What are your 'name brand only' items?
What are your 'name brand only' items?
What do you refuse to get generic versions of?
208 comments
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Tires. Never cheap out on tires.
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This I agree with.
I once heard someone say: «never skimp out on what seperates you from the ground».
For bed and tires I really agree, but with shoes I’m not as strict.-
I had this exact stance until I won a pair of $200 running shoes in a raffle. My occasional backpains and joint problems disappeared almost immediately. I started buying the best footwear I could afford and my quality of life went measurable up after that decision.
The BIGGEST changes were going to a reputable podiatrist and getting shoe recommendations based off of my arch shape, weight and gait. They put me on a treadmill with highspead cameras at the sides and rear to record how my stride landed both walking and running. That and custom molded insoles.
Now Shoes are a part of our yearly budget to make sure we have good condition, supportive shoes at all times. Also re-soleing if applicable.
Side note: Dress shoes can die in a fire.
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Same can be said about the power supply unit of your homemade PC. Cheaping out on that is a good way to fry your PC or burn your house down.
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Like Bronzie said, never skimp on what separates you from the ground. Or on this case, what separates your computer from the ground.
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Changed my tires for the first time last year. Bought the cheapest tires acailable to me and now my car feel a bit wobbly. I'm definitely buying better tires next time.
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Toilet paper. My asshole deserves Angel Soft.
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If you really care about your asshole get a bidet
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Same but cottonelle
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Angel Soft is garbage tier IMO. Charmin or bust for me.
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It's not, its actually wonderful. It's one of the few brands that doesn't shed bits off, and whatever chemicals/softeners they use doesn't irritate my skin like other big-name brands.
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Oh yeah, how is your husband?
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batteries.
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This one is interesting, because I've heard certain generic brands are actually just repackaged Duracells
I've also been thinking about getting some rechargeable Ikea ones, heard those are decent
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I wonder if they're repackaged due to not meeting certain quality control thresholds, but still technically useable
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Rechargeables are definitely a good upgrade for most applications where people use alkalines. They have better performance under high load, are much less likely to leak corrosive electrolyte, and you can use them again after you drain them. I'm a little surprised they aren't more popular.
The Panasonic Eneloop is the gold standard for rechargeables, particularly the white ones which are more shelf-stable and have a longer service life than the higher-capacity black Eneloop Pro. Made-in-Japan Ikea rechargeables are suspected of being rebranded Eneloop Pros, but I don't think that's been conclusively proven.
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A few years back a guy did agood dive into this on (other website name redacted). He said for things like digital camersand other high draw items, Duracell is still the champ - however, $/hour of use, some cgeaper bands came out ahead. I still have half a giant pack of AC Delco AA / AAAs that have been quite solid.
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I've heard certain generic brands are actually just repackaged Duracells
Might depend where you live, I live in Nothern Europe and the cheap generic brand batteries from a popular electronics store chain, rechargeable, are quite shit when I compare them to my 5+ year old Eneloops. Haven't tried IKEA ones though.
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Some of the IKEA batteries are rebranded Eneloops!
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Definitely! For electronics, Eneloop batteries are worth every penny. I think I have ~10 AA and AAA, and I haven't bought disposable batteries in years. I try to make sure I have 4 of each available at all times so I don't have to wait for them to recharge. I've tried cheaper (Amazon) batteries, and they fail much more quickly, and sometimes swell to the point where I have a hard time removing them.
Some people say IKEA's batteries are just rebranded Eneloops, but I haven't had a chance to try them
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Video game controllers.
I know the divide is not quite what it was with stick drift affecting almost all of the 1st party offerings, but there's just something that feels so cheap about using any generic controller, even ones that are marketed as higher end.
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8bitdo aren't really for any particular device, but the quality is fantastic.
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Have they changed the joystick material yet? The joysticks off my ol' 8bitdo pro (the original) kept shedding with use, so I stopped using it in lieu of the switch and steamdeck controllers. Gods, the controller was way more comfortable and sized just right than any other 3rd party controller for me. My google fu is weak, so I never found fitting thumbpad covers for it.
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They’re amazing, especially with the backbuttons and such
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Computer hardware
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which brands do you trust for GPU heatsink+board (not chip) manufacturers? there's so many to choose from and I don't know who to trust.
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I personally trust Asus, EVGA (Rip), Gigabyte, Palit, PNY, Sapphire and XFX when buying graphics cards.
My current card is a Geforce GTX 1060 6GB from Asus that I bought in 2017, and it hasn't skipped a beat.3A
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Q-Tips (cotton swabs.) Generics seem universally worse.
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Running shoes. Antipronation shoes are fucking expensive, but having bad support will eventually hurt my feet, ankles or knees. I would get hurt very fast if I started running in cheap sneakers or something.
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... Siracha.
At least before the debacle with Underwood Ranch. I unknowingly bought extra before it happened and am close to running out. I'm not sure what to do afterwards but I'm not inclined to support Huy Fong.
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I hear Underwood ranch sells siracha made from the same peppers Huy Fong used to buy from them. Might be worth checking out
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I want to support them, but I hear it's just not the same. Maybe that could be a good thing, though!
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Tabasco Sriracha is not quite the same but decent.
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During the huy Fong drought I learned that I actually prefer Tabasco brand Sriracha!
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Fix Sriracha is pretty damn good, less sweet, more heat, a touch more fermented funkiness. Downside is it is thinner and more expensive.
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Mac&cheese
It's Kraft Dinner or nothing.
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I didn't have to open your username to know what instance your account is on...
because I agree.
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Annie’s?
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Gotta be KD
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Honestly PC white cheddar is very good
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Kraft isn't even remotely better that every other shitty brand of that "stuff".
Go buy real pastas, real cheese and seasoning and learn to make real fucking food.
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Dawn dish soap is simply unbeatable
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We ran trials in my middle school home economics class on various popular dish soap brands, and at the time (23 years ago) Palmolive absolutely blasted the shit out of every other brand, Dawn included. So my wife and kid now ride or die with that brand. It's green, too..
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It smells and feels awful, though.
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That's what Consumer Reports concluded as well, when they independently bought and tested all the brands.
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Dawn doesn’t seem to dry out my hands like Palmolive or every other dish soap. I think they all work good enough but I hate the way they make my hands feel.
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This was my answer dawn is the shizz
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Liqueurs, because usually generics don't exist
And Ziploc bags. The quality is worth the extra dollar over the store brand. I might start doing the same for trash bags as well
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There are dozens of vodkas and gins, fake and slightly different whiskeys, rum and so on but I totally agree on buying the brands (not just the top 1 or 2)
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Liqueurs, not liquors. I don't buy big name brand liquor (unless you count Plantation rum, or stuff that happens to be owned by Campari).
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Toothpaste. Generics are awful.
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How come? I'm asking because my dentist said the opposite.
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You have the tenth dentist!
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I asked my dentist about that, too. The physical act of brushing is the most important part and the toothpaste is just to apply some fluoride, essentially.
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Fisherman's friend cough drops. They're not the tastiest cough drops out there, but they fucking work.
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These and "Sucrets" - for when you throat hurts and you want novacaine in tablet form.
Source: professional singer. These two have saved me many times.
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"The name Fisherman's Friend" makes me think the cough drops are going to taste like fish oil or Powerbait.
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Nothing quite so disgusting, they're the usual sorts of flavors you would expect to find in a cough drop. I taste mostly menthol and a bit of licorice, but they are definitely something that was made to be an effective cough drop first and foremost and tasting good was not a major consideration
They are kind of ugly brown tablets that don't look too dissimilar from maybe a pellet fish food for a koi pond or something. I have a hunch that I haven't tested that you could probably get carp to bite on them if you tried to use them as bait, carp will go for some weird stuff
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Mooncakes for mid-autumn festival. Như Lan bakery or skip. The other brands (even the 'fancy' ones) have too much sugar. In HK there are other good brands too, but in VN Như Lan is the best.
I guess also expensive tools like oscilloscopes (Siglent, Uni-T). It's a big enough investment that I need it to work well, but I'm not rich enough for the fancy brands.
Oh, and motorcycles -- Honda please (yes, we have unbranded motorcycles here, we call them 'ghost bikes'). There's always a repairshop that can fix a Honda within walking distance, but I've never actually needed to go to one. When I had a Yamaha it broke once in a while, and that meant a long walk in tropical heat.
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Tires. Every time I've tried to save money by purchasing some PrimeWell or Sentury or other no-name tire I've worn them out in no time flat or they burst when I hit any bump that stands more than 1cm above the road surface. If they are that weak then they aren't safe.
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I work in the rim and tire industry so I find this really interesting. Haven't seen either of those two brands before where I am, but most cheaper brands nowadays are all made at the same two or three locations and just get a different name stamped into the sidewall.
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It's been a while but I think primewell is Firestones bargain brand. They're shit but compared to anything wal-mart was selling they were tolerable. I never saw as many broken belts as when I was working there starting out.
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My information may also be out of date, it's been years since I was so broke that I had to just buy whatever cheap tires I could afford.
I had a set of "Sentury" tires I put on a Mitsubishi Mirage, and they were worn to the wear bars in 9,000 miles. They were carrying a 1,900 pound/860 kilogram car, and that was heavy enough to wear all four tires down in less than 1/4 the tread warranty period.
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Ballpoint pens. Bic, Papermate, and Zebra are pretty much all I would consider buying.
Edit: there are lots of other brands that I forgot to consider. I'm mainly talking about inexpensive plastic tubes, but included Zebra (a metal tube) which I'm a fan of.
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It's Pilot G2 05 for me.
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Pilot is king
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You should try some Uniball Jetstreams
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The Parker jotter for me
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I've had the same stainless steel Parker jotter for over 20 years. I love it.
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The Pilot 30000 unchanged for millenia because it's the perfect writing utensil. Well, unchanged other than them adding blue and red ink versions.
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Had a generic refill in one of my zebras and holy crap was that crap. I could not reliably get it to write off a cold start. And it was fresh, just constantly getting stuck.
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I take vitamins because of malabsorption related to celiac disease, and I've read that a lot of cheap vitamin brands are total scams.
Fortunately, I've been finding some major brands at the dollar store, of all places, for $1.25USD
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You probably already know all this, but in case it would be helpful to others: Your doctor should also be able to write you a prescription for whatever vitamins you're taking, from what I understand the ones you get from behind the pharmacy counter are actually what they say they are.
I have low vitamin D, and when it was atrociously low (#1 lowest my dr had ever seen! 🥴) I got an actual prescription for it.
YMMV on whether insurance puts up a fight about paying for it, if applicable. If not and you have to stick to OTC I try to get stuff with the USP verified label on it.
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Yeah true, but last time I went to the doctor they charged me $200 for just the office visit, so it's not really sustainable for me
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Game console controllers. Miss me with that flimsy shit.
Except the Xbox Series X controller. That thing’s a nightmare. I use my old One controller for that.
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Interesting. I still use the 360 controller on my PC because that thing is a tank. Basically indestructible. But my One controllers are garbage. The plastic was so badly formed I got aftermarket grips because it was constantly pinching my hands. It also feels like I could twist it in to pieces with by hand. The Series X controller fails to live up to the 360 but it feels significantly more solid and the pieces at least fit together.
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I do feel I could break my xbox controller easily if I twisted it. It's got some heft but not much. The 360 controller did feel a bit more solid.
The series x controller is also nice. Disturbingly light but I appreciate that it's good for long sessions to have a light controller. It's just the damn button sound. It makes a nasally little twing-click sound each time the button is pressed. Drives me nuts.
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What's wrong with the series x controller? I bought one for my pc when my xbox one controller died. I haven't really used it loads yet to be fair, but it seems fine to me. I preferred the +style dpad on xbox one but other than that it feels basically the same to me.
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Orange juice. The cheap stuff is never worth it.
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I only like fresh orange juice. Buy oranges & squeeze them. My kids like the Evolution one but I really only like fresh.
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Yeah, you can’t really get “name brand” orange juice that’s that fresh, so I think you’ve found a good exception.
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I prefer to eat diced oranges with a spoon. Better mouthfeel, more fiber.
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Also, the maximum amount of pulp possible! 😂
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Soda, chips, candy, etc. If I'm gonna buy it, I'm buying the good one. I've tried many different off/store brand peanut butter cups, and they're always fucking horrendous.
Surprisingly, frozen pizza is the opposite. The store brand ones are really good (at least the ones I get at Shaw's and Market Basket). Meanwhile, I've payed much more in order to try out the big name brands. They are usually smaller, lower quality, and taste worse than the store brand ones that cost nearly half as much.
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Kroger salt and vinegar chips tho
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Mobiles, laptops, SIM card, Wifi provider
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Wtf is a WiFi provider?
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Maybe a wireless ISP?
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The one who provides your wifi connection. Technically ISP but without internet through SIM
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Interesting. I switched from brand phones (HTC) to generic no-name phones a while ago. My current one is by Ulefone and I couldn't tell any difference. For 300 bucks I got a phone thats comparable to samsung phones twice the price, since I didn't pay anything for the brand name. Any specific reason why you avoid no-name with technologie?
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It's cheap AND all your friends in China can easily keep tabs on your life. I call that a win!
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for dumb tech no-name is fine, we have that stuff figured out to the point where you can kick it around a bit without it breaking. But high-tech is weirdly robust and fragile at the same time. You can cheap out on the circuitry and you'll be fine for a while but eventually the low grade circuits around the chipp will damage it, causing it to lose performance. With bigger price gaps you usually get some reduced performance in a key part on top of it (usually memory or the processor) if it goes even beyond that then we enter the territory of "this device would be selling at a loss if they truly ship what's wrotten in the specs, where tf do they get the money to compensate for that?" (spoier: it's either spyware and selling customer data or lying about specs)
Obviously there are exceptions here, most high-end tech products for example are vastly overpriced to generate as much money as possible from whale customers. But with the mis- to low-high-end stuff you usually fall on your face with some aspect or another after a few years with cheap no-name devices.
Not to mention the very real problem of credibillity: it's very easy for unknown players to just fake reviews of their products, you won't ever know because there are not enough real users of these devices to punch through the fake reviews
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Butter. Kerrygold is simply the best.
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Would you say it's better than all the rest?
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Oh, better than anyone!
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Puffs tissues. They hold together better than Scottie and aren't dusty and awful like Kleenex or most of the knockoffs.
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A choosey nose indeed
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Windex for cleaning mirrors and glass. All the other knockoffs feel like watered down blue food coloring.
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Time to join the Sprayway army.
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Isn’t it just ammonia though?
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Stuff a certain company or organization can simply do that others cant
- Fedora
- GrapheneOS + stupid Pixel phones
- Coreboot laptop, whatever brand
- actually sustainable products
- some Bike components but if I find something better here I go!
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Ketchup for sure. There is a hierarchy of quality, and store-brand is the bottom rung.
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And the brand is Heinz, right?
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Right you are!
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I'd really like to know why all types of off-brand ketchup taste like ass.
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I think it's because the more expensive brands actually use more tomatoes. The cheaper the brand, the more additives!
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Frozen pizza. Most all pizzas are basically just crackers with tomatoe sauce and cheese, but then there is Dr Oetkers Ofenfrische. I find myself eating 14 euro wood-fired takeout pizzas, only to realize that it stinks compared to an Ofenfrische
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It is made by a real doctor after all and that is more than you can say about most pizzas.
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Got his doctorate in Pizzaeolgy.
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If you happen to be in Germany try Gustavo Gusto frozen pizza.
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Seems like Dr Oetker has made it's way to India already, unfortunately only in spread/sauce form: https://www.oetker.in/products
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This is a weird one, but Astepro nasal spray for allergies. The name brand is a little unpleasant to blast up my nose because of the smell/taste. But the off brand stuff is absolutely foul and bitter. I would get random whifs and drips of the nastiness in the back of my throat for an hour.
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Levis. Cheap pants are never worth it, the 501 is always in style and perfect.
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Ironically, the next time I am in the market for jeans, I will be specifically avoiding Levis due to their inconsistent sizing. I have owned probably 15 pairs of the same cut in the same size, but some are too big and some are too small. I can never know until they get here (brick and mortar stores never have my size, so I must order online).
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I usually wear Levi's 511 but they've been going down in quality over the last 10 years. Newer pairs didn't last nearly as long as old pairs. Sizing is inconsistent now too. I'm looking for a better brand in the same style...
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I'm an absolute removed of a human for Mitsubishi 'Uni' Pens. I don't even like writing, but their Jetstream line are cheap and should be the ubiquitous goto pen. Everytime I have to pick up a bic, I die a little inside.
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Household appliance and in general everything where support and assistance may have a big impact
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Diet Dr Pepper is incredible and the only thing I prefer the diet version over the regular flavor.
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I used to have a friend who was hooked on Diet Dr. Thunder (walmart brand I think). I asked why not Dr. Pepper and he said "it doesn't have the same artificial metallic zing!" lol
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Cheerios. Just the plain toasted oat variety.
For some reason the other brands of toasted oats do not taste right. Other cereal generics are fine.
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Most food items, minus vegetables.
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Socks, I don’t think I’ll buy any socks besides darn tough socks long as we both shall live.
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Costco Kirkland socks are the best, durable and comfy
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I have Kirkland boxer briefs and Kirkland undershirts (and love them both), but I don't recall ever seeing Kirkland socks. I always get the Puma brand socks from Costco.
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They seem pretty light on the merino wool options though.
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Most food. I generally try the generics/store brands but a lot of time they're way worse.
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A lot of the time they're completely identical too though. Don't get me wrong, you won't find me buying own brand for plenty of items but certain cereals and various ingredients are literally identical. To the extent that the only thing that changes at the factory is a new package design is loaded into the machinery for the branded version, that's literally it.
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Wife and I love albanese gummy bears, and realized that H‑E‑B’s (our grocery store) store brand where just albanese but like 1/3 the cost.
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I've never been disappointed by Kirkland brand anything.
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bandaids and Nexcare medical tape
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Certain premade foods, like tortillas. Even amongst brands, not all are equal. Same with the cheese.
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Shoes. I usually buy lightly used to offset the cost of better brands, which last longer.
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i got a bootleg version of vans slip-on (aka vans asher) and in less than a year they've got destroyed already, it looks like the sole is about to come off the shoes themselves
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i got a bootleg version of vans slip-on (aka vans asher) and in less than a year they’ve got destroyed already, it looks like the sole is about to come off the shoes themselves
The non-bootlegs do the same thing. Crap quality all around.
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yeah they'll do it eventually too but hopefully at least they'll resist more that a year
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Fishing lures. Off brand ones don't have the same action. Some of them work, but most knock off meps don't
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What does “action” mean in this context?
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The way it retrieves. How the lure spins, the depth at which it stays. If its a cheap lure, it won't attract fish
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I would guess movement, flex and "attraction"?
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Marmite
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Nutella
Edit: I am FLABERGASTED at how many people disagree, I genuinely thought this was obvious, pls recommend anything you prefer to nutella (and whether it's more or less expensive)
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Nah, there’s stuff out there that’s better. Just try out a few.
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i started to buy kraft instead of nutella. just as good but sunflower oil instead of palm
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I'll try that, thanks
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The really fancy stuff (in Germany, don't know if it exists somewhere else) is Samba. Nutella is just sweet slime in comparison
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In Germany we have Nudossi which has less sugar and a lot more hazelnut. There's a variation without palm oil so this is what Ive been buying instead of nutella.
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208 comments