For example, if you insist on buying Advil instead of store brand ibuprofen. I mean, you’d be wasting your money in that example, but you do you
Davines shampoo
Braun S9 Pro electric razor
Cola Zero / Pepsi Max (generic alternatives rarely have sugarless options anyway)
Lipton probably but I can let it slip sometimes. Many alternatives just don’t taste right, but they are at least drinkable.
Tempo. Every other tissue I tried messes up the whole laundry, if I missed only one pant pocket.
Milk, eggs, cheese, pretty much anything dairy. Almost everything else the generic is great
I buy nearly everything generic but generic Band-Aids have terrible adhesive so I always buy name brand.
Edit: Oh, and frozen pizza. I’ve had too many generics with crusts that might as well have been made of cardboard.
What frozen pizza do you recommend? Every single time I have the misfortune of trying a frozen pizza, I regret my life choices because they taste like dogshit. Even the crappiest delivered pizza is way better than any frozen pizza I’ve tried. Granted, my experience is limited and I can never remember which ones I’ve tried.l
I’m a fan of Freschetta rising crust personally, with the caveat that you’ll want some hot sauce or something for the crust.
How dare you talk shit about Jacks.
Never had problems with tombstones either but Hy-Vee has a nice inhouse pizza for $5. A bit heavy on the 4meats though.
My experience with frozen pizza is very limited! I’ve never tried Jacks but I’ll keep it in mind! No Hy-Vees in my state tho.
There aren’t really any good ones, just a few different quality tiers between “low” and “extremely low”
The ones with rising crusts usually have higher quality sauce, cheese and toppings and are more filling because they’re breadier.
The problem with non-generic frozen pizza is they cost like a dollar less than a real pizza. Some of the fancier ones cost even more than a pizza from the place right next to the grocery store. Maybe I’m just blessed living in the pizza sphere but even the best frozen pizza is fucking disgusting next to even mediocre real pizza.
I find the cloth generic band aids to be identical to brand name, the plastic one of any brand, well they’re just crap and I don’t know why the even exist.
I buy nearly everything generic but generic Band-Aids have terrible adhesive so I always buy name brand.
Yeah, this is a case of a brand that’s been subject to trademark genericization where the knock-offs and generic products genuinely aren’t as good.
Band-Aids are a great call out!
I’m both active and clumsy with DIY stuff. Nothing else sticks “right” like Band-Aid brand. Yes, the off-brand shit is cheaper, better than nothing, but it’s shit. And you’re not saving any money by using twice as many.
And serious y’all, let me preach the gospel of Hydro Seal Band Aids. Game changing. No clue how they work, but they stick, puff up around the wound (infected bit) and come off when, and only when, you want them to. And taking them off don’t hurt a tiny bit. Got a few in every med kit.
Any more than a paper cut, Hydro Seal. And even then, if I want it healed fast? Hydro Seal. They’re also great for capping torn fingernails when you fucked it up too far down.
Tried the generic Amazon version. Meh, they’re OK for half the price, “healing” tech seems the same. Doesn’t stick quite right so you’ll use twice as many. Worth it if you want that painful finger wound done with in 24-48 hours.
Caveat: They work a little too well on puncture wounds, seals the infection in, only treats the top. If you got poked deep, and congrats if that’s your thing, it seals off the wound and makes it worse. Surface wounds like slices and scratches, go for it. Punched a drill bit 1/4" deep? Nope. Clean that one up and let it breathe a bit.
tl;dr $.70 for a band aid sounds crazy. I know. Just try it for me. Try it for yourself.
I love those things too!
Honestly, Safeway Select frozen pizza is pretty good. I’d take it over most of the midrange name brands.
It’s pretty weird to be basically shilling for brands in here but Nexcare bandages are superior to band-aids in pretty much every way; i agree that band-aids beat generic though
Can I make a plug for Curad bandaids? So much better than band aid brand and you can get all the available sizes in fun colors. I may be an adult, but I’d like a bright orange band-aid on my skinned elbow thank you
LOL, I’ll fight you on Curad vs. Band Aid.
Bang for the buck though? Meh, you gotta use more Curad to get the wound over with, but they’re cheap and not nearly as shitty as the generic shit.
Still. Mediocre.
I feel like the Curad bandages I got in the stores always sucked, but I found different ones on Amazon (I know I know, I hate Amazon too) and they’re bigger in comparison to Bandaids, noticeably better quality, and stay on forever if you don’t pull them off.I’ve stuck one on and forgotten about it until over a week later when I realize its still on. I don’t know why they’re different than what I’ve always seen in the stores. I’m also wildly allergic to Band Aid brand adhesive to the point that I have scars shaped like bandages and I’m only very mildly allergic to whatever Curad uses.
Can you tell me the generic brand? LOL, let’s just say I often need band aids.
You a paid rep? No? Then you’re not shilling, you’re sharing a positive experience with $whatever. And that’s a good thing. Helps us all.
You can be a shill without payment. It is known as fanboyism, involves selling your soul and using that brand/thing to fill the void in your empty life, making it part of your persona. Plenty free of cost zealot armies exist for everything on internet.
That seems like a really big stretch to me. The essence of being a shill is dishonesty. What you’re calling fanboyism isn’t dishonesty, just questionable judgement.
Fanboyism has a very thin, blurred distinction between passionate enjoyment and shilling.
Great Value used to have an amazing 5 cheese and bacon white pizza… can’t find it anymore though.
My local grocery store just made one that slaps actually. But most others suck
edit: I am talking about pizza. I don’t eat band-aids
but if you don’t eat the bandaids you can’t have pudding, that’s how this works right?
i eat bandaids, please recommend good ones to eat.
Ignore the haters, this is actually hilarious.
Its not organic haters, but a witch hunting crybully cult called GrapheneOS that I holed off away from most of the internet with years of effort, that drops 4-7 downvotes on every comment I make. They leave out one or two comments to make the downvoting look organic, but this comment getting downvotes makes 0 sense. They chase me on every possible platform, Reddit, Matrix, XMPP, Telegram and even Lemmy.
Sorry for the lore, hopefully its short and not too annoying.
The android ROM?
Yep. Look at my comment history. Anything prior to today/yesterday comments should have 4-7 downvotes for no reason, even the ones that have nothing to do with their custom Android fork.
Victorinox Swiss Army knives. If you want a tiny, multipurpose pocketknife, they cannot be beat.
And they’re cheap enough from TSA eBay sales, why would you accept a crappy knockoff?!
Had mine for over 20 years until it disappeared. Years later still no idea what happened to it. Only issue I had with it was the clock it had, broke halfway through owning it.
I can’t agree with you more on this. I have used them for years, most recently got one with a scalloped side that fits in your hand so nicely. My son is a cub scout and just got one too, his first pocketknife.
Their also (or at least used to) honor their warranty. I had problems with one of their knives several years after I bought it. It got replaced without a major hassle. Haven’t had to use the warranty again in decades though, so it could be different now.
They also do excellent small kitchen knives for under 10€, best money invested to carv out those vegetables or meat.
I’m pairing it with a cheap knife sharpener from a certain Swedish company ^^
If buying used, Wenger originals were the same standard as Victorinox. Now, Wenger got bought and absorbed by Victorinox if you were to buy new.
There is also Leatherman with compact foldable multitools, but their tools are bigger and heavier.
SOS Pads and Scotch Tape
I’ve never had trouble with off-brand SOS pads. But damn, shitty off-brand scotch tape? Yeah that stuff sucks. You have to watch cheap masking tape too. Some of them leave horrible residue behind.
Condoms
Not me. I ordered a pallet of Sam’s Choice when I hit puberty and should be set for life. Got so many I double them up sometimes.
Ivan is clearly joking, but for those that don’t know, condoms DO expire, and will be more likely to break the more times passes. Similarly, doubling condoms makes them more likely to break.
That’s why Ivan should triple up. In case one fails he stays doubled up. It’s fool proof.
Pro-tip: if the third won’t fit easily, you can preheat them in the oven to make them more pliable (and it feels nice, as a bonus)!
Shit.
😬
Top The Tater. Accept no substitutes
I’ve never seen it. I struggle to believe it’s better than DIY with a container of sour cream + one of the Hidden Valley Ranch packets. That’s the true ranch dip of the gods.
I should do a comparison test, I don’t think it would beat a Minnesota staple
It’s now the inaugural item on my “When in Minnesota” list.
Interestingly, I learned how to make ranch dressing from scratch a few years ago. I always have the ingredients on hand, so I can make ranch dressing whenever I want.
The proportions are NOT super important. At least 1 teaspoon of each of the main dry ingredients but you can use more if you want.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
make ranch dressing from scratch
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
No idea what this is, but ok!
From what I’ve heard, it’s exclusively available in the Midwest. It’s one of the best dips out there, especially with ruffles
Q-Tips. Paper shafts, plenty of fuzz on the ends.
Used to be 3M duck tape. But that has totally gone to shit.
Coffee. I found a coffee shop I loved 20 years ago and have been buying beans from them ever since. Sure, it’s 2x-3x times more expensive, but it’s worth it to me.
Toothpaste. I have sensitive teeth and the off brands just don’t cut it. Heck, some of the name brands don’t.
3d printing filament. Printed Solid named their line after their dog, so I have to. I will still branch out for stuff on sale, but the majority of my stock is Printed Solid.
Spam, off brand spam just isn’t worth it
Certain skin products for me. It makes such a big difference to get some well recommended brands rather than risk it with a random one.
Cetaphil and Cerave are usually solid, and otherwise I refer to the CDA when unsure:
https://dermatology.ca/recognized-products/skincare/ (note that you can scroll within the list to see everything)
The list is for stuff that is
- Low potential for irritation
- Fragrance free or unscented
- Do not contain the most common allergens
- Non-comedogenic
But I specifically look for non-comedogenic and fragrance free. The latter because my old workplace had this as a requirement, and now I prefer it
If you like Cetaphil and Cerave, you will also like Vanicream and Eucerin.
I’ve seen Eucerin around, I’ll have to look into Vanicream
If you’re looking for stuff for your face, I also recommend the following Korean beauty items. Nows a good time to buy them from kbeauty online retailers because most are doing deals and free shipping (November 11 is a Korean holiday):
- Illyoon Ato Ceramide Concentrate Cream
- Etude House Soon Jung 2x Barrier Intensive Cream
I honestly can’t think of anything. I own many “name brand” products but it’s usually a pay-once-cry-once situation. It’s not like I keep buying more of the same product after I already have one.
For consumables pretty much every product I use is the generic version of some well known one. I’m not paying double the price for something that’s 20% better. For example the generic version of my favourite cookies is 95 cents and the name brand is 3.4€. It’s not that much better.
Oreos
Contact lens solution (any name brand)
I wear dailies now but when I didn’t I used just generic saline solution and never felt any difference from the fancy stuff.
And also contact lenses themselves
Tried buying some organic Oreos once.
They were quickly referred to as “punishment cookies”.
That one box lasted almost 3 months rather than the 3day lifespan of a normal Oreo.
Really? I think the Great Value knockoff Oreos taste fantastic.
HEB Twisters > Oreos
Fun fact: Oreos are the knock-off brand. Hydrox was the original.
TBD, Hydrox is a pretty bad name and Oreo definitely had the better marketing team.
