Do you buy by the brand?

[stogie bear]

So you are doing the weekly shopping... What goes in the trolley?

Do you pay for a brand name? Why? Is the brand name better?

Do you know of any cheapo brands that are just as good as 'the real thing!'

Somethings I always buy by the brand...

Coke, toilet paper, Roses Lime Cordial, Oscar Meyer Weiners, Cheese, Dettol soap, mouth wash, Coleman's mustard (Thanks, Dave!), Hellman's mayo - that Thai crap is gunk, baked beans, blank DVDs and CDs...

If it ain't Coke then it's too sweet. Hot dogs that aren't Oscar Meyer are inedible to me. Ayam's baked beans are a crime against humanity. imperial dairy products are crap - yes ALL of them, so I always buy imported cheese.

Somethings I just get the cheapest...

Soap powder, washing up liquid, cleaning materials, cables...

[kahuna]

Do you have any idea how much I dislike shopping in supermarkets/grocery stores...

Fat assed women clogging up the damn aisles with their fat asses...And why do they they stop right in the middle of the damn aisle and stand there and stare at the fucking cookies for 15 minutes and then scoop up 5 packages that they will likely devour on the ride home just before they stop off for their fucking cheeseburger...

No, I don't linger in supermarkets. I just grab and get out. I don't care what the brand is and I don't care how much it costs...

And don't even get me started on what they do once they decide to check out...After the clerk rings the items up, it takes the fat bitch at lest 5 minutes to realize that THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR THE FUCKING FOOD... Surprise fatso, the food ain't free...

And then the clerk has the nerve to say to me, "Have a nice day."

If I was having a nice day I wouldn't have had to come to your shit store...

And then when I finally escape from the horror that is a supermarket and go to my car, I find that one of them has left their fucking shopping cart either right next to my door or blocking my exit...

I would renege on my promise to myself to never ever vote again in one instant, if at least one candidate would promise to put a bounty on them...

[azza33]

Have you ever seen the movie Falling Down?

[seamus]

So Kahuna , am I right in saying you dont like fat birds LOL


I nearly always buy the branded name, I guess it's a name you know & trust & it makes it quicker when shopping, grab & run.I can only guess what you pay for Imported goods Sogie, as we can buy Irish produce in some supermarkets in Greater London & boy is it expensive



Seamus

[PigDogg]

With drugs, I used to read labels to try to find generic equivalents but I can't read Thai so that's out the window now.

I do compute price per unit in my head to see if there are any significant pricing aberations within the same brand, occasionally smaller quantities cost less per unit.

Where one buys matters. I try to get a handle of the cost of my repeat purchases. For example a six pack of water is:

25 baht on my soi
22 baht Friendship Supermarket
20 baht Thais For Life
16.5 baht Big C (too far to walk)

There's something to be said for supporting the local Thai merchants on my soi. There's also something to be said for buying at Thais For Life which is an Aids charity.

In practice, I do lots of shopping at Friendship Supermarket since it's open till 2AM and is less than a 5 minute walk from my place.

One thing I notice is that the Thai workers in supermarkets are much more helpful than the workers back home (except for Trader Joe's where their attitude is great).

To answer the question sometimes the brand matters, sometimes not. I haven't owned a car in many years but I'm pretty sure given the same octane rating that all gas is the same. But with hotdogs the brand is very important though I haven't cooked in years either.

[Monkey]

Not all fuels are created equal. Various ingredients are used to make the final product (detergents etc) so next you're filling up the Lambo' at Quik Save bear that in mind.

I'm sure there's a petrochemist amongst the BMs that would be able to tell you what actually goes into the stuff at the pumps.

(kahuna @ May 24 2008,03:00) Do you have any idea how much I dislike shopping in supermarkets/grocery stores...

Here in the UK all the major supermarkets allow you to shop online.

Spend 10-15 minutes shopping from your desk at work or home and arrange a time slot for them to deliver that suits you.

Made with people like you in mind

As for me, yeah I'm a snob when it comes to certain things and only the premium brands will do, but for other things I'll take just about anything.

[allstar88]

i go for brands but the way  food prices are going up i`m starting to look at the no frills crap at shops like aldi and lidle  

[Guest]

Fat assed women clogging up the damn aisles with their fat asses...And why do they they stop right in the middle of the damn aisle and stand there and stare at the fucking cookies for 15 minutes and then scoop up 5 packages that they will likely devour on the ride home just before they stop off for their fucking cheeseburger...

No, I don't linger in supermarkets. I just grab and get out. I don't care what the brand is and I don't care how much it costs...

And don't even get me started on what they do once they decide to check out...After the clerk rings the items up, it takes the fat bitch at lest 5 minutes to realize that THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR THE FUCKING FOOD... Surprise fatso, the food ain't free...

And then the clerk has the nerve to say to me, "Have a nice day."

If I was having a nice day I wouldn't have had to come to your shit store...

And then when I finally escape from the horror that is a supermarket and go to my car, I find that one of them has left their fucking shopping cart either right next to my door or blocking my exit...

this is one of the funniest rants I've read in a while, reminds of the Clash song-
i'm all lost in a supermarket,
i can no longer shop happily,
i came in here for the special offer, guaranteed personality

obviously there is a difference between fresh and canned produce but i can't tell the difference between the tesco brand and a lot of the well known brands.

in Thailand there probably is a difference but here a lot of the big brands make the tescos stuff.

[stogie bear]

So, Kahuna... How long is it now you've been away from Thailand?

[rxpharm]

There are some things I will buy the generic when it doesn't make any difference. A few things I will buy brand when I need the quality.

PD, when it comes to drugs in Thailand, you can ask the pharmacist what the generic equivalent is if the pharmacist speaks enough English. However, there are certain medications that are not a good idea to change to generic - for instance thyroid replacements like Synthroid (levothyroxine), and certain cardiac and blood pressure medicines.

Bad news for all shoppers - now that the high oil prices have trickled through the manufacturing chain retail prices for everything will be going up and continue to do so as long as oil is over $100 USD a barrel.

[allstar88]

trickle, its more like a tidal wave in england as for gripes in supermarkets i hate people who chat in the aisle double parked with their trollies side by side blocking you and also why do they move everything every week so you cant find anything?

[kathylc]

Markets in this region for the most part no longer carry el cheapo brands or the generic labeled stuff.

Oscar Meyer hot dogs.yuchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Oscar Meyer anything for that matter sucks period!

There are brands that are good and some not so good and its generally safer to buy a better brand. Cheaper but well known brands tend to be more bland or contain less product.

My pet peeve is standing in line and being the next to be taken care of while some idiot has her rug rats running back and forth snagging odds and ends off the shelves and bringing them up to the register while she yaks on her cell phone calling friends and relatives to see what they may want her to pick up while she is in the store, and send her rug rat out to get it. I use the term "her" loosely as males do it too, however not quite as frequently as females.

[jimslim]

(kahuna @ May 24 2008,12:00) Fat assed women clogging up the damn aisles with their fat asses....

I don't linger in supermarkets.  I just grab and get out.  

Right on brother , the voice of the people .

I have a Tesco right at the end of my street, anytime of the day or evening you go in its the same fat layabouts and weirdos who seen to spend their day there , its like a meeting place or a benefits chatroom .

Fat families overloading the trolly with waist enhancing products then sending the fat kids to grab some diet coke , you couldn't write the script  

Shopping is just a necessary evil for me , I hate it .

Yes to answer the question I do buy certain brands , and yes Im probably getting ripped off , but Im a creature of habit , though with the way prices are going now in the UK a bit of tightening of the old belt is happening on quite a few things  

[katoeylover]

Always buy brands i know, recognise and rely on. cost be damned..

[allstar88]

just been told in my local asda i can no longer have a free plastic bag to carry my shopping so to help the enviroment