Do you buy generic brands?

[auntiehill]

They're flippin' everywhere---mailers & flyers, newspapers (especially on Sunday), at the stores themselves--sometimes on the shelf right next to the item--sometimes printed out with your receipts after you've bought your groceries.

I buy generic medication and sometimes store brand paper good (like tissues or napkins) but certain foods are just not up to snuff. I buy the Kroger or H.E.B. brand fruit juice, deli meats & cheeses, store brand milk, etc, but the store brand cereal was AWFUL (I didn't know frosted corn flakes COULD taste that bad) and so was their yogurt (blek!).

 

[Miss Chicken]

We have some on the back of receipts. I just looked at the back of one of my receipts and There were coupons (oe superdockets as they are called) for the following

Dry cleaning - 3 garments for $22
Pizza - three large pizzas for $19.95
Zoodoo - 10% off admission for 1 person only.

Some receipts have petrol discount (useless to me as I don't drive).

However, we don't have coupons for groceries.

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

Depends on what I buy, when it comes to generic brands. Like for example milk, bread, cheese, soft drinks, fruit juice and various other things, I would buy the generic product. For things like toothpaste, cereal and yoghurt, like to buy brands, whenever possible.

 

[Orac Zen]

Depends on the product. If the generic stuff is Australian made and of similar quality, I'll buy it. Australian made is actually my main criterion when shopping; I won't buy imported meat, fruit or vegies (there's no excuse to do otherwise, IMO), and I try to shop local for other stuff as well.

For medications, I go with generic as often as not. I discovered the other day when having a prescription refilled that the generic product is made by the same company that makes the "name" product...yet it's much cheaper.

 

[Captain Ice]

A case in point is in salsa. Ortega salsa in a 16oz bottle runs about $2.75 here. The store brand, which you buy from the deli section, is $2.00 and sold fresh.

Dude! Make your own!

Sometimes I do. I was just using this as an example of a case where I have found the store branded product to be far, far superior to the name brand in both taste and freshness.

 

[Jack Bauer]

Yeah, I almost always buy generic medicine. It usually works as well as the name grand and it's cheaper. Why spend more money when you don't have to. y'know?

 

[ByrdMan]

Can someone explain the whole 'clipping coupons' thing to me - where do you get the coupons from etc Here we get coupons for fast food places placed in our mailbox but that is about it.

Coupons come in newspaper ads, direct-mail marketing pieces, flyers that are posted door-to-door, and on the back of store receipts. Don't they have any of that stuff in Tasmania?

Not to mention sites like Coupons.com, where you can just download and print them yourself.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

From some stores. Not from Wal-Mart, though. They'll take whatever shortcuts they can to sell the cheapest products possible. They recall things all the time that are manufactured for their stores because of high lead content and stuff like that. No telling what's in their "Great Value" brand foods. They just don't care until they get caught.

 

[melancholymecha]

some places have really good store brand products like Walgreens CVS & Publix. Im also a big coupon clipper...

I didnt know there are generic brands of produce, I thought there were only 2 kinds: regular brands & organic brands which is always more expensive.

 

[Holdfast]

It varies hugely depending on the item. Sometimes I really want a certain taste or quality or the reassurance from past experience that I know the product will work, so I go for the brand. Sometimes it really doesn't matter, so I go for the cheaper generic.

PS. on the meds issue, there can actually some differences between generics and branded medications in terms of formulation, bioavailability, coatings and other issues. Most of the times, the differences are fairly inconsequential but sometimes they do make a difference to tolerability/side-effects and in rarer cases, it can be absolutely crucial to use a particular brand. Talk to your physician (or a pharmacist) before assuming a generic will be identical to a brand. It may be true the majority of the time, but it isn't a cast-iron rule.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

60-40 generic/ store brand to name brand stuff. It's a question of quality and taste. Things like dry cereal, oatmeal, canned fruit and veggies we haven't noticed a difference.

There are some non-negotiables - fresh meat for example, I'll pay a bit more per pound, but also buy the family pack to get a discount and portion it up at home for the freezer. I won't buy spices in the store, I've got a mail order source that gets me fresh spice for only a little more. You wouldn't believe the difference using fresh spices.

 

[bluedana]

I buy whatever is cheaper, generics or brand-name-on-sale. I have no brand loyalty except for soy milk; for some reason, my hubby will only drink Silk.

I don't know if it's a state thing, but where I live, all prescriptions contain a consumer advisory that says the pharmacy must dispense the generic when available, unless the doctor checks the box requiring the brand name med.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

It varies hugely depending on the item. Sometimes I really want a certain taste or quality or the reassurance from past experience that I know the product will work, so I go for the brand. Sometimes it really doesn't matter, so I go for the cheaper generic.

PS. on the meds issue, there can actually some differences between generics and branded medications in terms of formulation, bioavailability, coatings and other issues. Most of the times, the differences are fairly inconsequential but sometimes they do make a difference to tolerability/side-effects and in rarer cases, it can be absolutely crucial to use a particular brand. Talk to your physician (or a pharmacist) before assuming a generic will be identical to a brand. It may be true the majority of the time, but it isn't a cast-iron rule.

I take prilosec, and I swear that there's a difference between the generic and the name brand. People think it's my imagination, but it just doesn't work as well for me. It's only a dollar or so difference, anyway, which is ridiculous.

 

[Tribbles]

I buy generic brands at Target because I find that Archer Farms/Market Pantry stuff is usually pretty good. Unfortunately, their house brand is sometimes more expensive than the name brand item it's sitting beside.

As far as medicine goes, I use generic Unisom. Seems to put me to sleep just as easily as the regular kind.

 

[Jetfire]

Just depends on what it is mostly.

 

[hamudm]

Considering I work in the food industry in Canada where I deal with a variety of manufacturers as well as major retailers, I know for a fact that most reputable "generic brands" are grade-A product, such as the PC - President's Choice label owned by the retailer Loblaws (and its subsidiaries). They just enter into contracts with vendors for certain lengths of time that necessitate large volumes of product -- the savings are passed on to the consumer.

Now there's always "No Name" products which only low-income people tend to buy. It's B-Grade stuff, but still good product.

Personally, I just look for the product I want and buy what's on sale.

 

[Jetfire]

There is a difference between Name Brand, Store Brand & Off/No-Name Brand.

Alot of Name Brand & Store Brand seems to be the same to me with most items.

 

[Yoda]

I get name brand stuff in most cases. I'm ok with generics when they're 'just as good', but that never seems to be the case.

Store brand frozen pizza is gross.

There's nothing comparable to my beloved Cherry Coke Zero in the soda category.

The Horizon Organics milk tastes better than the store brand, and doesn't expire for like an extra month or two. I don't know why, but that's worth the big price markup by itself!

Store brand cereal is almost always gross.

Ugh... I tried the store brand Velveeta shells and cheese knockoff and the cheese spread was disgusting. I couldn't even finish the bowl.

And yeah, my ass deserves better than store brand toilet paper.

I don't take any medication, but I assume if chemically it's the same shit I would have no problem getting generic stuff.

 

[Jetfire]

^
Store Brand Pizza is pretty gross. I never tasted a difference in cereals though. I don't have a problem with Store Brand Shells & Cheese...of course I don't buy it alot.

 

[Yoda]

I'm sure it depends on the store too. I do my shopping at Vons, the store brand there is Safeway and as far as I can tell it's universally gross.

For cereals it varies I guess. I don't eat a lot of cereal these days but the one that always stuck out as terrible in store brand was the Lucky Charms knockoff. They just weren't even close on the marshmallows.