Brand new
It's Friday, folks. Hope you have a big weekend planned, and are not under the effect of severe weather where you live.
Ruminating this morning on the subject of name brand merchandise versus generic or store brand stuff. How do you shop? Are you a name-brand-or-else shopper or are you at least open to alternatives?
This started when I ran across a video on YouTube that discussed the wildly popular Yeti Rambler drink tumbler with a similar item sold at Walmart for about 1/4 the price. The video's author did some relatively good testing and determined that there's not a whole lot of difference between the two, in terms of insulation, capacity and the like.
So that started me thinking about what makes that decision to buy the name brand item in any category. Here's a little info on how we go about it.
First and foremost, on major stuff like appliances, we go with known and reputable name brands. Why? Well, I always have believed that if you need to have any repairs done, it would be easier to find a service technician who is experienced with, say, a Samsung washer and dryer. Parts are probably interchangeable in some cases, but the overall design would probably warrant experience and familiarity.
And let's face it, you're not going to find a store-brand range, unless you're a Sears shopper looking at a Kenmore, and that's less and less common--and you can buy the Kenmore brand at more places than Sears, I believe.
Moving on to electronics....I've always been hesitant to buy a store brand television, like Insignia or Element. Probably made in the same Asian factories as Sony and LG, but I still feel better with the brand behind it. I always feel there's an implied inferiority with a little-known brand.
Computers? Well, here's my take: Windows PCs are something of a commodity, wherein most brands are similar in features and quality (with some notable exceptions), and then there's Apple, which does not license out its technology any longer. Before I became an Apple user, I owned multiple personal computers, and really never had any problems with any of them, whether they were Hewlett Packard, IBM (now Lenovo) or any other brand.
I'd say that printers are also something that the basic device is similar from brand to brand, but my experience tells me that better-known brands are probably a safer bet than one you've never heard of. If you're walking around at Best Buy you'll see mostly HP and Canon printers, but there are a few other brands. If you do the same at Big Lots, goodness knows what you'll encounter.
Automotive components are another area to consider. I rarely buy name brand parts when they're something I can replace myself. For instance, instead of spending around $100 for an electrical relay to repair the rear air conditioning in my Honda SUV, I found an aftermarket part made by a no-name manufacturer online for less than $20. And it worked. Same with cabin air filters and other similar items.
But when it comes to tires, for example, I don't mess around with cheaper, less well known brands. My experience tells me I'm better off with a good brand like Michelin, whose products have been proven to perform reliably for a long period of time.
At the grocery, we have gotten to the point where we'll buy generic or store brand garbage bags, food storage bags, frozen vegetables, hamburger and hot dog buns, milk, eggs, yogurt and numerous other products. We do it because they're perfectly fine and we save a little money.
We went further onto a limb when we began to shop regularly at the Costco warehouse near us. To date we've bought their olive oil (it's very good, and I'm kind of particular about that) as well numerous fresh, processed and frozen meat products. We're not quite to the point of using their laundry detergent, but we did find an alternative to the Tide that we've used for a long time that we like at a much lower price.
I could go on and on and on, but I'll close by simply saying that I'd be interested to see what you think on this subject and how your consumption habits have taken shape.
Ruminating this morning on the subject of name brand merchandise versus generic or store brand stuff. How do you shop? Are you a name-brand-or-else shopper or are you at least open to alternatives?
This started when I ran across a video on YouTube that discussed the wildly popular Yeti Rambler drink tumbler with a similar item sold at Walmart for about 1/4 the price. The video's author did some relatively good testing and determined that there's not a whole lot of difference between the two, in terms of insulation, capacity and the like.
So that started me thinking about what makes that decision to buy the name brand item in any category. Here's a little info on how we go about it.
First and foremost, on major stuff like appliances, we go with known and reputable name brands. Why? Well, I always have believed that if you need to have any repairs done, it would be easier to find a service technician who is experienced with, say, a Samsung washer and dryer. Parts are probably interchangeable in some cases, but the overall design would probably warrant experience and familiarity.
And let's face it, you're not going to find a store-brand range, unless you're a Sears shopper looking at a Kenmore, and that's less and less common--and you can buy the Kenmore brand at more places than Sears, I believe.
Moving on to electronics....I've always been hesitant to buy a store brand television, like Insignia or Element. Probably made in the same Asian factories as Sony and LG, but I still feel better with the brand behind it. I always feel there's an implied inferiority with a little-known brand.
Computers? Well, here's my take: Windows PCs are something of a commodity, wherein most brands are similar in features and quality (with some notable exceptions), and then there's Apple, which does not license out its technology any longer. Before I became an Apple user, I owned multiple personal computers, and really never had any problems with any of them, whether they were Hewlett Packard, IBM (now Lenovo) or any other brand.
I'd say that printers are also something that the basic device is similar from brand to brand, but my experience tells me that better-known brands are probably a safer bet than one you've never heard of. If you're walking around at Best Buy you'll see mostly HP and Canon printers, but there are a few other brands. If you do the same at Big Lots, goodness knows what you'll encounter.
Automotive components are another area to consider. I rarely buy name brand parts when they're something I can replace myself. For instance, instead of spending around $100 for an electrical relay to repair the rear air conditioning in my Honda SUV, I found an aftermarket part made by a no-name manufacturer online for less than $20. And it worked. Same with cabin air filters and other similar items.
But when it comes to tires, for example, I don't mess around with cheaper, less well known brands. My experience tells me I'm better off with a good brand like Michelin, whose products have been proven to perform reliably for a long period of time.
At the grocery, we have gotten to the point where we'll buy generic or store brand garbage bags, food storage bags, frozen vegetables, hamburger and hot dog buns, milk, eggs, yogurt and numerous other products. We do it because they're perfectly fine and we save a little money.
We went further onto a limb when we began to shop regularly at the Costco warehouse near us. To date we've bought their olive oil (it's very good, and I'm kind of particular about that) as well numerous fresh, processed and frozen meat products. We're not quite to the point of using their laundry detergent, but we did find an alternative to the Tide that we've used for a long time that we like at a much lower price.
I could go on and on and on, but I'll close by simply saying that I'd be interested to see what you think on this subject and how your consumption habits have taken shape.
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