How important are brand names to you?

[ZaireinHD]

Oct 7, 2012 23:05:31 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Sentimental values: given to me by my grandparents that are no longer with us, same for my godfather.

One was from my stepfather and one from my mom when I graduate college. Those two I wear when I visit home.

The last one is from my wife when we just started dating, the least expensive one. It is a Fossil but again can't get ride of it because it was given to me by her

OH
I thought they were just sitting in a drawer tucked away not being used and forgotten about, until this thread sparked a memory.

[973beachbum]

Oct 8, 2012 9:42:22 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

That's been my complaint about Dawn, it's price is going up but the bottles keep shrinking! A giant bottle of Gain was 99 cents. Suck it up buttercup.

I said that until I realized he was using five times as much to clean his hands and clothes that got the grease on them. It is still cheaper than the orange goup so I just wait till it is on sale and get two or three bottles for a quarter each. It is still cheaper than the other and way cheaper than wrecking the rest of the laundry with his nasty clothes covered in grease.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

My dad swears by that orange stuff. I can't stand the smell of it but I can't deny that that stuff works.

You could try Simply Green for his clothes. My mom swears by that when it comes to getting car grease out of clothing.

[Tiny]

I'm too cynical to believe that products (even from big brand names) don't change over time - and maybe not for the best... so I'm only moderately 'brand loyal'. What happens if you are brand loyal to what may have become an inferior product? That said, I do tend to 'mindlessly' buy the same brand of stuff I go thru quickly. Since I stock pile a years worth of some stuff (laundry detergent for instance) there's no real gauentee that the same brand will have the same quality (or even version!) as it had a year ago when I stocked up. In that case, I usually check out the various options and try to make the best choice I can.

The products change so much over time - they are 'new and improved' every year or 18 months or so...

[alabamagal]

I have a few things that I am brand loyal to, but not many.

I found a brand of jeans/work pants that fit me and I just bought 4 pairs online. The brand is Gloria Vanderbilt - the funny thing is that I absolutely despised Gloria Vanderbilt back in the 1980s when she first started selling jeans

[thyme4change]

So then I bought Colgate toothpaste for 25 cents (as opposed to $3.99 regularly.) He was like, "But it's not Crest." Yes, I like Crest, too. I like "almost free" better. It's not like Colgate is a no-name toothpaste. I am sure almost as many people might chime in that they prefer Colgate as would Crest.

Colgate hurts my teeth. By the middle of the tube, I have sensitivity. I asked my dentist and he told me to switch to Crest, and within a week it went away. Every few years I try colgate, and my teeth start hurting. So, I'll pay the $3.99.

Also, I thought watches were the hip fashion statements. I remember watching some show where athletes and actors show off their wealth and make everyone feel bad for earning a normal living, and several of them showed off their $100,000 watch collection. They had big boxes full of different watches. Was that "in" 5 years ago, and now it has passed?

[swamp]

I'm really picky about certain things:
Mayo- Hellmans
Ketchup- Heinz
Tampons-Playtex
Dish detergent - dawn
dishwaser detergent - cascade

I like 9West shoes because they have wide shoes that don't look like orthotics.

The rest of the stuff, I don't really care.

[thyme4change]

I tend to buy a lot of the same brands, but it is because I find the value for the money. I don't spend the time to price shop every week. So, I know that Ajax dish soap works and it is almost always the cheapest, so I generally always buy it. Every once in a while I'll buy another brand if I notice it is on sale. But, it isn't brand loyalty - just pricing strategy that pushes me into that brand.

[sheilaincali]

We are more store loyal than brand loyal (I hate Walmart and try to avoid shopping there at all costs).
DH is allergic to SLS in toothpaste and gets mouth ulcers if exposed to it so through trial and error he has found that the Peppermint Trader Joe's brand is the best so we have a stockpile of like a dozen tubes because they discontinue it or stop carrying it every few months.
I'm very female products brand loyal. There was a manufacturing shortage two winters ago and we went on a Tampon quest and purchased all of them that I could find within a 30 mile radius of where I live. Seriously- these things were selling on Ebay for $100+ a box at the time. Insane.

Otherwise I don't really care. I'm pretty cheap so I get whatever is on sale.

[kgb18]

I'm a pretty brand-oriented shopper. Not because I want to be able to say I'm wearing or using a certain brand. I've just found what I like best over the years. I will occasionally try a new brand if someone recommends it. (Example, I just bought some Viva paper towels. I'm usually a Bounty user.)

I buy what I think tastes best, works best, looks best, etc. It might be a store brand or a name brand.

[Deleted]

Colgate hurts my teeth. By the middle of the tube, I have sensitivity. I asked my dentist and he told me to switch to Crest, and within a week it went away. Every few years I try colgate, and my teeth start hurting. So, I'll pay the $3.99.

Ironically, the tube of Colgate I bought was for "sensitive" teeth. I'd let you know if it works, but my teeth aren't sensitive.

Go figure.

[Peace Of Mind]

Oct 8, 2012 15:33:09 GMT -5 kgb18 said:

I'm a pretty brand-oriented shopper. Not because I want to be able to say I'm wearing or using a certain brand. I've just found what I like best over the years. I will occasionally try a new brand if someone recommends it. (Example, I just bought some Viva paper towels. I'm usually a Bounty user.)

I buy what I think tastes best, works best, looks best, etc. It might be a store brand or a name brand.

That's how I do it. If I like the product and only a certain brand gets it right that's the brand I buy. I don't buy brands for the name at all.

I also love watches and still wear them (yes, I know I'm old) but my doctor still wears one and so does his new doctor he hired. He's young and hot and still wears a watch. I'm about due for another check up. I need to call and make sure my regular guy is out so I can get hot doctor again. ;D

[kgb18]

LOL POM! You're too much.

I've never worn a watch. Now I always have my phone, so I don't really need a watch.

Some brands I have to have:
Ketchup: Heinz (I'm from Pittsburgh!)
Mayo: Helmann's
Toilet paper: Charmin Ultra Strong
Foundation: Bare Minerals
Detergent: Tide and Dreft
Coffee creamer: CoffeeMate

[thyme4change]

So, I hate this thread. Every time I click on it I think to myself - "Hey, Swamp uses Playtex Tampons." The visual that comes with knowing exactly what you all wipe your ass with - well, that is one that just sticks on you, like post-chinese take-out vomit. Thanks guys.

[kgb18]

Well, the post-Chinese take-out vomit thing was far more gross and descriptive than anything anyone here has said, so ...

[zibazinski]

Coach used to be good quality. Not so much anymore.

[wvugurl26]

When I was at the eye doctor he told me if I had a brand of contact solution that worked to stick with it. Different ones have different additives and allergies can be a problem. I've never switched even when I pay more for my desired brand.

I try to get household type stuff on sale and stock up but I'm pretty brand loyal.

[swamp]

Oct 8, 2012 18:04:18 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

So, I hate this thread. Every time I click on it I think to myself - "Hey, Swamp uses Playtex Tampons." The visual that comes with knowing exactly what you all wipe your ass with - well, that is one that just sticks on you, like post-chinese take-out vomit. Thanks guys.

We use septic safe angel soft TP. You're welcome.

[kgb18]

wvu, True of the contact solution. I can only use one kind. Any other kind I've tried has burnt my eyes.

[Deleted]

Wanna know my favorite lube thyme ?

[Deleted]

Wanna know my favorite lube thyme ?

I'm guessing Pennzoil or the local greasy spoon.

Did I win some sort of prize for best guessing?

[Mardi Gras Audrey]

I am fairly brand loyal if I have experience with the brand and they have gotten it right. It isn't about the brand itself, though. It is more about the fact that I am cheap and lazy. If I know that a brand has it right, I'll spend a little more and get it rather than take a chance on an unknown cheaper brand (then I would have to return to the store, get the brand I know, blah, blah, blah..). I am just way too lazy to be having all of that go on. I'll stick with my Crest, Angel Soft/Quilted Northern, playtex, etc.

Fem products are one area that I am super brand loyal. The consequences of cheaping out and getting an inferior product are just too high. I stick with what has done me right.. A good friend sent her DH to the store this summer for fem products and he almost caused WWIII. He is a total cheapskate and chose save the $1 and forgo the Always Infinity. I am pretty sure he regretted that... Next time, he knows it is worth that extra buck!

[Deleted]

Oct 8, 2012 18:30:08 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Coach used to be good quality. Not so much anymore.

Yeah, I bought my last one 9 years ago. They're all made in China now. That's my main beef with a lot of name brands, especially non-food items. They still have the steep prices but they outsourced manufacturing to cheap labor years ago.

Food items: we buy what's on sale for the most part, but have found that some name brands are worth it- fewer additives, better taste, better quality. Off-brand green beans, for example, seem to have more of the fibrous parts left on.

Clothing: I know quality. I made my own clothes when I was younger. No brand loyalty at all except for the business clothes I get from my tailor, made in the USA. The rest, if it's not made in China and I like it, I get it. Chico's is a good source for me.

Shoes: Nike for sports because I can still get some not made in China. Thierry Rabotin for business. Gorgeous, comfortable, made in Italy, and I know my size so I can buy them on-line from end-of-season sales. I also like Birkenstocks.

[973beachbum]

Shoes: Nike for sports because I can still get some not made in China.

So China is bad, but Vietnam, Cambodia and Malasia are good?

[Taxman10]

Oct 8, 2012 18:04:18 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

So, I hate this thread. Every time I click on it I think to myself - "Hey, Swamp uses Playtex Tampons." The visual that comes with knowing exactly what you all wipe your ass with - well, that is one that just sticks on you, like post-chinese take-out vomit. Thanks guys.

<<plans to buy Swamp Playtex tampons for christmas>>

[taz157]

Oct 8, 2012 15:33:09 GMT -5 kgb18 said:

I'm a pretty brand-oriented shopper. Not because I want to be able to say I'm wearing or using a certain brand. I've just found what I like best over the years. I will occasionally try a new brand if someone recommends it.

I buy what I think tastes best, works best, looks best, etc. It might be a store brand or a name brand.

For watches, I still wear one. FWIW, I'm 33. When I take it off when I'm giving DD a bath, I feel weird. For a few months, I didn't wear one as I needed to get a new battery and it took me a while. Even after those few months, it still felt weird not to wear one.

[zibazinski]

I got a battery for my spare watch because I have to send my good one off to NY for battery and cleaning. I feel naked without one but I'm old.

[thyme4change]

Wanna know my favorite lube thyme ?

Y'all crack me up.

[justme]

There was a manufacturing shortage two winters ago and we went on a Tampon quest and purchased all of them that I could find within a 30 mile radius of where I live. Seriously- these things were selling on Ebay for $100+ a box at the time. Insane.

I guess it was a brand I don't use as I don't remember a shortage. Under those circumstances I would probably consider temporarily switching!

[Deleted]

Oct 9, 2012 7:27:59 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

So China is bad, but Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia are good?

They're less bad.