A No Risk Purchase
By Amber
@AmbiePam (116195)
United States
March 26, 2026 10:30pm CST
Years ago, the subject of generic brand items came up, and the guy who brought it up made a point of which I wonder if you would agree. He said he bought generic vanilla wafers because you can’t find bad ones. He said there are some products you just can’t mess up so he always buys the generic brand knowing he’ll always get the same tasty results no matter what.
I think, and I could be wrong, that that is more rare than not. I usually buy generic brands to save money, not because they are equal to the regular brands. It ‘s obvious not all toilet paper brands are equal in quality. When I buy chicken soup instead of making it, no way is my preference Great Value (Walmart’s store brand) over Progresso.
Is there a product you can think of that one can’t go wrong by buying the generic over the name brands?
5 people like this
6 responses
@JudyEv (375567)
• Rockingham, Australia
3m
@MarieCoyle @AmbiePam I always (well, almost always) check the price per 100 grams. It's astonishing sometimes how much difference there is between one brand and another - and between large and small quantities. I've found it's really worth checking whereas once I would have thought the difference would be very minimal.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (56441)
•
2h
Flour, sugar, salt, some other basic items are fine to get generic, I agree.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (56441)
•
3h
TP is a big one! There is such a difference between the super cheap brands and even the mediocre ones. I have found some of the generic tuna is…not very good. I try to snare the better stuff when it’s on sale. My big thing I can’t seem to get past is that I struggle to give up Dawn dishwashing liquid. A tiny drop or two works wonders, and when I’ve tried the cheap stuff it takes tons more of it. Dawn is another item that I hunt for on sale!
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (56441)
•
2h
@AmbiePam
I can make a bottle of Dawn last for a very long time. And I can blow through a bottle of the cheap stuff in nothing flat. Plus, Dawn can be used on grease spots on clothing, stains that are stubborn, etc. It's multi-use and I consider it a really good buy for what all it does!
2 people like this
@toniganzon (75488)
• Philippines
3h
I don't go for generic brands. I always go for the brands that we already trust. My family is very picky.
2 people like this
@crossbones27 (52427)
• Mojave, California
1h
That makes sense, I think really expensive products like computers, I will take the cheaper normally, they all break down about 5 years. It makes my brother so mad, but he does have one point buy the tower as far as desktops then you can upgrade with parts buts means you have to learn how to install all it yourself. That may be good with way computers are taking over. .
I was just so tired of buying top of the line laptops and breaks down quicker than some of the lesser brands but did work better in the time it was good. Its to much money if a generic brand lasts as long but maybe you do not get all the cool features. I do not need that much.
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (148022)
• Roseburg, Oregon
1h
I buy store brands over generic brands. Some taste better and some do not.
