Generic products good or bad??

[wdfifteen]

Generic products sold under multiple brand names by multiple vendors is getting more common.

My electric smoker is branded Cabellas, but it is sold under at least half a dozen other names and prices.
I had a meat grinder from Bass Pro Shop that has also sold under a bunch of different names and prices.
My ultrasonic cleaner shows up under many different brands.
My brother's lawnmower is sold under half a dozen different brand names.

I don't know if this is good or bad.
It gives the impression of competition in the market, when the only real competition is for the buyers' attention - one brand is literally no better than another. On the other hand, it's kind of nice to need a replacement belt or switch and find out the same part fits every smoker, grinder, cleaner, mower ever made and so it is readily available.

An ad for this Battery Daddy popped up on one of my news feeds on sale, "Regularly $79, on sale for $59!!" It seemed like an interesting product, but $59 was an insane price. It seemed like such a great idea that I went looking for something similar and found the exact same product on Amazon for $19. I bought it, and six months later the exact same product was $9.99 at my local hardware store.

[masraum]

It's mostly the entry level cheap stuff that is essentially identical except for a sticker. I assume the seller's willingness to stand behind their gear and provide a warranty also changes. So if you can get something with a BassPro name for $50 or you can buy the same thing with some Chinese name from Amazon for $30, I'd probably buy from Bass Pro assuming they have good customer service.

I've heard about stuff like this in the past that different brands may specify different levels of quality, so even though the things look the same, one brand may actually be more reliable and/or made with better parts.

Even with other stuff where it's not obvious, the same thing is going on. If you go to buy parts for your refrigerator, dish washer, etc... (major appliances), I think there are only a few manufacturers of the parts, so the same part may go on a Whirlpool, Maytag, GE, etc...

No idea if this is current or old, but


Regarding that Battery thing. I would not assume that the $9.99 product was the same as the $59. It would not surprise me to learn that the $59 product had more intelligence built in and may be less likely to over charge batteries while the $9 product could be poorly made and dangerous. But I'm willing to accept that they might be the same product.

[flatbutt]

Just be mindful of the origins of generic medications. Most are OK but it only takes one bad one.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by masraum

Regarding that Battery thing. I would not assume that the $9.99 product was the same as the $59. It would not surprise me to learn that the $59 product had more intelligence built in and may be less likely to over charge batteries while the $9 product could be poorly made and dangerous. But I'm willing to accept that they might be the same product.

The Battery Daddy is just a caddy. It's got a simple battery checker, it's not a tender or a recharger.

20 bucks is a good price; 10 bucks is even better! It looks like a handy thing to have. I got one at HF a few years ago, a little different and without the battery checker. It's nice to have a place just to keep batteries handy and organized.

As to the OP, my coffee maker crapped out a couple of months ago. It was branded Melitta, it was a drip maker with a nice stainless carafe. It wasn't available anymore on Amazoonie, so I was kind of bummed, but with a little sleuthing I found the same exact coffee maker only this time labeled Hamilton Beach.

[Chocaholic]

I believe most computer monitors and TV's are made in two factories in Korea for dozens of company brands. Different color bezels, etc. Same guts.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

The Battery Daddy is just a caddy. It's got a simple battery checker, it's not a tender or a recharger.

20 bucks is a good price; 10 bucks is even better! It looks like a handy thing to have. I got one at HF a few years ago, a little different and without the battery checker. It's nice to have a place just to keep batteries handy and organized.

As to the OP, my coffee maker crapped out a couple of months ago. It was branded Melitta, it was a drip maker with a nice stainless carafe. It wasn't available anymore on Amazoonie, so I was kind of bummed, but with a little sleuthing I found the same exact coffee maker only this time labeled Hamilton Beach.

Ah, if it's just a plastic box with various battery sized holes, then yeah, $9.99 sounds about right. I keep batteries in their original packages in a zip lock bag(s) in the deli drawer of the fridge.

[Cajundaddy]

Been going on for a long time and recently expanded with most products manufactured in China. It's tough to assign a quality perception to any brand these days. Remember when Craftsman tools were first rate? No longer a noticeable difference between these and Harbor Freight tools. Both probably made on the same Chinese assembly line.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by masraum

Ah, if it's just a plastic box with various battery sized holes, then yeah, $9.99 sounds about right.

Yes, it's just a plastic box with various battery sized holes. It has a rudimentary tester that's easier to use than a volt meter, but obviously not a great tool. I like it. I can tell at a glance how many batteries I have, and they're all in one place.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Yes, it's just a plastic box with various battery sized holes. It has a rudimentary tester that's easier to use than a volt meter, but obviously not a great tool. I like it. I can tell at a glance how many batteries I have, and they're all in one place.

I have two and think they are great.

There are a few rules concerning product ads on TV, as told to me by a guy in the business: The companies shelling out dollars for the TV ads crunch more numbers than NASA...from the show(s) they target, the time of day, region, time of year, etc. to the moon and back.

So I go, "Limited availability, strict limit on numbers of items purchased..."

Big smile.

[masraum]

If something seems heavily advertised, I often will steer away unless I get enough information/feedback from many sources that it's a good thing with no alternatives. Advertising costs money. If you can afford to pay for a ton of advertising, then there's a lot of profit involved whether the price is cheap but the cost is cheaper or the price is high.

[cabmandone]

Lots of things are produced by one company but branded by others. Made To Die (MTD) makes mowers, trimmers, leaf blowers for a lot of different companies. Simplicity makes Massey Ferguson riding mowers. Pretty much the same machine with a different color of plastic.

[thingmon]

HEB generics. Probably better than the brand.

[GH85Carrera]

Years ago a friend worked at a place that made Water Heaters. One of the tasks was to affix the brand name labels. He said there were a stack of different brand names, and they stuck on the labels for one until they had a pallet of them, and then to the next label. Same equipment, just different labels.