

[amisteratwisterandme]

I buy what ever is the best price. Sometimes generic actually cost more if you look at the price per ounce/unit.

Things I will not buy generic: Sandwich cheese, string cheese, hair products.

[Ninedays9]

I buy what ever is the best price. Sometimes generic actually cost more if you look at the price per ounce/unit.

Things I will not buy generic: Sandwich cheese, string cheese, hair products.

Those are good things to buy name brand of. I won't get anything other than Kraft for the singles. But then for string cheese, we had Kraft and it had no taste... but the other name brands of that are good. And I also agree on hair products... I can tell a huge a difference in my hair since I started user better quality products.