Name-brand vs. off-bransh (was: Rocket Science)

 
Some people buy name-brand products out of ignorance.

Others buy them because some of them are actually better.

For example, I've yet to find any detergent, name-brand or
otherwise, that works as well as Tide.

Or, to comment on one of your examples...


I've got five kids.  I've tried lots of name-brand and
off-brand baby and kid shampoos.  The name-brand ones are most
certainly better, if for no other reason than because when
they claim to be "no tears," it's actually true.


Because they're competing primarily against each other, not
against the off-brands.  And because even when they are
objectively better, no one is going to pay their higher prices
unless they *know* they're objectively better.

Sometimes advertising is about fooling the consumer into
spending more than they need to.  Sometimes, on the other
hand, advertising is about providing the consumer with true
information that will reasonably influence their purchasing
their decisions.

Advertising alone doesn't make for a sustainable business.
Just look at Zima.  It was one of the best advertising
campaigns in history, which got a lot of people to try Zima
exactly once, after which they decided they didn't like it
and went back to whatever beer they were drinking before.


Off-brand pills are often larger and with thinner or
nonexistent coatings and hence taste worse and are harder to
swallow.

Off-brand liquid medications often taste worse.

There are certainly cases where the off-brand is no different
from the name-brand products, but there are other cases where
there *is* a difference and you get what you pay for.


When you pay the higher price for a product that is actually
better, you are paying for the fact that it is better.

  Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:31:40 +0000 (UTC) from Jonathan Kamens

/Consumer Reports/ concurs -- specifically, if I recall correctl;y,
Cold-Water Tide with Bleach Alternative.


--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
                                   http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...

 
You do have to watch out, though.  Generic bleach, for example,
is often 3.5% while the name brand will be 6% or 7%.  If you
do the calculations the name brand is often cheaper based
on actual amount needed to accomplish the task.  It's easy
to see with bleach because they have actual percentages listed
on the bottle (sometimes in very small print) while most
other products don't give specific amounts.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.