Comments on: Do You Get What You Pay For? http://tightfistedmiser.com/2007/04/23/do-you-get-what-you-pay-for/ Extreme Frugality - How to Live Well on Very Little Thu, 17 May 2012 01:10:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Tight Fisted Miser » Festival of Frugality #71 Is Up http://tightfistedmiser.com/2007/04/23/do-you-get-what-you-pay-for/comment-page-1/#comment-179 Tight Fisted Miser » Festival of Frugality #71 Is Up Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:17:21 +0000 http://tightfistedmiser.com/2007/04/23/do-you-get-what-you-pay-for/#comment-179 [...] The 71st Festival of Frugality is up at Money,Matter,and More Musings. My post “Do You Get What You Pay For?” is included and highlighted. Here are some more posts that I liked. [...] [...] The 71st Festival of Frugality is up at Money,Matter,and More Musings. My post “Do You Get What You Pay For?” is included and highlighted. Here are some more posts that I liked. [...]

]]> By: Tight Fisted Miser http://tightfistedmiser.com/2007/04/23/do-you-get-what-you-pay-for/comment-page-1/#comment-178 Tight Fisted Miser Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:37:34 +0000 http://tightfistedmiser.com/2007/04/23/do-you-get-what-you-pay-for/#comment-178 Richard- I am not referring to just the single ingredient. I am referring to the actual product. The same manufacturer often makes national and store brands. For example : \"Menu Foods, the largest maker of wet dog and cat food in North America, makes canned and pouched products for dozens of companies, including P&G and Wal-Mart (WMT).\" That should make it clear they are making the actual product, not just supplying an ingredient. The full article is at http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/2007-04-19-pandg-usat_N.htm%5C%22%5C%22 Alex- The same realization came to me many years ago when I worked a temporary job at a potato chip factory. I was surprised to see the name brand and the store brands all coming off the same line. Richard- I am not referring to just the single ingredient. I am referring to the actual product. The same manufacturer often makes national and store brands. For example :
\”Menu Foods, the largest maker of wet dog and cat food in North America, makes canned and pouched products for dozens of companies, including P&G and Wal-Mart (WMT).\”

That should make it clear they are making the actual product, not just supplying an ingredient. The full article is at http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/2007-04-19-pandg-usat_N.htm%5C%22%5C%22

Alex- The same realization came to me many years ago when I worked a temporary job at a potato chip factory. I was surprised to see the name brand and the store brands all coming off the same line.

]]> By: Alex http://tightfistedmiser.com/2007/04/23/do-you-get-what-you-pay-for/comment-page-1/#comment-177 Alex Tue, 24 Apr 2007 15:15:33 +0000 http://tightfistedmiser.com/2007/04/23/do-you-get-what-you-pay-for/#comment-177 Excellent post, TFM. It's so true that you can't always be sure that your higher-priced name brand item is any "better" than the cheaper store brand. My mom used to inspect breakfast cereal plants and discovered that the same plant produced both name brand and store brand cereals. Guess which one we bought after that little discovery? ;) A real boon for me has been Consumer Reports. When my vacuum cleaner died this spring after merely 2 years of service, I vowed that I would never buy such a crappy one ever again-- no matter how good the sale. If I had so much money, it might have been tempting to purchase a Dyson--after all, a $500-$600 vacuum cleaner just *has* to be good, right? The vacuums are so pretty! The commercials are so snazzy! And the dude has such a lovely British accent! After checking out the Consumer Reports story on vacuums, however, I discovered that I could get a better vacuum cleaner-- for $150. Go figure. Excellent post, TFM. It’s so true that you can’t always be sure that your higher-priced name brand item is any “better” than the cheaper store brand. My mom used to inspect breakfast cereal plants and discovered that the same plant produced both name brand and store brand cereals. Guess which one we bought after that little discovery? ;)

A real boon for me has been Consumer Reports. When my vacuum cleaner died this spring after merely 2 years of service, I vowed that I would never buy such a crappy one ever again– no matter how good the sale. If I had so much money, it might have been tempting to purchase a Dyson–after all, a $500-$600 vacuum cleaner just *has* to be good, right? The vacuums are so pretty! The commercials are so snazzy! And the dude has such a lovely British accent! After checking out the Consumer Reports story on vacuums, however, I discovered that I could get a better vacuum cleaner– for $150. Go figure.

]]> By: Richard http://tightfistedmiser.com/2007/04/23/do-you-get-what-you-pay-for/comment-page-1/#comment-176 Richard Tue, 24 Apr 2007 15:06:43 +0000 http://tightfistedmiser.com/2007/04/23/do-you-get-what-you-pay-for/#comment-176 I disagree with an assertion you make here: "The recalls of pet food and peanut butter showed that the same manufacturers were making both the store brands and the higher-priced brands." Many composite foods have a single main ingredient, or set of main ingredients. So although a single manufacturer may make the same ingredient for 10 products, that does not mean that the 10 products were all made by the same manufacturer. It's akin to saying that 10 of us bought cheese at the same place, and then went on to make a macaroni pie with it... and then saying that the farmer we bought the cheese from made all the pies. Not to say that I don't agree with the overall gist of the story. But this statement in particular was just misleading. I disagree with an assertion you make here: “The recalls of pet food and peanut butter showed that the same manufacturers were making both the store brands and the higher-priced brands.”

Many composite foods have a single main ingredient, or set of main ingredients. So although a single manufacturer may make the same ingredient for 10 products, that does not mean that the 10 products were all made by the same manufacturer.

It’s akin to saying that 10 of us bought cheese at the same place, and then went on to make a macaroni pie with it… and then saying that the farmer we bought the cheese from made all the pies.

Not to say that I don’t agree with the overall gist of the story. But this statement in particular was just misleading.

]]> By: Festival Of Frugality #71: Definitions Of Frugality Edition http://tightfistedmiser.com/2007/04/23/do-you-get-what-you-pay-for/comment-page-1/#comment-175 Festival Of Frugality #71: Definitions Of Frugality Edition Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:25:30 +0000 http://tightfistedmiser.com/2007/04/23/do-you-get-what-you-pay-for/#comment-175 [...] Do You Get What You Pay For? by TFM @ Tight Fisted Miser. High price does not equate to high quality. TFM gives examples to make his point: The recalls of pet food and peanut butter showed that the same manufacturers were making both the store brands and the higher-priced brands. Often the only difference between a store brand and a name brand is the label. In that case when you buy the name brand you are paying for advertising and packaging, not for higher quality. [...] [...] Do You Get What You Pay For? by TFM @ Tight Fisted Miser. High price does not equate to high quality. TFM gives examples to make his point: The recalls of pet food and peanut butter showed that the same manufacturers were making both the store brands and the higher-priced brands. Often the only difference between a store brand and a name brand is the label. In that case when you buy the name brand you are paying for advertising and packaging, not for higher quality. [...]

]]>