Which Brand Level Do You Buy In The Supermarket?

[David87]

Which price level are the products you generally buy in the supermarket? The reason I ask is because I'll pretty much go for the basic value version of whatever I need to buy, simply because it can't be much different to the more expensive stuff and it's often much cheaper. Problem is, most people who I've ever had accompany me to the supermarket seem to think I'm a bit tight for doing this, but frankly I'd rather save the money than have bacon with slightly less fat on it, for instance. My own girlfriend recently accused me of being 'a massive pikey' because I had bought a litre of Morrison's value shampoo for 26p (damn good value I reckon - and it'll last ages!), whereas she buys some fancy stuff that I worked out to be 100 times more expensive per unit. I think she's mad. She thinks I'm mad.

What do PH buy?

This Martin Lewis article is interesting too: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/shopping/200...

Edited by David87 on Saturday 21st November 20:19

[CatherineJ]

Generally a bit of a mix of named brands and own brand. I have on the odd occassion bought sainsbury's basics stuff as that is generally just smaller/mishapen versions of their regular own brand. I do from time to time buy some of their taste the difference stuff but not a lot.

[grumbledoak]

It's a mix. You can 'downgrade' to Waitrose Essentials and save quite a bit without a noticeable drop in quality. But not for everything- never buy cheap coffee, for example.

[Los Palmas 7]

The cheapest for what it does.

[This Side Down]

Depends what it is.

Things like meat is often Supermarket's premium range (i.e. Tesco's Finest), things like shampoo and deodrant is named brands (Head n Shoulders, Pantene, Lynx etc). Other things like bottled water (still or sparkling), toilet paper etc are all Suparmarket value range.

The way I see it is I have a good job and a large disposable income, I can afford to buy the named product instead of the own-brand product. Likewise I can afford the uber version of a product as well.

[adycav]

Mostly the cheapest stuff if it does the job, but I and the missus have some favourites that we don't mind paying extra for (me = coffee, beer & cheese, her = Yorkshire Tea & wine etc.)

Beans is beans though innit.

[Stevenj214]

Mix and match for me - I'm normally more looking for discounts, BOGOFs, etc.

[Eggman]

All of the above, depending on the type of product, how miserly I'm feeling and what special offers are available.

Own brand washing powder works fine, value dishwasher rinse aid appears identical to the premium stuff, and I have recently discovered that value razors are actually preferable to expensive ones because there's no fiddling about changing blades and they don't have those useless lubra-strip things. At 2.5p each, I'm not fussed that they only last a couple of shaves. On the other hand, premium salmon is just nicer tasting than boggo stuff and the same applies to eggs. (I also don't begrudge spending a few extra pence to give some hens a jollier time).

btw, you might find it entertaining to get your g/f to compare the ingredients list on her shampoo with that on your nasty cheap stuff. She will almost certainly discover that she is paying for the smell.

[The Fly Fisher]

Personally, I wouldn't believe the time if Martin Lewis told me.

Many manufacturers are white-labelling and allowing supermarkets to sell rebranded 'versions' of their goods. Some to poor standard, others not so. I always buy the branded goods first though.

[Steamer]

David87 said:

My own girlfriend recently accused me of being 'a massive pikey' because I had bought a litre of Morrison's value shampoo for 26p

Did you also inform her, 'Only massive pikeys ride the bus home too'?

When you shop in Aldi its pretty much always an 'Own brand lottery'. Some of their products are excellent.

[bazking69]

All depends on what item it is. Some stuff is the value range because it is the same as the pricier stuff, some stuff is the supermarket brand because the value stuff is gash and some stuff is the premium stuff as nothing else comes close.

[jamoor]

a mixture depending on my past experience.

The own brands are made by experienced companies, some people think Tesco sit there making cheap versions of chocolate bars and practically everything else!

[SJobson]

For some things, the value range is a false economy - bacon, for instance, is just full of water unless you buy decent dry-cured stuff. Although whether or not the premium bacon is decent depends on the supermarket, more than the label or price.

[adycav]

jamoor said:

The own brands are made by experienced companies, some people think Tesco sit there making cheap versions of chocolate bars and practically everything else!

Many years ago I worked for a short while in a biscuit factory - Jacobs it was.

I watched the bourbons come out of the ovens and branch off into about half a dozen packing machines - M&S, Jacob's own, Kwik Save, Sainsburys, Tesco, some cheapo brand etc.

The same biscuits cooked at the same time!

[schmalex]

Generally, we buy named brands or the supermarket premium brand. However, we keep a keen eye out for for BOGOF or 2 for 1 deals, or indeed, compare the price per Xg on different sizes of the same product to ensure we buy the best priced product (the amount of times we find that the larger size of a product is considerably more expensive per 100g is incredible).

[adycav]

I had the misfortune to go into an Asda the other day, and they had a load of what appeared to be half-decent wines up at two bottles for eight quid.

Nothing unusual about this you may think, but included in the offer was some that cost £8.20 a bottle, making it 20p cheaper to buy two than to buy one.

[mft]

I buy products based on the quality I feel is necessary, beyond anything else.

Food - generally top quality. I don't want to be eating cheap ste, so this means good meat (Tesco Organic, Waitrose, etc) and cheese, and usually Waitrose fruit. For some food, I stick to buy brands based on specific preferences I've developed - chocolate (Green & Black's), Ice Cream (B&J), Gin (BS), baked beans (Branson's), etc.

For other things, it depends. I often buy own-brand (but not basic) cleaning products and cosmetics where available as it usually comes from the same big vat anyway.

[H_Kan]

Tend to stick to branded or supermarket own make for food. Some things like tinned sweetcorn and beans are much better branded then own brand.

Get some premium range stuff, usually things like biscuits etc when it's nice to be indulgent. In my family we like our food so very rarely buy the value ranges, though Tesco value flour seems to be my mums favoured flour for making naans.

However, my parents and I will compare prices and pick up things from the cheapest place if we are running low. We'll also stock up on items on offer.

[elster]

I skipped as it depends on what it is.

All my fresh food comes from the local shops, IE Butcher and Deli.

For sauces I just see whatever I like and usually the cheapest of that for all jars, sauces, tins and stuff.

All the cleaning and household stuff is usually whatever is on offer.

[Famous Graham]

I shop in Lidls, so there's no option, really