What normal stuff do you buy that you will only purchase the brand-name or high quality version of, no matter the price?

[x65943]

How did I forget pickles?

Claussen or better. Mt. Olive, or anything that was ever boiled, is straight garbage. Has to be that deli-style, bright whitish cucumber with that excellent snap, super cold. Not a sad, floppy, limp, half-warm greenish-yellow pickle.

Also, mac & cheese. Once you try something decent like Annie's, you'll never eat Kraft or store-brand elbow noods with crappy cheese powder again. The deluxe shells and cheese are where it's at.

the annie's white cheddar are the best

 

[Hanafuda]

Claussen or better.

What's better than Clausen??? I tried Boar's Head, which are also never boiled etc, but went back to Claussen.

As for Mac n Cheese, I make my own with butter, milk, cheese now. But protip from bachelor days ... go in the store to where the Velveeta is and buy a box of Velveeta cheese sauce (3 packets per box). Same stuff that's in the "dinner" box, but you can use Barilla elbows instead of their shit shells. Much better and much cheaper.

 

[Kioku]

Toilet paper… the generic stuff is almost always so fragile..

Coca Cola.. Unless I’m mixing..

Batteries.. Unbranded cells scare me.

 

[WalterSlovotsky]

What's better than Clausen??? I tried Boar's Head, which are also never boiled etc, but went back to Claussen.

As for Mac n Cheese, I make my own with butter, milk, cheese now. But protip from bachelor days ... go in the store to where the Velveeta is and buy a box of Velveeta cheese sauce (3 packets per box). Same stuff that's in the "dinner" box, but you can use Barilla elbows instead of their shit shells. Much better and much cheaper.

I legit have three different styles of Claussen in my fridge right now. Gherkins, spears and sammich slices.

And a jar just filled with the pickle juice from other jars, in case someone wants a Pickleback. Some Cuervo, some coarse salt, a touch of lime juice and a shot of pickle juice. THAT will wake you up.

 

[Hanafuda]

Pasta sauce for me is worth the extra £'s.

I'm a big fan of the Rao's Homemade. Love their soups too. Have had some heated discussions with the wife over how much it costs.

Maybe all moot now ... just saw recently that Rao's got bought out by Ragu. All downhill from here.

 

[redfire12]

work boots and PPE.. never ever skimp on it. your live depends on it
same for mountain bike protection... same reason

 

[RAHelllord]

You, sir, are on a higher level of class than I likely will ever be. I am trailer trash. Not broke by any means; I am hoarding every penny I earn. But, I am not badger brush Don Draper classy.

You don't need a badger brush, and the one I got was a small travel one for like 15 bucks. Should last me a lifetime if I'm careful so it felt like a decent investment.

 

[Ryccardo]

I don't know, actually - but then again I don't buy a lot of things common people do (flip side of living with your parents)

Cars, maybe? Went with VW (definitely more and more of a semi-premium brand than what its full name says) instead of pedestrian (heeee) fiat sellout shit, but I don't think it really counts because the Up and official clones were a de facto monopoly at the time on 1- small 2- properly implemented CNG cars (and the only reason I used the past is because it's out of production, apparently)

You don't need a badger brush, and the one I got was a small travel one for like 15 bucks. Should last me a lifetime if I'm careful so it felt like a decent investment.

I have one (thanks ex-barber grandpa) but I don't really use it, after all how is the brush used? By using its hair to scrape and mix soap, now do we have other hair that are going to be involved in the process anyway?

 

[Jacobh]

What's better than Clausen??? I tried Boar's Head, which are also never boiled etc, but went back to Claussen.

As for Mac n Cheese, I make my own with butter, milk, cheese now. But protip from bachelor days ... go in the store to where the Velveeta is and buy a box of Velveeta cheese sauce (3 packets per box). Same stuff that's in the "dinner" box, but you can use Barilla elbows instead of their shit shells. Much better and much cheaper.

Grillo’s are good as well.

Life is too short for non-refrigerated pickles.

 

[JuanMena]

Reading some posts, yeah, I took this a bit personal, and many mentions basic needs products (are we not ready for bidets) and I agree with Chary, yes, Brand Milk always, as much like her, some others taste funky to me.

My go to brand is LaLa, which is in my opinion the best in my place. Alpura can tolerate, but LaLa tastes good even plain.
Alpura tastes too strong for my liking, it makes me want to puke. Other brands tasting "watery" is because those are not milk, but water mixed with milk solids and vegetal milk (fats mostly) but it's definitely absolutely not milk. Ew!

Aside of milk, I really can't think of anything else.

 

[Hanafuda]

Grillo’s are good as well.

Life is too short for non-refrigerated pickles.

I have not heard of seen these? Regional?

 

[Jacobh]

I have not heard of seen these? Regional?

They started in Boston, but I think they are available across the United States now: https://www.grillospickles.com/where-to-buy/

I like their “hot” flavor. I also like Clausen’s hot and spicy pickles, but they seemed to stop selling them by me.

 

[impeeza]

Condoms!!

 

[mrdude]

Tools, I never buy cheap crappy tools as I need to use high quality ones day in/day out. Cheap tools break easy, are not machined to high tolerences and often break the things you are supposed to be fixing. Buy cheap - buy twice. My tools are never break but most have lifetime guarantees so that if they did break I can get a replacement for free. I have many tens of thousands of pounds worth of tools and I would never consider buying some cheap ass crap - ever.

 

[Spring_Spring]

I think a sign of adulting is being able to buy the BIG bag of beef jerky without flinching at the cost. I'm cheap, on most things. Don't care about brand names on clothes or shoes. Designer labels have never meant anything to me.

But, mustard? Has to be French's or better. Gulden's when it's Dijon (generic dijon mustard is always too vinegary or too spicy or too coarse).

Lunch meat. Armour, Buddig and Land O Frost are HORRIBLE. Guarantee you that in a blind test taste, 90% of people couldn't tell any slice of Buddig meat apart from any other. Once you get your own fresh meat sliced at the deli, you'll never go back to Oscar Mayer.

What are some things that you absolutely refuse to compromise on, to save a buck?

Meat is never good no matter what.

 

[tech3475]

Certain types or snacks, such as crisps, chocolate, etc.

Yes the Aldi/Lidl knock offs may be cheaper, but I can also taste the difference.

Tools, I never buy cheap crappy tools as I need to use high quality ones day in/day out. Cheap tools break easy, are not machined to high tolerences and often break the things you are supposed to be fixing. Buy cheap - buy twice. My tools are never break but most have lifetime guarantees so that if they did break I can get a replacement for free. I have many tens of thousands of pounds worth of tools and I would never consider buying some cheap ass crap - ever.

I've found for casual use, cheap screwdrivers can be OK depending on context e.g. casual electronics. Even some of my more expensive small screwdriver bits have bent/chipped.

However, blanket avoid cheap soldering stuff.

Get at a minimum a mid-range digital temperature controlled one with decent solder. You'll thank me later. Doesn't have to be too expensive, but the low end stuff has given me nothing but problems.

 

[rcpd]

Tools, I never buy cheap crappy tools as I need to use high quality ones day in/day out. Cheap tools break easy, are not machined to high tolerences and often break the things you are supposed to be fixing. Buy cheap - buy twice. My tools are never break but most have lifetime guarantees so that if they did break I can get a replacement for free. I have many tens of thousands of pounds worth of tools and I would never consider buying some cheap ass crap - ever.

My wife got me a cheap ratchet/socket set to keep in the car years and years ago. Legit no-name brand made of Chinesium metal. This set has gone through at least 4 vehicles. It’s gone through rain, snow, sleet, and blistering hot weather.

Best set of tools I’ve ever owned. The ratchets are comfortable and knurled well. They ratchet easily and smoothly. And it has metric and standard sockets from 8mm up to 7/8. I’ve even managed to hold onto the 10mm socket!

I won’t buy cheap tools. I was mostly disappointed when my wife got me these for my birthday but they ended up being a great set.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Do electronics count? Because I pretty much buy all electronics exclusively from brand names. Even cables, which I'll typically get from Ugreen, since they make high quality stuff.
Even when buying random crap on AliExpress, I'll go with the product that has a brand name on it (any brand name that isn't a random string of letters), the logic being that manufacturers that put a recognizable name on their product have more faith in their product, since they have more to lose from bad reputation.

As far as groceries go, I used to buy name brand of most things, prices have now gone up so that the store brand costs what the name brand did only months ago, or even more, in order to keep my expenses from skyrocketing, I've had to buy more store brand and stop buying certain things altogether because they're just too expensive.
I'd say when it comes to unprocessed meat products, there is none or negligible difference in quality, I've always bought the store brand of those whenever it was an option, but when it comes to other groceries, I've usually preferred the name brand since there can be a big difference in quality but not necessarily in price.

I still buy a lot of name brand groceries, it just comes down to math. If a name brand costs 50% more than store brand, it better taste 50% better to make up for it. And it depends on what I'm making, if I'm using it in food with a lot of flavor where the (possibly inferior or more bland) taste isn't pronounced it would be a waste to pay for the more expensive product anyway and if I can add spices to make up for it then same.

If it seems like a good enough deal compared to name brand, I'll always buy the store brand, there are very few exceptions to this.

One thing I always buy the name brand of no matter what, is cheese. The store brand doesn't slice the same, it doesn't taste the same and it tends to crumble apart when sliced. It's just crap all over, it has half the flavor and it's only 10-20% cheaper.

 

[User154]

Pepsi, Fanta, Vimto etc. None of the cheap versions of fizzy drinks ever taste as good as the name brands

Cheese, I am a big fan of cheddar cheese and I don't often buy branded. Where I live we have some really great local cheeses which have a much better flavour than any of the supermarket stuff.

Crunchy nut cornflakes. If it's not Kellogs it's not worth buying.

 

[mrdude]

My wife got me a cheap ratchet/socket set to keep in the car years and years ago. Legit no-name brand made of Chinesium metal. This set has gone through at least 4 vehicles. It’s gone through rain, snow, sleet, and blistering hot weather.

Best set of tools I’ve ever owned. The ratchets are comfortable and knurled well. They ratchet easily and smoothly. And it has metric and standard sockets from 8mm up to 7/8. I’ve even managed to hold onto the 10mm socket!

I won’t buy cheap tools. I was mostly disappointed when my wife got me these for my birthday but they ended up being a great set.

4 cars is nothing, It might seem like a lot to you and if you've had it for years and only done 4 cars, well TBH you can't use it a lot. I use my tools daily and need to do many thousands of cars/trucks/etc over time with the tools I have. A rusty bolt or nut using a socket/spanner that is not accurate would end up just rounding the flats off and the rathet mechanism would snap or wear out pretty quickly. Still for a low use user such as yourself, there's no need to spend loads on tools if they are mostly going to be sitting about for 99.9% of the time.