It\u2019s a smart financial strategy to price-shop for the items we buy everyday like groceries and other staples. Whether we seek out our favorite brands or are less brand-loyal and shop according to sales, the best way to get good pricing is to know where and when to buy the products we need at low prices. If you do switch among brands to optimize your savings, be aware that there are times when what seems to be a bargain isn\u2019t really a bargain after all.<\/p>\n
Consider the store\u2019s own brands. Oftentimes these items are great quality offered at a considerably lower cost. Sometimes, although they aren\u2019t as great as a name brand, the difference doesn\u2019t matter to you, because you appreciate the alternative which saves you money. Other times, however, the store brand is noticeably inferior. In that case, you haven\u2019t saved so much as you\u2019ve wasted the purchase price on a product in which you\u2019re disappointed.<\/p>\n
I recently had two experiences with store brands – one positive and one negative.<\/p>\n
I purchased a refill bottle of antibacterial hand soap for our bathroom. It was the same distinctive color and – as soon as I smelled it – I knew immediately that it had the identical scent as a popular name brand that is much costlier. While I don\u2019t know that it is the actual name brand in disguise, I\u2019m very pleased with this product and I will specifically look for the store brand again next time I\u2019m in the market for antibacterial hand soap.<\/p>\n
I had a much different experience when I bought the same store’s house brand taco shells. I didn\u2019t like the look of them from the moment I removed them from the package. They just looked \u201ccheap.\u201d Upon eating them, they were virtually tasteless and seemed smaller and more fragile than other taco shells I\u2019ve tried, regardless of brand. Needless to say, I won\u2019t buy this store\u2019s taco shells again.<\/p>\n
There are no hard and fast rules as to when to buy a store brand and when to stick to a name brand. You just have to give them a try to determine that the quality is acceptable and that the price is significantly lower to make it a good purchase. For example, I don\u2019t spring for name brand plastic storage zipper bags. I go through a LOT of storage bags in my house and they really don\u2019t need to be super-duper high quality. They serve their purpose for storing leftovers, then they\u2019re discarded. As long as they seal securely, any brand will fit my needs, so why spend more on the highest quality if I don\u2019t need it?<\/p>\n
When purchasing store brands, pay attention to the quantity and price per unit. Make sure you\u2019re comparing the same amount of store brand and name brand or your comparison will be invalid. Don\u2019t assume that because it\u2019s the store brand that it\u2019s automatically the cheapest option. There may be a sale or discount available (like a coupon, quantity discount or rebate) on another brand that would make it worth your while to purchase a name brand.<\/p>\n
While some people automatically assume that store brands are of inferior quality, I personally have no problem purchasing them, so long as they meet my needs and provide significant savings. They actually represent a consumer-friendly option in the marketplace that I welcome. When purchasing store brands, just make certain that you really are getting the quality you need at an appropriate price point.<\/p>\n
What have been your experiences with store brands?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s a smart financial strategy to price-shop for the items we buy everyday like groceries and other staples. Whether we seek out our favorite brands or are less brand-loyal and shop according to sales, the best way to get good pricing is to know where and when to buy the products we need at low […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[514],"tags":[44],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3404"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3404\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}