Name Brand vs No Name Brand: Does it make a difference?

Sarah24! · Dec 17, 2019

Hello,

One thing I have not seen mentioned is, what is branded and what is generic? For example medication there is a brand and generic, but brand is always super expensive because they did the r&d on it. The generic is the same but your not paying for the r&d. In terms of medication, for example xanax and alprozam is the same medication, but large price difference another would be like adderal etc. so I’m some sections brand and generic are exactly the same.

In terms of for example leds for our tanks. 99% of all the leds come from China or overseas. So is Ecotech really a branded led, when black boxes, current usa, kessill all use the same leds and made in the same factory?

Another example, let’s throw tools in the mix. Brother is a tech, is there a huge difference between snap on or craftsman? What about gear wrench or matco? A snap on ratchet is almost 200 and it’s made in Taiwan. (I got one for him for Xmas so that’s how I know because I looked at all.) yet sears aka craftsman is to be American made now owned by Stanley and made in Taiwan or matco there was made in Mexico? All have lift time warranties same tech. Huge price difference do to name, why? I got him the snap on because he wanted at least one tool from snap on. But their prices are insane I couldn’t believe it. Now I have never used these but my brother has insane amount of tools for work. It’s the same with sockets according to him a set of each brand is perfect because they are all different lengths. Some may be longer, or shorter and depending on what one is working with the expensive ones won’t work.

For ladies purses, I have used coach and they are super expensive and even when taken care of, last about as long as a 45 dollar one from Ross. Do I still pay 400 for a tiny hand bag? Nope! Sure it may have real Leather, but doesn’t do me any good when it falls apart. Let’s look at Nike shoes, they use to be very well made. They all used real leather. Now it’s all fake and they are five times the cost? They are made in Vietnam or where ever but Payless has almost the same shoe it’s 40 and the Nike is 200. Who pays 200 for shoes, I’m certain I don’t.

I don’t think I have a single name brand item for my tank unless current usa and eshopps count. But I haven’t had anything break. I had 3 of my current usa pumps fail, they sent me three new ones over night. How much does one spend with Ecotech and do they ever send a free one when the broken one isn’t back yet? How much do you have to pay to have them fix it or aka sell another one? Big thing is both have parts from China or Mexico, etc.

So at the moment the only real thing I know that is truly brand or generic is medicine. Do I need a dress or skirt that is made by a famous designer that is still made in some other place, but 5,000 for a skirt? Seriously. I’m sure I’m missing some others but can’t really find a true branded item.

ccombs · Dec 17, 2019

Mical said:
But there are brand names (we won't mention by name) who sometimes rush products to market and have ALL kinds of failures, or who have poor customer relations which can have effects on my purchases also.

Oh I'll name some names.... ;Shamefullyembarrased ;Shamefullyembarrased ;Shamefullyembarrased

ccombs · Dec 17, 2019

Sarah24! said:
Hello,

One thing I have not seen mentioned is, what is branded and what is generic? For example medication there is a brand and generic, but brand is always super expensive because they did the r&d on it. The generic is the same but your not paying for the r&d. In terms of medication, for example xanax and alprozam is the same medication, but large price difference another would be like adderal etc. so I’m some sections brand and generic are exactly the same.

In terms of for example leds for our tanks. 99% of all the leds come from China or overseas. So is Ecotech really a branded led, when black boxes, current usa, kessill all use the same leds and made in the same factory?

Another example, let’s throw tools in the mix. Brother is a tech, is there a huge difference between snap on or craftsman? What about gear wrench or matco? A snap on ratchet is almost 200 and it’s made in Taiwan. (I got one for him for Xmas so that’s how I know because I looked at all.) yet sears aka craftsman is to be American made now owned by Stanley and made in Taiwan or matco there was made in Mexico? All have lift time warranties same tech. Huge price difference do to name, why? I got him the snap on because he wanted at least one tool from snap on. But their prices are insane I couldn’t believe it. Now I have never used these but my brother has insane amount of tools for work. It’s the same with sockets according to him a set of each brand is perfect because they are all different lengths. Some may be longer, or shorter and depending on what one is working with the expensive ones won’t work.

For ladies purses, I have used coach and they are super expensive and even when taken care of, last about as long as a 45 dollar one from Ross. Do I still pay 400 for a tiny hand bag? Nope! Sure it may have real Leather, but doesn’t do me any good when it falls apart. Let’s look at Nike shoes, they use to be very well made. They all used real leather. Now it’s all fake and they are five times the cost? They are made in Vietnam or where ever but Payless has almost the same shoe it’s 40 and the Nike is 200. Who pays 200 for shoes, I’m certain I don’t.

I don’t think I have a single name brand item for my tank unless current usa and eshopps count. But I haven’t had anything break. I had 3 of my current usa pumps fail, they sent me three new ones over night. How much does one spend with Ecotech and do they ever send a free one when the broken one isn’t back yet? How much do you have to pay to have them fix it or aka sell another one? Big thing is both have parts from China or Mexico, etc.

So at the moment the only real thing I know that is truly brand or generic is medicine. Do I need a dress or skirt that is made by a famous designer that is still made in some other place, but 5,000 for a skirt? Seriously. I’m sure I’m missing some others but can’t really find a true branded item.

I think generic might be a misleading word. I looked at the thread of product vs. knock off. There are a ton of products that are half the price but have the exact same chassis, look, packaging, etc. but they are missing the brand name.

A ton of products are made out of a single factory and different companies make no/small changes and put their names on it. Sometimes this is done legally, other times not.

This can really be case by case and even industry by industry. In any industry there are cheap knock offs, good products, and then overpriced name brands.

For Tools- Harbor Freight/Husky/Snap On. I like snap on the best, but Husky is probably what I would buy.

I have found that when it comes to tech, tools, and industrial equipment, the above is true. For your fashion example however, the difference between products may not be seen in longevity, but in craftsmanship. Will a LV purse last longer than a knock off? Maybe marginally when compared to price difference. You would probably have to buy 5 lifetimes worth of knock offs to equal one real product. But take a look at the stitching and attention to detail, if that is important to you, go with the LV.

All this to say, I choose brands that have been around and are well known, even if I have to pay a premium. That being said, there is pretty much always a more expensive option, you just have to find where acceptable quality and price meet.

magikfly · Dec 17, 2019

The correlation everyone is making between no-name brands and low quality is not entirely correct. Jebao pumps for example are very well made and I'm running one for over a year now without ever having cleaned it. Reliability is becoming a commodity in a globalized world.

Cheche · Dec 17, 2019

Is hard for me to believe the a generic brand will be call a knock off .. all the products the we buy come from China. You will find some product made in USA but the y buy the parts in China and build here .. I see the inside of the light and motor pump. Power head like cross flow pump wave makers . And is all the same and actually same wires same contact.but the USA brand have ul listed. That means another identity inspect your product for quality control. I did that type of work and I work as an electrical engineer. I do open all my equipment and inspected my self .. Ik for sure we do pay extra $ for the extra identity who inspect the product after if come from China and put a sticker in it .. and tbh they do fail as much or more then the ones I buy directly from China ... my opinion !

ahiggins · Dec 17, 2019

It depends. I don’t mess around with lights so brand name all the way. Skimmers usually fall into that as well. Everything else can be generic. Especially filter pads-always genetic on those.

2015GaTor · Dec 17, 2019

Depends on the equipment. As mentioned lights always go brand name and higher end. Skimmers definitely brand name as well. Pumps too, vortech pumps will last 6-8 years on average!