People Are Sharing How They Learned The Hard Way Never To Buy These Off-Brand Products Again

    "Cheap condoms have expensive consequences."

    CT Seale
    by CT Seale

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    We've all been there — juggling whether to save some coin by going off brand or sticking with the tried and true (and almost always pricier).

    Pepephone / Via giphy.com

    Doing us a fine public service, redditor u/cherrystomperaf asked the question, "What’s one thing you’ll never buy an off-brand 'version' of again?"

    Making the wrong choice can mean something as simple as a bad taste in your mouth or can be downright dangerous! Check out these answers from folks who learned the hard way.

    1. "Contact lens solution."

    NatGeo / Via giphy.com

    "So here I am thinking I would save money and buy the store-brand contact solution, and then there I go getting pink eye four times in three months."

    —u/CallMeTDD

    2. "Cat litter."

    White cat with headdress of roses
    Andrés López / 500px / Getty Images

    "I wanted clumping, not piss-laden cement."

    —u/YoungSpiritBear

    3. "After 25-plus years in construction — tools."

    Fox / Via giphy.com

    "Also, batteries."

    —u/esp735

    4. "Shoes. Especially running."

    Colorful running shoe with a shadow of someone posing coming from behind it on a purple background
    Andriy Onufriyenko / Getty Images

    "My back will never recover."

    —u/shaka_sulu

    5. "Car tires."

    Ilves Motors / Via giphy.com

    "Everyone is mentioning food, but Jesus, please, if you are a young person, hear me out now: Don’t cheap out on your tires."

    —u/HS_TakenSeriously

    "Also, brakes. NEVER CHEAP OUT ON YOUR CAR'S BRAKES!!!!! They are the only thing stopping your car and could mean the difference between life and death in some circumstances."

    —u/Silver_Yeti

    "My father said, 'Always invest in things that separate you from the ground (tires, your shoes, mattress).'"

    —u/Xerxes37072

    6. "Work boots."

    A pair of boots appearing to walk in the air above a table without being worn
    Joshlaverty / Getty Images

    "Three hours in a pair of Walmart $30 Brahmas is worse than 300 hours in even a pretty cheap pair of Wolverines."

    —u/FastWalkingShortGuy

    7. "Band-Aids."

    Smiling girl holding an adhesive bandage up to her upper arm
    Grace Cary / Getty Images

    "Cheap Band-Aids suck, especially when you need to use them on your fingers. I'm a server and can go through at least six or seven cheap plastic bandages in one shift for one cut because they fall off as soon as they get wet."

    —u/E-macularius

    8. "Scotch tape."

    Four different colored tapes unrolled against a plain background
    Twomeows / Getty Images

    "I freaking hate dollar store cellophane tape."

    —u/dogbonej

    9. "Paint."

    Household / Via giphy.com

    "Cheap paint is shit — trust me. Get the name-brand stuff; otherwise you’re just going to need it eventually to paint over that patchy cheap shit."

    —u/VictorBlimpmuscle

    10. "Vacuum cleaners."

    20th Century Fox / Via giphy.com

    "Eventually you just stop vacuuming completely when it isn't strong enough or easy to use."

    —u/VeeAsimov

    11. "Bras."

    A woman kneels on a bed with several bras on it
    Konstantin Aksenov / Getty Images / EyeEm

    "I used to always buy something cheap that looked nice enough. Only recently, I went to a lingerie shop for the first time to get properly measured. Bought two sets of bras and panties that actually fit perfectly, and both feel and look great. My quality of life improved in an instant!"

    —u/goldfromthestars

    12. "Plastic wrap."

    A woman, covered in plastic wrap, stands with her mouth open
    Francesco Carta Fotografo / Getty Images

    "The dollar store shit only clings to itself, never my dishes."

    —u/ramunesodas

    13. "Dish soap."

    Scary Mommy / Via giphy.com

    "Classic Dawn dish soap! By far the most effective, and it more than justifies the cost. A little goes a long way."

    —u/InvertedNavel

    14. "Toilet paper."

    Te vagy a brand / Via giphy.com

    —u/TadUnfortunate

    15. "Flea medication."

    Maryna Terletska / Getty Images

    "I bought an off brand at the store a few years ago and came home to both my cats needing to go to the emergency vet. They had neurological issues, my male had a seizure, and my girl nearly died. Buy your flea meds straight from the vet, y’all."

    —u/chibimonkey

    16. "Crayons/colored pencils."

    Child making a picture of a rainbow with crayons scattered around
    Indeed / Getty Images/ Absodels RF

    "Nothing but Crayola for me or my future children."

    —u/-eDgAR-

    17. "Menstrual pads."

    AwesomenessTV / Via giphy.com

    "You've never experienced discomfort if you've never worn a cheap pad."

    —u/violentbabygirl

    18. "Oreo cookies."

    Open sleeve of generic sandwich cookies on a pink background
    Crispin La Valiente / Getty Images

    "My family bought generic everything, but that was definitely the worst."

    — u/moreblankets

    19. "Headphones."

    Generic pastel-colored large headphone
    Sergii Iaremenko / Getty Images / Science Photo Library RF

    "100%."

    —u/cock_suckler50

    20. "A mattress."

    Joyful girl lounging in bed under covers and on pillows
    Catherine Falls Commercial / Getty Images

    "I made the mistake of 'trying to save money' and bought a cheap mattress. Never again. I went and bought an expensive one, and my sleeping has been heavenly, along with some nice pillows as well. Pay extra for a good name brand, both mattress and pillow."

    —u/D1sCoL3moNaD3

    21. "Cream cheese."

    Opened block of cream cheese on a gray background
    Annick Vanderschelden Photograph / Getty Images

    "Every store brand I've tried to save a few bucks with makes gritty, textured cheesecakes. Blech."

    —u/Neeraja_Kalrapindhi

    22. "Sleeping pills."

    Different-colored capsules and tablets
    Navinpeep / Getty Images

    "I bought sleeping pills from the dollar store because I had chronic insomnia and I am naturally nocturnal. I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom and brought my pillow with me. I tried to hang it up over the shower curtain rod like a towel and just chucked it into the shower/tub. I then went to go back to sleep and couldn't find my pillow. I had completely forgotten what I JUST did with it.

    "Then, after suction-cupping my ear to my arm for 20 minutes, I decided to go look for it, bringing my phone for a flashlight so I wouldn't wake up my wife (pre-smartphone, so I was using the screen for light. I remember it being 1:30 a.m.). My next memory of this night was being asleep, standing over my wife's side of the bed. I remember trying very hard to wake up. I kept trying to look around with my phone light and couldn't see anything. Then I kept trying to check my phone to see what time it was. I couldn't see, I couldn't move; all I remember is basically standing there completely paralyzed, thinking, I am going to fall on my wife and kill her 'cause she is so tiny.

    "Finally the sun came up, waking me up somehow — I was still standing — and I went to sleep on the couch. Found my pillow when I turned on the shower for my wife the next morning."

    —u/TehChubz

    23. "Pop-Tarts."

    Pop-Tarts / Via giphy.com

    "Mom always said the store brand was the same...it wasn't, Mom!"

    —u/acgasp

    24. "Condoms."

    Huizeng Hu / Getty Images

    "Cheap condoms have expensive consequences."

    —u/ShamrockHammer

    25. "Video game controllers."

    Lil Yachty / Via giphy.com

    —u/Hippocrt1t

    Have you bought a generic version and lived to rue the day? Or have you found some store-brand treasures? Let us know in the comments!

    Note: Some answers have been edited for length and/or clarity. H/T: r/AskReddit!