Generic vs. Name Brand

United States
March 12, 2008 1:08pm CST
Up until the last year or so whenever I did the shopping for my household, it was always generic whatever the product, even down to the clothing that we wore. I am a coupon freak and still like some generic products, but I am finding that there are just some name brand products that really are a better quality or last longer than the generic brand. I was wondering if anyone else really can tell the difference or not between generic and name brand other than the price.
2 people like this
6 responses
• Canada
13 Mar 08
When it comes to clothes I buy the "medium" quality brands. I do not buy wal-mart or Zellers clothing (with the eception of underwear and socks and maybe some t-shirts) but I also do not buy expensive bran name clothing like Steve Madden or Nike. I find that lower quality clothing has a wierd fit and does not hang right on my body. And I really can not see spending alot of money on clothing that will last me the same amount of time for half the price. Also, making some of my own clothes I know how much material can cost and I know that some of the "higher quality" brands (take american eagle for example) use a cheaper quality fabric and still charge an arm and a leg for it. The material AE t-shirts are made from a very poor quality fabric, it is almost see though and so thin it seems like it will easily rip, yet they charge upwards of twenty dollars per shirt.
@sizzle3000 (3036)
• United States
12 Mar 08
There are some generic products that are better than a brand name and some are the other way around. You must try all to make sure which one your prefer. As far as my shopping for brand names can be cheaper than buying generic. I use couopons combines with sales and combine that with rebates. When you utilize all your options you will save big time. Take CVS they offer an extra care program. With this program you but something that is on sale and they offer a little money back on them. Take for example: This week you can buy Frutrice shampoo. There is a $1.00 coupon on it and CVS is offering $2.00 back in extra care buck. These bucks will appear at the bottom of your recipt after your purchase. You can only use the extra care bucks in the store but it still makes this product free. When you do not have to pay for shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes or other products you can spend more money on things that do not have coupons like meat products. Riteaid is another store that has an in store rebate as well as Walgreens. You will find that your saving are big and you are buying brand name products. I just made a great deal at Walgreens on Pantene shampoo. I bought six bottles with coupons and paid about seven dollars and they the register gave me a $12.00 coupon that can be used on my next Walgreens trip. This make the shampoo free. When you get the brand names so cheap you do not have to worry about settleing for less quality. However, there are product that you may find are better than brand names. There are some generic brands that are ok in taste and quality but for me I buy what I can get cheap. I love to shop. I love to save money.
• Canada
16 May 08
There are those times when a name brand actually is better than a generic, at which time I'll stick to a namebrand, but I will always try both. If the generic brand is as good as the name brand, I'll stick with the cheaper generic.
• United States
12 Mar 08
I can tell the difference in sauces, but not in pastas. I can tell the difference in clothing but that is easy for me to pick out. I can tell the difference in laundry detergent, dishwasher tabs, those kinds of things because of how much of the cheaper stuff I have to use to get the same result. I do buy some generic items but not a whole lot. I would rather pay a little more for a product that works the way it is supposed to the first time.
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
27 May 08
I often buy generics. More often than not they are just as good as the name brands. The only thing that I can recall that is not as good is the shredded cheese. If the name brand is on sale and is the same price as the generic or store brand, then I will go for the name brand. I would never buy generic dog food again. I did that once and my dogs coat noticably lost its shine.
• United States
8 Jun 08
I always do the shopping for my family and we like to save money on the stuff we really want so I buy all generic stuff. I don't buy clothing that often so the clothing isn't generic. My clothes come from name brand stores, but my husband buys his clothes from Bealls and Wal-mart. He doesn't care too much and he's still hot. My daughter is only 6 months old so I buy her clothes from Wal-mart too. She isn't old enough to tell the difference. I, on the other hand, can tell the difference in clothes and nothing from Wal-mart or Target fits right so I buy my clothes at Hollister, Bealls, JCPenny...etc.