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What are some things you can/should cheap out on? (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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I often hear, "You should never cheap out on a good office chair, shoes, underpants, backpack etc.." but what are some items that you would feel OK to cheap out on?

This can by anything from items such as: expensive clothing brands to general groceries.

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[–] 38 points 2 years ago (6 children)

Not sure if this applies to the US but for most things you buy from a supermarket the generic supermarket brand is usually just as good or even better than the big brands. And it's usually much cheaper.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    In some cases it’s actually the same product made by a big brand. They might be losing money (or just not making as much profit), but it denies profit to the competitors, so it’s still considered a win.

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago

    To counter this I used to visit some factories for a big contract manufacturer in the UK. They would often make say lasagne for the supermarkets and for the "premium" brands. Whilst they were all made in the same place, the "premium" brands products had much better quality ingredients in them and different ratios of the good stuff (say meat) to filler (say pasta sheets).

    For some things it's the exact same materials, but for many it's different. You have to do blind taste tests to see which ones you prefer.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago*

    You’re conflating copackers with brands.

    Store brands will go to the same copackers, truth. But the copacker will not just make a premium brand product for a store brand at a lower cost. It will be a recipe made to a taste/price spec. Maybe all the ingredients are sourced from the same place, but the recipe will be different.

    What can be nearly identical are branding tiers. Large companies like Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble etc will sometimes have multiple “competing” brands in the same market, all made in the same factory.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    Kroger's "private selection" brand is legitimately unbelievably good in every category! Their chocolate is better than Lindt. Their bread is simply the best! Their jerky is effing amazing and with options I've never even heard of from other brands! The tea is pretty good, though I have actually had better. The ice cream bro!

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    I have certain things I don't buy the generic for, such as Mac & Cheese and crescent rolls (one because the sauce is unmatched by off-brand and the other because the cans are impossible to open) but this is generally good advice

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago*

    From my experience, most of the time they're healthier too!

    A lot of store-brand products either don't use as much sugar, or salt or saturated fats then their big brand counter parts.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    Often it's literally the same thing. In Europe there is a code in every product that'll show you where it's produced. You'll often find that the cheap brand comes from the same factory as the expensive brand. They just get different packaging.

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