# Large retailers selling custom made cheaper "name brand" products. Does that really happen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 10, 2017, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483 "2017-10-10T13:45:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/21 "2017-10-11T04:27:12Z")
@TSBC - Do your homework, start with model numbers and detailed specs for what you want and then compare prices. I bought my mother a new Samsung washer from Costco last year. I copied detailed specs / model etc from the Costco website then checked online versus competitors. I couldn’t find the Costco model anywhere at all, so I found the most comparable Samsung models (identical look and identical specs) at Best Buy, Home Depot etc and the Costco product was about $150 cheaper, so I bought it. I think I got a great deal on it. So far so good. You’re not necessarily getting second rate crap, maybe just a different item. Buyer Beware, do that homework. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/22 "2017-10-11T05:14:28Z")
Thanks **GMAN** , good info and advice. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/23 "2017-10-11T12:20:51Z")
As other’s mentioned in the other thread, I suspect a lot of this is all about foiling comparison shopping and especially automated online comparison shopping. i.e. As long as the part numbers are different one retailer is free to advertise “we match competitor prices on identical items!!!” but never have to actually pay off on the claim. Imagine that all ecommerce websites were required by FTC to include the manufacturer’s part number and the price in a readily machine-recognizable form on all their products on all their pages. It’d be about 3 minutes before somebody released an app to scour the net and find that lowest price. A good cheap defense to that is to prevent matching on part number. The big boys can do that vs. each other and vs. all the Mom and Pops. But all the Mom & Pops can’t do it vs. each other. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/24 "2017-10-11T13:24:27Z")
GMAN and dstarfire, Thanks! There is a lot of good info in this thread. It boils down, as always, to do your homework. Look at the detailed specs. Compare. The bad news is that “name-brand” doesn’t mean much by itself. It can be a good starting point for the specs to compare against. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/25 "2017-10-11T13:35:10Z")
I found this with Goodyear tires. I had some Goodyears I bought at Walmart and tried to have them replaced at a real Goodyear store and they said it was the Walmart, cheaper version. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/26 "2017-10-11T13:50:18Z")
Performance bike, with stores in about ½ the states & an online presence is notorious for doing this. Most of what they sell is either one of a few house brands or one-off models of independent bike brands with some change to the components, substituting some inferior part(s). Fuji bikes can be purchased in many bike stores, but the majority of ones they sell are “Exclusives”. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/27 "2017-10-12T00:16:51Z")
This is completely standard practice in the food industry. Think of all those generic or house brand items you see in a grocery store – who do you think makes them? Do you think Kroger, Safeway and Publix have their own factories to make their own house brand of cookies & oatmeal & corn flakes & wieners, etc.? Mostly, they are made by the same manufacturer that makes the name-brand version, usually on the same assembly line, and often with the very same ingredients. During college, I worked in a potato chip factory. Besides our own name brand, we also produced chips under 2 other brand names. It was common to see chips coming out of the fryer and going into packaging machines with two different brand names on the packages. These other brands would provide specs, and ask us to bid for their business. (For potato chips, there wasn’t much to change in the specs, so they were pretty much the same. More complicated products, like electronics, could easily be cheapened.) Buyers might change suppliers every year or so, depending on whose bid was cheapest. Sometimes both we and a competitor were both supplying some of the chips sold under their house-brand name. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/28 "2017-10-12T01:02:59Z")
@LSL Guy - you’re absolute right about foiling price comparison. The term we used was “muddy the waters” ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/29 "2017-10-12T01:07:11Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > hp is known to make Wal-Mart only pc builds also the video game console will make advertised “exclusive” to that store versions I bought a Walmart only HP. Trackpad was useless, but it’s ok with a mouse. Pretty low-end but it’s fine for basic stuff. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/30 "2017-10-12T02:01:31Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > This is completely standard practice in the food industry. > > Think of all those generic or house brand items you see in a grocery store – who do you think makes them? Do you think Kroger, Safeway and Publix have their own factories to make their own house brand of cookies & oatmeal & corn flakes & wieners, etc.? > > Mostly, they are made by the same manufacturer that makes the name-brand version, usually on the same assembly line, and often with the very same ingredients. > > During college, I worked in a potato chip factory. Besides our own name brand, we also produced chips under 2 other brand names. It was common to see chips coming out of the fryer and going into packaging machines with two different brand names on the packages. > > These other brands would provide specs, and ask us to bid for their business. (For potato chips, there wasn’t much to change in the specs, so they were pretty much the same. More complicated products, like electronics, could easily be cheapened.) Buyers might change suppliers every year or so, depending on whose bid was cheapest. Sometimes both we and a competitor were both supplying some of the chips sold under their house-brand name. That’s common here in Japan as well. A local convenience store sells actual [Doritos](http://www.fritolay.co.jp/products/doritos_mexican_tacos/) and their [house brand](http://www.family.co.jp/goods/snack/4824107.html) called “Mexican Chips Spicy Tacos Flavor”. The size of the of the real Doritos is 60g and sells for about 130yen (US$1.25). The house brand is 90g and sells for 105yen (US$0.90). Years ago when I tried the house brand for the first time, I said, “These taste just like Japanese Doritos for a cheaper price!” When I checked the info in the back of the bag, there it was: “メーカー名: ジャパンフリトレー” (Maker name: Frito-Lay), the maker of Doritos, of course. A different convenience store chain’s [house brand](http://store100.lawson.co.jp/product/valueline/snack/1954.html) “Tortilla Chips Chili Tacos Flavor” is also made by Frito-Lay ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/31 "2017-10-12T02:09:47Z")
oh and something ive caught recently youll see scotch tape or something say 3M on it and look normal but somewhere it will say "produced/manufactured exclusively by big lots " ‘’ Mattel does this every year so they can sell 2.99 barbie/hot wheel sets at big lots and the dollar stores ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/32 "2017-10-12T03:58:27Z")
I don’t know anything about the usual Wal Mart megastores, but their Neighborhood Grocery around the corner from here doesn’t seem to do this. Based on my experience with household items like detergent and paper products, the brand name items are the same as you’d find in any other grocery chain. The prices are usually considerably lower, but not extremely so. There are no gallon jars of Vlasic for one dollar. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/33 "2017-10-12T12:47:33Z")
I learned here on the Dope that the Calphalon pan I was looking at at Target, may well not be the same quality of that Calphalon I could buy at buy at say, Bed Bath and Beyond. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/34 "2017-10-12T13:07:17Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > See here for a detailed breakdown of the [difference between KitchenAid’s Artisan and Professional](http://trendy-kitchen.com/kitchenaid-artisan-vs-professional-mixer-comparison/) mixers. > [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I don’t know anything about the usual Wal Mart megastores, but their Neighborhood Grocery around the corner from here doesn’t seem to do this. Based on my experience with household items like detergent and paper products, the brand name items are the same as you’d find in any other grocery chain. The prices are usually considerably lower, but not extremely so. There are no gallon jars of Vlasic for one dollar. Well, I for one was heartened that the average small family or person living alone can buy a gallon jar of pickles for $3, and from the first link, using the 30lb KitchenAid Professional 600, whip up 13 dozens of Cookies at a time or add 8lb of Mashed Potatoes as a side-dish. From a link [**there**](https://www.amazon.com/review/RH75NZI3K0SIN/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0000CFQ4J&linkCode=sl2&tag=mixerc-20&linkId=c06b59fc198a0dca351814d28fd58256) I also learnt Germans don’t like aluminium cookware. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/35 "2017-10-12T14:54:58Z")
This phenomenon is very common in fashion as well. It used to be that designer outlet stores stocked that designer’s regular clothing, just out of season or on clearance. Now, some of these designers produce lesser-quality goods for sale directly in their outlets. See this article from [Racked](https://www.racked.com/2014/10/8/7573957/outlet-mall-stores), for example. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/36 "2017-10-12T15:00:17Z")
It makes sense to me that the outlet stores are selling stuff designed and manufactured for sale in outlet stores. There are so many outlet stores today (including many malls filled with outlet stores) that it’s just not possible to fill them all with genuine store returns, last season’s goods and irregulars. Perhaps decades ago when outlet stores were rarer, they only had the good stuff, but not any more. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/37 "2017-10-12T15:28:23Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It makes sense to me that the outlet stores are selling stuff designed and manufactured for sale in outlet stores. There are so many outlet stores today (including many malls filled with outlet stores) that it’s just not possible to fill them all with genuine store returns, last season’s goods and irregulars. Perhaps decades ago when outlet stores were rarer, they only had the good stuff, but not any more. Yes this was on the news years ago. The popularity of outlet stores skyrocketed and they didn’t have enough irregulars / returns to stock them to they started to manufacture the clothes for the outlet centers specifically. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/38 "2017-10-12T15:55:29Z")
> [@xnylder](#): > > This phenomenon is very common in fashion as well. It used to be that designer outlet stores stocked that designer’s regular clothing, just out of season or on clearance. Now, some of these designers produce lesser-quality goods for sale directly in their outlets. See this article from [Racked](https://www.racked.com/2014/10/8/7573957/outlet-mall-stores), for example. This turned me off of some name brands almost 20 years ago. I had a couple of Tommy Hilfiger items from Macy’s that I thought were great. Heavy material, sturdy construction, never shrank or faded. So I tried some of the stuff from a Tommy Hilfiger outlet store and it was utter garbage. Shrank, wrinkled, colors faded, etc. Left such a bad taste in my mouth I never bought any of his stuff again. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/39 "2017-10-12T16:09:12Z")
I once bought a TV from Walmart. When I bought the TV, I noticed the box had been opened and taped back shut. I wound up having to return the TV because the stand was broken. The very next day, that same fucking box was back on the shelf with the box re-taped shut. (I know because I wrote on the box.) I guess their intention was to keep trying to resell it until somebody neglects to return the item they KNOW is fucked up. I tried to leave a tip with the local news hotline, but they never investigated as far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483/40 "2017-10-12T20:18:15Z")
A variant of this was done by Radio Shack for years. Their Realistic brand products were often identical to the name brand product on the outside but opening them up revealed differences. (And I’ve opened up several of them.) The most obvious difference oftentimes was a much cheaper PS with far fewer parts. I’m sure them selling knock-off crap had _nothing_ to do with their going out of business. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-retailers-selling-custom-made-cheaper-name-brand-products-does-that-really-happen/798483.md?page=3)