Generic products are the store’s brand of products. Walmart has Equate and Great Value. Sam’s Club has Member’s Mark. Costco has Kirkland and so on. Sometimes you will find generic a substantial amount less than the name brand (my sister in law bought CVS’s generic Emetrol today and saved $4), sometimes it is just a few cents cheaper and sometimes it costs more! That’s right, sometimes the generic cost more than the name brand.
Shoppers are of the mind set that you have to buy generic to save money. But couponers know that the generic is often not the best price. When you combine a sale on the name brand product with a coupon, you can usually get the name brand cheaper than you would pay for the generic.
But when you need it now and you don’t have a coupon, generic is usually the best way to go. Generic products have come a long way since we were kids. And almost every generic line of products is backed by a money back guarantee. If you don’t like the product, you can return the unused portion to the service desk for a full refund.
But always, always, look at the prices for both generic and name brand products before you buy them. I once found General Mills Wheat Chex for 50 cents less than the generic version.
If you are new to Couponing, you might want to take a moment to read more in my Getting Started Couponing series.
RK says
We are always willing to try the generic if it’s cheaper. Sometimes we stick with it, but other times, we go back to the brand name. Sour cream is one product that we have not been happy with generic brands of. We always go back to Daisy, because the generics we’ve tried haven’t been creamy enough. Also, at Sam’s, they have 5lb tubs that are cheaper per lb even than the generics (except when they go on sale).
One generic that we have been very pleased with are the Walgreens disposable diapers. When there is a good deal on those, it is usually MUCH better than any Pampers deal I’ve ever seen. Last month, we got a bunch really cheap due to a sale + store coupon + rebate offer.
Melanie says
Most generics are fine – made by the same company as the name brands, but with the generic label. However, not all are the same! We have Save A Lot here, and their spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce are downright nasty! The peanut butter is gross. I have found a stem or two in every can of green beans.
Price wise, Save A Lot can be higher or lower than Walmart generic. You really need a price book to see if you do better buying generics at a discount store like Aldi or Save A Lot, or generics at Walmart, or name brand on sale with a coupon.
Personally, I’d rather stock up on name brand items when they are on sale and I’m using coupons. That way I know I’m getting the quality I want at a next to nothing price.
Beth says
I buy mostly brand name with coupons and sales, but I also do buy generic, and like annamarieZ said many generic products are made by a “brand name” company. I haven’t shopped at Walmart in a while, (I’m a Target girl!), but I know that at one point Walmart frozen chicken was made by Purdue, and years ago Wegmans diapers were made by Kimberly-Clark. Also, just a few weeks ago I was shopping in my local grocery which is a small local chain, Big M, and I noticed some Market Pantry frozen foods. Big M is currently making the switch from Food Club to Best Yet and I was surprised to see Market Pantry on the shelves of a small locally owned chain. My best guess is that is was a substitution from the company.
AnnamarieZ says
Our family does a lot of shopping at Aldi stores. Almost all of the products are store brand (generic) and are actually made by some of the larger mainstream companies. We will comparison shop area grocery stores to discover that we are saving 60-75% off the regular store prices – without coupons! Since we do not have any area stores that offer double-coupons – the idea of checking out with the store owing you money… isn’t going to happen around here. Please keep up the great ideas. Every little bit helps!
Kelly Thomason says
But how does name brand coupon compare to shopping at a discount store like Aldi? I do 99% of my shopping there and I’ve skeptical of coupons because I can’t see name brand being cheaper when Aldi is already so cheap. If you were to ever look into this kind of shopping and comparing it to couponing, I would be interested in what you had to say. Especially when Kroger is the only store in my area that will double coupons.
RK says
I am not familiar with Aldi, and I have not done an exhaustive study on this, but my personal experience is that it really varies. We do most of our shopping at Target or HEB, both fairly inexpensive stores, but we also have a Sam’s account. While it is often cheapest to buy at Sam’s, especially if we buy Member’s Mark brand, I am finding more and more often, I can get stuff for less by combining sales with coupons, even without doubling (which only Safeway/Randall’s does in my area … Kroger stopped doing it last month). For example, we used to get all our cheese at Sam’s, but Kraft goes on sale so often, and there are so many coupons, that we can often do better there. But we still get specialty cheeses at Sam’s. I can’t get my smoked gouda with a Kraft coupon. :-)
Another example … pasta. Using a sale at Kroger and coupons (but no doubling), I bought TONS of Ronzoni pasta last month, at $0.19/box. I’m stocked up for the year. I can’t imagine that any store’s regular price is less than that. But it was a matter of good luck that I caught that sale. There’s no guarantee that there will be sales/coupons for the things you buy.
I don’t know how Aldi compares to my stores, though.
Cristin Is Coupon Crazy says
almost everything i have ever bought generic tasted fine:)
i buy the walmart(great value) syrup, waffles, bread, fruit cups, fruit snacks, ect.
the only thing i didnt really care for was their pasta.
i get alot of name brand stuff from shoprite too. but i do always check the prices of name brand and with a coupon but sometimes generic is cheaper!