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

  • @TheMechanic@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    842 years ago

    Super glue.

    Cyanocrylate adhesives were accidently discovered in WW2 while trying to develop a clear plastic. Later Eastman-Kodak held the patent and then sold it to Loctite on the 1960s.

    Loctite 404 is so much better than anything else available on the market. It bonds better, it’s stronger, it lasts longer and the bottle applicator is more controlled and easier to use. If you want it to last years, you can actually store in in the refrigerator when not being used.

    • kratoz29
      link
      fedilink
      English
      262 years ago

      Ok, I know Lemmy doesn’t have a spying algorithm like pretty much any other company’s site, but it is a bit amazing that you brought that here just when I needed that product to glue a ceramic handle of a mug that I broke because of stupidity.

      As you seem to know about the subject, may I ask if it is prudent to still use the mug in the microwave? (Usually I heat my coffee or water there), the handle looks very well attached and I have used it once to drink… With fear.

      • @TheMechanic@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        112 years ago

        I’m just some guy who can maybe read minds?

        I don’t know about the microwave. Heat actually breaks the bond for these kinds of adhesives, so if it isn’t poisonous, it probably wouldn’t work well for that anyway.

    • @wild@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      22 years ago

      I much prefer super glue with the brush applicator, but I can’t find it in the U.S. anymore. When I saw some on a trip to Portugal, I bought it and brought it home with me. I’ll try refilling it when it’s gone.

    • @TheSun@slrpnk.net
      link
      fedilink
      12 years ago

      I agree their bottle/applicator is the GOAT. Can’t go back to other brands after trying a bottle of loctite.

  • @morganth@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    60
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    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.

    • @jeffw@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      21
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      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

    • @phcorcoran@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      92 years ago

      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

      • @shadowSprite@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        72 years ago

        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

        • @shalafi@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          3
          edit-2
          2 years ago

          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.

          • @shadowSprite@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            22 years ago

            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.

      • @shalafi@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        42 years ago

        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.

    • @shalafi@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      7
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      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.

    • @dingus@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      32 years ago

      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

      • BlanketsWithSmallpox
        link
        fedilink
        12 years ago

        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.

        • @dingus@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          22 years ago

          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.

    • Karak
      link
      fedilink
      22 years ago

      Great Value used to have an amazing 5 cheese and bacon white pizza… can’t find it anymore though.

    • @OhmsLawn@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      22 years ago

      Honestly, Safeway Select frozen pizza is pretty good. I’d take it over most of the midrange name brands.

    • @insomniac@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      22 years ago

      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.

  • manmikey
    link
    fedilink
    462 years ago

    SD cards, SSD, USB drives, any form of computer memory really and replacement batteries too eg for cameras. I suck up the cost and buy directly from a reputable manufacturer.

    • @InputZero@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      102 years ago

      There’s nothing quite as frustrating as loosing photos and footage before it’s been ingested. Always use name brand media and always duplicate it asap. Ask me how I know.

    • @Thisfox@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      12 years ago

      Agree for the expensive stuff, but started buying cheap usb sticks a few years back and yet to have one go bad. They aren’t as quality as fidget toys, no moving parts, but they do the job they were made for, unless you drive over them with a car or something.

    • BlanketsWithSmallpox
      link
      fedilink
      02 years ago

      Huh, I’ve never had any problems going bottom of the barrel on anything PC related besides micro SD cards for home security and dashcams.

      Most power supplies that aren’t just ripped out of some unknown piece of tech are great these days too.

      • @Pirasp@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        32 years ago

        That is very highly dependent on your definition of great. Compared to cheap ass shit 20 years ago, sure. But compared to quality today, no.

  • ivanafterall
    link
    fedilink
    432 years ago

    Huy Fong Sriracha. As the shortage has made painfully clear. When I dream at night, I’m eating food covered in sriracha and tinkering with my roomful of Raspberry Pi projects.

    And don’t talk to me about disgruntled pepper farmer rivalries or whatever bullshit. Just please give me back my sriracha. :(

    • @TheSun@slrpnk.net
      link
      fedilink
      92 years ago

      Fuck Huy Fong Foods. Chinese-American businessman appropriates a traditional Thai sauce and uses marketing to brainwash the world into thinking they’re the only ones that can make it. They tried to use their size to squeeze their longterm supplier and lost a $28 million judgement because they were objectively wrong as proven in a court of law.

      They started their own shortage trying to fuck over farmers when they already had over $150 mil/year in sales and they deserve to die off.

      The only meaningful impact we have against these predatory businesses is by voting with our dollars and if you cant give up a fuckin sauce that has hundreds of excellent options available from other companies then you are part of the problem.

      • @cannibalia@slrpnk.net
        link
        fedilink
        -22 years ago

        While I agree, where do we draw the line in our personal lives? There is no ethical consumption under capitalism.

      • @stolid_agnostic@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        8
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        The owner of the company and the the farmer that exclusively sold to them began to feud. Then came a drought and the variety of pepper they use went off the market. They are recovering now and product is coming out in smaller batches but not at previous volume. It’s still really hard to find.

      • ivanafterall
        link
        fedilink
        82 years ago

        I haven’t seen a bottle in a grocery store in maybe two years? Your comment made me think maybe I just haven’t looked hard enough, but I just checked my local Walmart delivery and Instacart and neither has Huy Fong Sriracha available anywhere nearby. I’m in Utah, U.S.

    • @NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      32 years ago

      My Trader Joe’s knockoff is not great. Too much vinegar taste and hardly any of the sriracha bite. Sucks that it’s so hard to find the real deal now.

      • ivanafterall
        link
        fedilink
        32 years ago

        Same. “It’s basically spicy peppers and garlic, how hard can it be?”

        Very hard, apparently.

  • @jeffw@lemmy.worldOP
    link
    fedilink
    422 years ago

    Mine is Q-tips…. Let’s just say you shouldn’t put a flimsy cotton stick in your ear unless you trust it’ll come out in one piece

    • Obinice
      link
      fedilink
      22 years ago

      You shouldn’t put cotton buds in your ears at all, honestly I don’t know how an industry managed to trick so many people into doing something so potentially hazardous.

    • metaStatic
      link
      fedilink
      152 years ago

      in Australia you can get store brand butter that is every bit as good because it comes from NewZeland where every cow is grassfed.

      Such a massive money saver that Woolworths now tells you where it’s produced, for a long time it was an open secret.

      • @Legge@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        8
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        Kerrygold (and other imported-to-US/European, “fancy,” etc.) butter just tastes better. It has more fat content than land o lakes, for example, which contributes. The unsalted version is also cultured, and that makes a difference too. It’s definitely worth the price in any use where the butter flavor is important. In baking, maybe it’s not as worth it, but even then I’d still use it over a US brand.

        • @onion@feddit.de
          link
          fedilink
          62 years ago

          Fyi to Europeans: Any and all of our butter is what they call “fancy” or “high fat” over there, otherwise it wouldn’t be allowed to be called butter in the EU

      • @FrankTheHealer@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        42 years ago

        Ireland gets a ton of rain, and all of our cattle is grass fed. Turns out, cows that eat organic grass from rainy parts of the world make great milk and butter.

        I’m from Ireland and our milk, butter, cream and even yogurt is fantastic.

        I’m 26 but will literally have bread and butter with a glass of milk as a bed time snack.

        There are some iffy brands locally, but Kerrygold is god tier.

        I’ve been toying with the idea of going full vegan now that there are good plant based alternatives. But I will always miss Irish dairy.

  • @Fullest@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    27
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    Garbage bags. I don’t particularly care WHICH brand, but I won’t do generic. The consequences if the bag rips open are horrifying.

  • @shalafi@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    252 years ago

    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?!

    • sylver_dragon
      link
      fedilink
      English
      22 years ago

      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.

    • @plantedworld@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      12 years ago

      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.

    • HMN
      link
      fedilink
      12 years ago

      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.

  • ArugulaZ
    link
    fedilink
    212 years ago

    Pop-Tarts. No store brand toaster pastry tastes like Pop-Tarts.

    • @iheartneopets@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      3
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      It seems like half the time I buy them these days, pop-tarts don’t even taste like pop-tarts. So I stopped buying them :(

      I would definitely never consider the off-brand a viable alternative though, those things are pretty gross.

  • @Shdwdrgn@mander.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    English
    192 years ago

    Pretty much every signature soda drink. Pepsi, Coke, Mountain Dew… none of the knock-offs taste right and some are just nasty. Oddly, root beer seems to be the one flavor everyone can do well, maybe because it’s a more common flavor with no patents on the general idea? I dunno but I don’t think I’ve ever had a ‘bad’ root beer.

      • XbSuper
        link
        fedilink
        English
        22 years ago

        Canada dry, I will fist fight you over this.

      • @OhmsLawn@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        12 years ago

        I actually prefer the heat of ginger beer, but since nobody makes an affordable version, I’ll often settle for ginger ale. Between Verners and CD, I generally prefer Canada Dry. Verners has always seemed a bit too syrupy for my taste.

          • @OhmsLawn@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            32 years ago

            It’s basically a far more complex flavor, often with a little less sweetness. The biggest difference is that it’s made with real ginger, so it has noticeable heat that varies by brand. It’s also lightly fermented, not enough to make it alcoholic, but enough to deepen the flavor and allow for natural carbonation. Depending on the maker, it can be more or less filtered, so sometimes there’s a little sediment or a cloudy appearance.

    • @OhmsLawn@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      52 years ago

      I actually prefer Royal Crown over Coke and Pepsi. It’s not a generic, but it’s not top-shelf either. It works out well with the sales at the Supermarket, too. Often they’ll do a 12-pack mix-and-match with RC, Canada Dry, Squirt, etc. all very tasty sodas.

      • @pixelscript@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        112 years ago

        I buy Royal Crown and mix it with Crown Royal.

        The perfect marraige of the king of middle shelf soda and the queen of middle shelf whisky.

      • Nusm
        link
        fedilink
        English
        22 years ago

        Man, RC Cola is a Southern delicacy! Pair it with a Moon Pie, and you’ve got the breakfast of champions!

    • @rainynight65@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      22 years ago

      Germany has some great tasting cola brands that are nothing like Pepsi or Coke (and aren’t trying to be either).

    • BoofStroke
      link
      fedilink
      English
      12 years ago

      I actually prefer generics. But because I’m a fat ass, I haven’t been keeping soda at the house.

  • FireWire400
    link
    fedilink
    English
    19
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    My dad always bought the no-name cookies for us, according to him every major brand had a deal with discount supermarkets to sell their brand name product under a cheaper no-name alias.

    That might be true in some cases but the stuff he bought was mostly just cheap knock-offs that didn’t even come close to the original.

    • Che Banana
      link
      fedilink
      32 years ago

      This is true for household appliances, rather than letting the factories go idle during slow sales they pump out the same machine under “generic” brand names. QC isn’t as stringent I suppose.

  • Hillock
    link
    fedilink
    182 years ago

    Nutella,

    I only buy it once or twice a year but no other chocolate spread tastes nearly as good.

    • @SoGrumpy@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      122 years ago

      no other chocolate spread tastes nearly as good

      That’s because it isn’t a chocolate spread, but rather a nut and nougat spread.

      • @onion@feddit.de
        link
        fedilink
        2
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        It has 13% hazelnut, the same as many other brands, but also the lowest amount I can buy. There’s a really pricy one that has 30%

    • folkrav
      link
      fedilink
      32 years ago

      The Kraft one isn’t half bad

      But then note I said “isn’t half bad”, not that it’s great. But I’d say it works in a pinch, or if it’s on sale…

    • XbSuper
      link
      fedilink
      English
      32 years ago

      It actually has very little chocolate in it, that’s why. It was made (i think) during WW2 when chocolate was in short supply, so they came up with a way to stretch it, by mixing a bunch of hazelnuts (and w/e else is in there) with it.

    • @TheSun@slrpnk.net
      link
      fedilink
      12 years ago

      I used to agree but after finding Kirkland hazelnut spread at costco i’ve switched to that. Its palm oil free and every bit as delicious as nutella.

    • kratoz29
      link
      fedilink
      English
      12 years ago

      no other chocolate spread tastes nearly as good.

      I could eat that as the fucking Whine Poo eats the honey ngl.

    • I prefer Velveeta shells and cheese to all the other boxed Mac and cheese dinners. That said, if I have someone to act as a dishwasher, I will make a banging baked Mac and cheese that blows any box out of the water. I don’t mind the cooking, or prep. Cleanup is always a chore.