# When do you require a brand-name product? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 28, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089 "2012-09-28T02:21:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/41 "2012-09-28T17:40:09Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What the hell are you all doing with tin foil that makes store brand stuff unusable? Granted it’s a wee bit thinner, but uhhh, so? Agree. I buy both. The good stuff gets used to wrap the grate on the grill we use on the pontoon boat. Or if we wrap leftovers for guests to take home. The generic works fine for most other applications. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/42 "2012-09-28T17:49:59Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Not knowing anything about them, I have no idea what you are talking about. Can you explain more? Well, that was _sort of_ a tongue-in-cheek response. Sort of. I will never be seen in a generic, hospital loaner chair. Ti-Lite or bust, baby. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/43 "2012-09-28T17:50:16Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Agree. I buy both. The good stuff gets used to wrap the grate on the grill we use on the pontoon boat. Or if we wrap leftovers for guests to take home. The generic works fine for most other applications. Ditto. Our grocery now has a heavy duty generic which is equivalent to brand name regular and costs less. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/44 "2012-09-28T18:16:22Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Well, that was _sort of_ a tongue-in-cheek response. Sort of. > > I will never be seen in a generic, hospital loaner chair. Ti-Lite or bust, baby. 😃 Playing cards slapping against the spokes; is it done, and if so, cool?😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/45 "2012-09-28T18:27:05Z")
Mixers. Never buy store brand or Mr. Boston mixes or mixers. Spend the money on Schweppe’s and Canada Dry and Coke. Pickles. Vlasic or some other major brand. Never Mt. Olive or a store brand. They taste off or mushy. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/46 "2012-09-28T18:35:17Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Playing cards slapping against the spokes; is it done, and if so, cool?😉 LOL. Not done by this guy. Although I’m sure it’s done. And I’m sure _someone_ thinks it’s cool. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/47 "2012-09-28T18:44:34Z")
Nabisco Saltines and Best Food Mayo. BMWs. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/48 "2012-09-28T18:46:52Z")
Cascade dishwashing detergent, the kind that says on the box that you don’t have to pre-wash dishes. I’m _not_ going back to doing that. Since I got pregnant, Diet Pepsi. I know how much caffeine it has per 12-ounce glass, and therefore how much I can have in a day (200 mg when I was pregnant, 300 now that I’m breastfeeding). With generics, I don’t know that. Some days I need to get as close to my daily maximum of caffeine as possible to be functional, so I need that information. Normally, I’ll drink either Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi, whichever is on sale, but not store-brand. Pampers. Other brands don’t fit the same way, and might not have something like the blue stripe to indicate when they are dirty. I have allergies and am too stuffy to tell by smell when the diaper is dirty, so I need the stripe. The cats eat Eukanuba food. I don’t want to risk digestive upsets or angry cats over a switch. They also get Arm & Hammer litter, also because I don’t want them to get pissed off over a change. I say pissed off quite literally in Luna’s case- she has been known to express her displeasure over some change by peeing outside the box. Not a risk I’m willing to take to save a few dollars. I get Tide Free detergent, because we know it will not trigger Mr. Neville’s skin allergies. For some things, I buy a kosher-certified brand over one that isn’t. I’ll read labels to determine if something that isn’t kosher-certified is OK, but I’d rather get something certified. La Victoria salsas, for example, are kosher certified, and some other brands are not, so I generally buy the La Victoria. ---
**Author:** ![geneb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e4f/32.png) [@geneb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geneb)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/49 "2012-09-28T19:04:09Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > Hot Dogs - Ball Park That reminds me.. Hot Dogs. Only Hebrew National will do. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/50 "2012-09-28T19:07:27Z")
I couldn’t really think of anything until the following came along. > [@silenus](#): > > …Pickles. Vlasic… Yes. And only the Zesty kind everything else is a waste of nutrient space in my body. > [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > The cats eat Eukanuba food. I don’t want to risk digestive upsets or angry cats over a switch. They also get Arm & Hammer litter,… When I got my cats they were being fed Purina One Indoor Advantage and that is what they eat to this day. And cat litter is Arm & Hammer Multi-Cat. It’s a quality litter.\* Also cereal has to be brand name. No generic crap even though it’s like $1.50 for a 5 lb bag but I’d still rather pay $5 for a box of brand name. \*I don’t think I’ve ever said that before and I can’t really see myself saying it ever again. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/51 "2012-09-28T19:15:16Z")
Thought of another one. When it comes to orange juice, it has to be Simply Orange. We hardly ever use it for anything other than screwdrivers (and that’s mainly my husband) so he gets his preference. Pineapple juice and canned pineapple - must be Dole. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/52 "2012-09-28T19:16:16Z")
Nobody yet has mentioned cannabis. I’m old enough to remember the days of ditch weed, and generic “pot”. Nowadays it’s Sour Diesel, Bubblegum, Sweet Tooth, etc. I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/53 "2012-09-28T21:05:52Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > Q-Tips - I haven’t found another brand that doesn’t bend in half at the least provocation. Absolutely! Also, for me: tampons - I switch between Kotex, Playtex, or Tampax, so I don’t have a particular brand loyalty, but it does have to be a brand-name. I don’t know why, but I get kind of squeamish about the thought of shoving ‘knock offs’ inside me. Also - condoms. I don’t currently use them (IUD, LOVE!!) but when I did they to be name brand, preferably Kimono Micro-thins. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/54 "2012-09-28T23:09:52Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Nobody yet has mentioned cannabis. I’m old enough to remember the days of ditch weed, and generic “pot”. Nowadays it’s Sour Diesel, Bubblegum, Sweet Tooth, etc. > > I’ve heard. _Flinttown Brown…_ ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/55 "2012-09-28T23:34:00Z")
I’m not sure they _have_ ketchup that is not Heinz here in Pittsburgh. You might have to go outside the city limits to buy it. ---
**Author:** ![KermitTheFrig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/47e85d/32.png) [@KermitTheFrig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KermitTheFrig)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/56 "2012-09-28T23:58:39Z")
Cola must be Coke. Ice cream almost certainly must be a brand name, though there is one premium store brand I like. No chocolatey frosted donut is like an Entenmann’s. Just about everything else we buy is a store brand. ---
**Author:** ![tadtooornamental](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@tadtooornamental](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tadtooornamental)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/57 "2012-10-02T01:38:58Z")
Doritos, obviously. My kitties get the good stuff too, of course. Usually Friskies, both chow and cans, and Tidy Cat Crystals Blend litter. Good lord, is that litter amazing! I could go a month without a change (not that I would!) and it still wouldn’t smell. I recently bought Walgreen’s generic litter, rather than run to Walmart just for that one thing, and dumped the whole pan after two days. The rest went to the garage to clean up oil. The only other thing I have to have brand name is conditioner. I have thick hair, and tons of it, so cheap will just not cut it. I can deal with Herbal Essences or Fructis or some other drugstore brands, but Suave and VO5 and the like are out of the question. Shampoo, I could really care less about, but I do tend to buy the same brand/scent as my conditioner, to avoid an odd smell about my head. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/58 "2012-10-02T01:46:31Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > Q-Tips - I haven’t found another brand that doesn’t bend in half at the least provocation. This. Q-tips. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/59 "2012-10-02T01:51:24Z")
fourth person to mention Heinz ketchup. Sad in a way I guess - but it’s honestly they only thing I can think of where alternatives are worse in every single way. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089/60 "2012-10-02T14:51:37Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I recall generic cigarettes years ago–maybe 35 years ago or so, when generics first started gaining popularity. Back then, I tried a carton of generic King Size Filter Cigarettes. They were cigarettes that could be smoked and they were cheap; that’s about all that could be said for them. They were pretty lousy, and I went back to my regular brand. In my first year of college (1991-1992), I smoked [GPC Lights](http://www.cigarettespedia.com/index.php/GPC_%28design_3%29_Quality_Tabacco_%28Lights%29_KS-20-H_-_USA) or General Product Cigarettes. Eventually my throat and lungs couldn’t handle them any longer and I took the price hike to by Marlboros. But the GPCs were probably some 33% cheaper. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-require-a-brand-name-product/636089.md?page=4)