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You're not exactly beating the system. That's just plain old brand loyalty, which companies love. You've stopped shopping based on quality or value, and they ca

You're not exactly beating the system. That's just plain old brand loyalty, which companies love. You've stopped shopping based on quality or value, and they can turn a profit without investing anything into marketing.

paganel 8y ago
I don’t want to beat the system because I know it’s a lost battle from the get-go ans I also don’t really feel the need of being “lured” into buying a product. That’s also one of the reasons why I still don’t use an ad-blocker, as I’m almost totally blind to advertising, both online and offline. I do think though that this tactic has made me purchase less stuff over time, I consider that as a win.
- nsomaru 8y ago
  With an adblocker, pages load faster and you save data. If you’re already blind to ads then it shouldn’t matter...
jacobyoder 8y ago
paganel is saving time by no thinking about the issue, so 'winning' in some sense. However... you don't know what the brand is. The brand may be the store brand, which... while it's brand loyalty, is almost always the cheapest, and usually don't have any marketing expense beyond the product in the store in the first place. I've learned to love most store brands, and... it may be my mind rationalizing it, but I think they've actually become much better quality wise than they were 20 or 30 years ago. But again may be a trick of the brain. Biggest issue I see is that store brands often don't have the same level of variety. Chips - store brand may have 4 flavors - other vendors may have 10-12 on the shelf above. If I really want a specific flavor, I'll get a name brand, otherwise, just go with store brand (or.. with chips, hopefully skip altogether!)
- JustSomeNobody 8y ago
  Store brands have certainly gotten much better. I generally try and buy as many store brands as I can. There are a few items where I like the flavor of a brand name better, but not many.
  - mikepurvis 8y ago
    Some grocery chains even have two tiers of store brand. For example, the Loblaws/Zehrs stores in Ontario have yellow "No Name" packaging for the basic level, and "President's Choice" for the premium. Some products are only available in one tier or the other, but for a lot you do have both.
- matwood 8y ago
  My localish store brand is also quite good. I buy the store brand for all of the staples. One place that I can't quite find a non-brand name replacement I like is laundry detergent. I've tried the cheaper brands, store brands, etc..., and always end up back on Tide.
NeedMoreTea 8y ago
Not really beating the system, more using it to our advantage. The half price offers in the UK big 4 come around often enough that paying full price, or even 3 for 2 is almost never needed on basics. We'd go to Tesco once in a while just for promotions, come out with 6 months worth, then do the regular shop at Aldi. I remember reading that many of the costs of the in store offers and promotion are actually pushed to the supplier. Leaving Tesco, Asda etc on same margin as before. I suspect this hits smaller suppliers disproportionately.

paganel 8y ago

I don’t want to beat the system because I know it’s a lost battle from the get-go ans I also don’t really feel the need of being “lured” into buying a product. That’s also one of the reasons why I still don’t use an ad-blocker, as I’m almost totally blind to advertising, both online and offline. I do think though that this tactic has made me purchase less stuff over time, I consider that as a win.

nsomaru 8y ago
With an adblocker, pages load faster and you save data. If you’re already blind to ads then it shouldn’t matter...

jacobyoder 8y ago

paganel is saving time by no thinking about the issue, so 'winning' in some sense. However... you don't know what the brand is. The brand may be the store brand, which... while it's brand loyalty, is almost always the cheapest, and usually don't have any marketing expense beyond the product in the store in the first place. I've learned to love most store brands, and... it may be my mind rationalizing it, but I think they've actually become much better quality wise than they were 20 or 30 years ago. But again may be a trick of the brain. Biggest issue I see is that store brands often don't have the same level of variety. Chips - store brand may have 4 flavors - other vendors may have 10-12 on the shelf above. If I really want a specific flavor, I'll get a name brand, otherwise, just go with store brand (or.. with chips, hopefully skip altogether!)

JustSomeNobody 8y ago
Store brands have certainly gotten much better. I generally try and buy as many store brands as I can. There are a few items where I like the flavor of a brand name better, but not many.
- mikepurvis 8y ago
  Some grocery chains even have two tiers of store brand. For example, the Loblaws/Zehrs stores in Ontario have yellow "No Name" packaging for the basic level, and "President's Choice" for the premium. Some products are only available in one tier or the other, but for a lot you do have both.
matwood 8y ago
My localish store brand is also quite good. I buy the store brand for all of the staples. One place that I can't quite find a non-brand name replacement I like is laundry detergent. I've tried the cheaper brands, store brands, etc..., and always end up back on Tide.

NeedMoreTea 8y ago

Not really beating the system, more using it to our advantage. The half price offers in the UK big 4 come around often enough that paying full price, or even 3 for 2 is almost never needed on basics. We'd go to Tesco once in a while just for promotions, come out with 6 months worth, then do the regular shop at Aldi. I remember reading that many of the costs of the in store offers and promotion are actually pushed to the supplier. Leaving Tesco, Asda etc on same margin as before. I suspect this hits smaller suppliers disproportionately.