What generic products do you like?

[Deleted]

I'll admit that we don't use a lot of generics. We don't always use the biggest brands (I'll use Electrasol/Finish instead of Cascade), but I don't buy Great Value products, for example.

However, I really like some of Costco's store brands. We really like their trash bags, which are much cheaper than Glad, etc. even without coupons.  Their sheet cakes are delicious with 2 pounds of cream cheese inside. They are cheaper and tastier than Publix's.

So we needed to restock the paper towels because we are down to four rolls. I bought Costco's version of Bounty that has the pick-a-size feature. Sometimes I only want a little bit of paper towel to wash something out or wipe something off the countertop. DH surprised me by being willing to try it. He is very much a name-brand person.

Are there other Costco products we should try? We don't belong to Sam's Club although you can tout those as well as a public service. It is not worth it to belong to two wholesale clubs with just the two of us. 

[Deleted]

I'm a product snob 

I will use generic paper towels. 

I buy Giant's store brand organic stuff, does that count? 

[chiver78]

I don't even know where the closest Costco is to me, so I can't help you with those store brands, sorry.

for generics that I like - is Suave still considered a generic? I swear by their Nexxus knockoffs of both shampoo and conditioner. I'm pretty awful to my hair, between daily either blowdry/straightening or completely tying up/back and hairspraying it down to contain....and my hairstylist is convinced that I follow her instructions to the letter b/c my hair's in such good shape.

[Deleted]

We've never had a bad experience with Costco's brands.  DH's new hearing aids from Costco are actually superior to the name brand he had before.  

The Kirkland (Costco) brand is always well ranked in Consumer Reports.  

[Ava]

I always buy generics. Whether I'm at Stop and Shop or Wally World, I buy generic almost always.
I don't buy generics for hair or skin care, make up, or cat food.
The other exception is soda; you'll have to pry my diet Coke from my cold, dead hands.

[moneymaven]

I sort of have a Costco obsession. So much so, my wedding band is from Costco. We've purchased towels, rugs, sheets, dog bed, paper towels, toilet paper, laundry detergent, tissues, trash bags, diapers, baby wipes; we love almost anything Kirkland brand. Even our vet suggested switching dog food to the Kirkland brand instead of our specialty food; same high quality ingredients. It's wonderful and I would almost say that many things are superior to other brand name items and the prices are reasonable. And I used to be a "brand conscious."

ETA: We also just switched to Kirkland brand foil (which ironically is also stamped with a very small Reynolds logo) that's been awesome. My red plastic cups for parties are also stamped with the Chinet brand name. I am not sure how these relationships work but I like the price point for our heavily used items. Also I think Costco is superior to Sam's. We have memberships to both, but I tend to shop at Costco more.

[swasat]

I love, love Costco's Kirkland brand. We buy Kirkland butter. Delish   I also buy Kirkland batteries, cashews, dried fruit like cherries, cranberries, mangoes etc, almonds, pecans etc., marinara sauce, pasta,  and basmati rice.

One thing we don't like is the Kirkland jam. But we love the E.D.Smith spreads sold in Costco.

[swasat]

May 26, 2014 20:07:39 GMT -5 moneymaven said:

I sort of have a Costco obsession. So much so, my wedding band is from Costco. We've purchased towels, rugs, sheets, dog bed, paper towels, toilet paper, laundry detergent, tissues, trash bags, diapers, baby wipes; we love almost anything Kirkland brand. Even our vet suggested switching dog food to the Kirkland brand instead of our specialty food; same high quality ingredients. It's wonderful and I would almost say that many things are superior to other brand name items and the prices are reasonable. And I used to be a "brand conscious."

ETA: We also just switched to Kirkland brand foil (which ironically is also stamped with a very small Reynolds logo) that's been awesome. My red plastic cups for parties are also stamped with the Chinet brand name. I am not sure how these relationships work but I like the price point for our heavily used items. Also I think Costco is superior to Sam's. We have memberships to both, but I tend to shop at Costco more.

 Me too 

We dropped our Sams membership after we got Costco membership. Costco's quality is way superior to Sams Club.

[Nazgul Girl]

  I will try any generic or locally manufactured product (such as Velvet peanutbutter ) once.   I'd rather be able to find a generic or storebrand product and save anywhere from 10 cents to several dollars per unit ( think of over-the-counter drugstore products ) by trying something new, then keep on paying for the name brand's advertising.   We use generic Miralax, painkillers, canned goods, tissue, toilet paper, ketchup, nuts, etc.

  Kroger has a line of products called "Private Selection" which rivals and even surpasses most name brand products.  The Private Selection means and nuts are excellent.  
 
  I used to love the Kirkland brand sold by Costco.  I just don't get up to the nearest Costco often enough to warrant buying their membership anymore.

  Surprisingly, we do a lot of our shopping for the basics at the Dollar General near our house.   They carry Rexall cloth bandages, which are soft, and stick well, but come off without tearing his skin.   DH has to use a fair amount of bandages due to various skin problems due to his bypass surgery site issues ( to this day), and other things, so it's good to have that brand available.  If I wasn't such a bargain hunter, we would have never tried them.  

 
 

[Deleted]

I buy everything Costco, but you have to have storage space because everything is in giant size containers and packs. I swear that the kitchen pantry made a comeback due to Costco sizing! Overall their quality is very good to excellent.

The only Costco brand items I don't buy are:

• Toilet paper. Stupid stuff won't tear on the perfs & it drives my OCD self nuts.
• Tuna. The cans are bigger than normal size.
• Fresh Baked Rosemary Bread. It is really good & addictive. Better for my waistline that I just don't go there.
• Dishwasher Detergent. too caustic, it etched my glasses and cups dammit!

The bakery goods are really fabulous. Watch out for the pies, they are giant sized, so bigger than you realize. They take a whole shelf in my split fridge!

I particularly like their clear waste paper basket bags. They are the right size for my kitchen garbage & sturdy and you get a million in a package. I think the last box lasted over a year with me giving rolls to both my kids.

The roasted chickens are very good and a great deal. I'll always opt for someone else cooking for me.

The meat is very high quality and it is the only place I will buy meat other than the butcher shop now.

Starbucks roasted Costco Espresso beans are good, but not Starbucks quality even though they do the roasting. But for 25% the cost, I make do with it.

Butter, half-and-half, eggs, berries - all very good quality and less expensive than most groceries. I don't buy their milk since I don't use much and 2 gallons at a time is too much.

Rice - huge bags, but you can't beat the Lucky Elephant brand for flavor (my opinion)

Quinoa - excellent quality & I won't buy it anywhere else.

If they ever move to 'normal size' containers & just double pack they'll get a lot more business from me. I'm happy to buy and give the extra to my kids, but i will never buy a gallon size peanut butter to sit in my fridge on its own!

[Deleted]

Oh, I do buy some target store brands! Paper plates, etc. And I will buy store brand butter...

No costco near here...

[midjd]

Our Costco is on the north side so I don't make it up there often enough to justify a membership. I do looooove their cakes, though!

Kroger has a pretty good generic brand - they even have an organic brand. We get their chicken, granola bars, cereal, microwave popcorn, soft drinks, bagged salad, and a few other things. The chicken and salad are more expensive because they're organic, but the rest is about half the price of the name brand.

[NastyWoman]

I love Costco generic products, but for food (single person) I buy Trader Joe's stuff. Really good, well priced and in sizes I can handle

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

There are some things from Costco that we don't touch anymore.  Batteries are one, and the tipping point was when leaky Kirkland brand ruined 3 flashlights and the $300 Nikon flash attachment to Tzd's camera.  Not happy, every single battery we had in the house was returned.

We don't do Kirkland laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent or dishwashing detergent either.  You need to use a lot to be effective.  I don't use their shampoo or body wash either, I don't like scented products and these are scented.

Just about every other product I buy though......

[truthbound]

What generic products do you like?

The ones that are cheapest.

[marvholly]

At Dollar Tree, Aldi and various stores I buy generic paper goods and those items that have federally mandated standards such as (but NOT limited to)

orange juice
canned veg such as beets, tomatoes, potatoes & green beans, tomato sauce, mushrooms,
canned fruit
cottage cheese
cream cheese
shred & bar cheese
ice cream
yogurt
pasta
rice
salad dressing
spices
salty snacks (chips, nachos, pretzels)
margerine
butter

There are quite a number of items I DO like from Aldi but not store generic or Dollar Tree:
pancake mix
pancake syrup
fruit jams
rice mixes
pasta mixes
stuffing mix

I am sure I will think of more.

[bookkeeper]

I like the dishwasher soap tabs from the Dollar General. Less than half price of any other tab I have seen on the shelf.

[The Captain]

I hate shopping at Walmart for many reasons, but their store brand of plastic wrap is far better than anything else I've been able to find (found this out at SIL's house).

We do taste tests in our house all the time.  The Aldi brand of soups, ice cream toppings, pot stickers - almost anything we've tried - have usually won out over national brands.  We don't buy a lot of pre-made stuff though so we shop there only occassionally.

[sesfw]

We don't care for Kirkland TP, batteries, ground coffee but otherwise we'll try it all.

In a regular grocery the only store brand I buy is Sprouts No Salt added marinara sauce.  Tried Trader Joe's no salt marinara and it was bad.