I buy generic products when it comes to common items like salt, sugar etc. But when it comes to eatables like wheat flour, rice, biscuits, baby items etc I go for branded ones. There is huge difference in price as generic goods are usually cheaper. But for some items where we are not ready to compromise on quality we have to use branded products. I think branded good are more durable too like toothbrush, dish washer etc. Do you every buy generic goods or always stick to brands?
I buy generic or store brands whenever possible. Sometimes, the quality is just as good or at least quite comparable. It really depends on the product and the brand though. I noticed that some of the cheaper brands of things like tomato sauce aren't always very good. I imagine they use the worst tomatoes of the batch when making the cheap stuff, so that would make sense. So, I usually buy branded products in this category. It's hit or miss with a lot of things, but I'm willing to give the off brands a try. If I like it, great. If I don't, I can always try another brand. I have also noticed that sometimes the store brand isn't even cheaper or at least not by much (this has happened a number of times at Walmart with their Great Value brand). In that case, I buy the brand name product.
Generic products are getting better and better particularly with the food items. Although we still stick to our brands like rice and canned products, we sometimes buy the generic items which are cheaper in price. I have a maintenance medication for my high blood pressure and I was prescribed the branded pills. On my next visit to the doctor, I asked permission if I can buy the generic which is cheaper. The cost of the branded is almost 50% more expensive than the generic brand. Yeah, I am now buying the generic version.
I like both generic and brand names. We have sales weekly locally on Oahu with the ads for brand name product, so we are lucky to get brand names at a sale price every week at our supermarkets and Marukai Wholesale Mart which is a membership store. I find Walmart's frozen potatoes very operable to Ore Ida's frozen potatoes. I found once at Walmart Ore Ida's 2/5 for frozen potatoes and grabbed it instead of Great Value which sells for 2.74 here in Hawaii. It's all in the price mostly for me for I'm on a tight budget, but we got to eat.
I buy generic in most items except for some few which I know for sure will make a huge difference either in taste or the outcome. Of late, generic is becoming increasingly good enough to give a branded product stiff competition. Since generic are more cheaper things like salt and sugar give me two months supply in half the cost compared to previous experience with branded items.
I buy generic brands depending on the product that I need. Just like you @luckycharm, I also buy unbranded products if it's for salt, sugar, pepper and other basic condiments. I also buy unbranded clothes and towels but not food. I see to it to buy branded food even fresh meat just to be safe and sure that I'm getting what I'm paying for
@Alexandoy You are very true. General medicines are a lot cheaper than branded ones. In fact in our country there is a law in place that states doctors must prescribe generic medicines to patients. But who cares; they pay no heed to it and still recommend branded medicines. I think they have a commission from the sale of branded medicines. We can see medical representatives at their door steps with various gift items as a favor in return. Some doctors even go to the extend of recommending a particular medical store or clinic to do tests.
@luckycharm While that is also a common practice in our country (Generics law notwithstanding), there is a different version of the story. Some doctors do prescribe generic medicines but the catch is, they have their own little pharmacy and you have to buy the prescribed medicine from that pharmacy. Some doctors integrate the bill with the cost of the medicine while some doctors bill them separately. In both cases, the generic medicine costs twice or thrice their selling price at regular drugstores. In some cases, the branded ones come off even cheaper. I know that some of these clinics source their medicines from local pharmacies and they have to add some profit to the cost. However, it's not too far-fetched to think that they're actually buying directly from med reps or generics companies and making big profits by prescribing them and selling them at the same time. I buy both generic and branded products as long as they're worth the money. I do shop around and check out the prices of the items that I buy regularly. There are items that I prefer to buy branded and others where generic brands will do.