The Incessant Myth of Brand Names

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

People constantly rag on the claim that brand names mean quality. While that may have been true back in the 60s or 70s, it just isn't anymore It's been shown many times that just a few manufacturers exist and sell their product under various brands.

I remember a time when the name Broyhill meant quality furniture. Recently, Big Lots started selling it and made a lot of noise about it. A few days ago, I got curious. Seems the brand folded several years ago and was bought out. Then the second company folded and sold off the assets. Big Lots bought the name only and started applying it to all sorts of stuff.

Not saying the stuff is bad. I got some towels and a few other things and they all seem decent. But they are Broyhill in name only. No idea who really makes the stuff or where.

Furniture Brands International - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"After court approval of the sale, trademark documents show Big Lots took over rights to Broyhill marks November 9, 2018."​

Heritage Home Group - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Captante]

YMMV.

Generic ibuprofen I need to take 3 tabs (supposedly 600mgs) to take care of a bad headache.

Brand-name Motrin or Advil takes only 2. (400mgs)

Same with brand-name Nasacort or Flonase allergy spray vs generic.

Same with generic/store-brand PPI's like omeprazole.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Drugs are actually the same between name and off-brand, they have to be for safety reasons. Also don't take Omeprazole, that shit is terrible for you.

 

[mikeymikec]

@Lost_in_the_HTTP , I think you're trying to convey that you don't think that brand names mean much any more? Your opening paragraph is a mess.

If I'm correct in guessing your position, I have to say it's quite a bold claim to make on an electronics-oriented forum. I'd be surprised if most people here didn't agree with the notion that buying no-name electronics is often such a bad idea that the end result explodes... like when my wife bought a touch-activated mains lamp off ebay and the bulb that came with it literally exploded within a week. I didn't know LED bulbs could explode until then

 

[nakedfrog]

It still applies for some brands, although even then they may have their quality line and their "other" products. There are definitely a lot of products around these days that bear a brand name that was pulled out of the bankruptcy graveyard and placed on other products though.

 

[dullard]

Brands are is a way to reduce mental duties. Instead of having to evaluate every single detail about something, you can just go by past experience with a brand.

• Do most people look up quality control records, evaluate raw material inspection criteria, compare ingredients, etc of the food they eat? Or just buy their favorite brand?
• Do most people really read a 300 page bill in the legislature? Or just go by whatever their favorite political brand says?
• Do most people really evaluate sources and trustworthiness of everything they hear on the news? Or just go by their favorite news brand?

Life would be nearly impossible if we had to do a thorough evaluation of everything. Instead we just go to a restaurant we like and order what I liked last time.

Unfortunately, companies know that. All they have to do is hook you once and you'll keep coming back even if they decide later to sell crap.

 

[BoomerD]

It still applies for some brands, although even then they may have their quality line and their "other" products. There are definitely a lot of products around these days that bear a brand name that was pulled out of the bankruptcy graveyard and placed on other products though.

Indeed. Staying with the OP's furniture rant, once upon a time, Lane Furniture made the best recliners on the market. Their mechanisms were infallible, the foam and padding were top of the line, and, for the most part, their fabrics were some of the best of the best.
A few bad years in the economy...and the company got sold and resold a few times. Each time, a bit more value and quality was stripped from the products until they became a mere shadow of what they once were. AFAIK, Lane Furniture no longer exists...

 

[Greenman]

It all depends on the brand. The only brands I really care about are tools. Even though most of the brands are owned by one or two company's, there are differences.
For hand tools, squares, clamps, things like that, I've gone full no name Chinese made stuff. The quality is on par with the best on the market at a fraction of the name brand price.

 

[skyking]

Bell & Howell is a great case for brands not meaning anything.
If you really care, you're pretty much have to go to the review of the actual products. Even the good brands make some duds.

 

[Captante]

Drugs are actually the same between name and off-brand, they have to be for safety reasons. Also don't take Omeprazole, that shit is terrible for you.

Yeah, right. The active ingredient itself might be chemically "the same" but the meds DO NOT always work the same. (very occasionally generics are actually better)

And I currently take an RX PPI which I know is bad but is way better than acid-reflux.

 

[pmv]

I think a (relatively recent) issue is that quite a few long-established brands, with good reputations, have in recent times changed ownership, and been bought up by global investment funds, who then just milk that reputation to extract as much profit as possible, while cutting costs on all the things that once justified that reputation.

I'd name-names but am nervous of how libel law works. But if you read "consumer advice" columns you notice certain names that once had a very good reputation seem to have deteriorated recently - often around the time they changed ownership from long-standing domestic owners to some international finance-based anonymous conglomerate.

(Heh, Musk and Twitter might be a glaring recent example of a similar phenomenon)

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

^^^ A couple have already been mentioned here. Porter Cable is another. Skil used to be among the top of the line in homeowner level tools. No more. Shall we discuss Craftsman? People don't even like to think about that one.

Cadbury chocolates?

 

[quikah]

^^^ A couple have already been mentioned here. Porter Cable is another. Skil used to be among the top of the line in homeowner level tools. No more. Shall we discuss Craftsman? People don't even like to think about that one.

Cadbury chocolates?

Cadbury Dairy Milk is actually an interesting one. One of the reasons it is different in the US is because the UK formula cannot be sold in the US as chocolate due to the use of vegetable fat.

Does Cadbury chocolate taste different in different countries?

Fans of Cadbury Dairy Milk in the US say it tastes different when it's made in Britain and some Australians say the same. Hershey's milk chocolate is different again. What's the explanation?

www.bbc.com

Regardless, Cadbury chocolate is pretty ass IMO, though I am not a fan of milk chocolate.

 

[Artorias]

There are still some great brands around.

You want to get a watch? Lets look at two ends of the spectrum.

Casio G-Shock, indestructible, dependable and affordable.

And then there is Rolex, still the worlds #1 most popular watch brand, 100% Swiss made, precision engineered, lasts you forever with proper care, disregard their shitty marketing practices, but that's another story.

 

[igor_kavinski]

New owners want the ROI on their newly bought company/brand ASAP. So what do they do? They bring in "experts" to cut costs. What do they do? Cut costs by making questionable decisions, most often by changing the very thing that made the brand valuable. And if any of the senior, experienced employees try to warn about the change or disagree, they are shown the door. That's what these business types overlook. It's not just the formula or method of manufacturing or the ingredients. It's the people and their hard work and dedication that power the brand. Once that's gone, the brand becomes worthless. Yes, it may still sell but most of its loyalists will go and look elsewhere for what they lost.

 

[DigDog]

i would totally go for a Casio Oceanus over a crummy rolex.

 

[Artorias]

i would totally go for a Casio Oceanus over a crummy rolex.

I got the Oceanus ocw-s100. Fantastic everyday watch.

 

[brianmanahan]

Drugs are actually the same between name and off-brand, they have to be for safety reasons. Also don't take Omeprazole, that shit is terrible for you.

some people swear by brand-name seizure meds and refuse to take the generics

i've never noticed a difference though except that the generics don't cost me 200$ a month

 

[spacejamz]

The one that humored me the most were the Beats headphones...everyone wanted them but they sounded like complete shit and you could easily get better sounding headphones for 1/2 the price....

When fitness trackers first started coming out, everyone had to have the the fitbit (which the battery lasted barely a week) but my garmin vivo had watch batteries that lasted over a year and also had an actual display and when even when I explained this to others (coworkers and friends), they still bought the fitbit because everyone had one...

 

[Captante]

some people swear by brand-name seizure meds and refuse to take the generics

i've never noticed a difference though except that the generics don't cost me 200$ a month

Many generics are fine and some are in fact better than the RX version.

Some generics however (especially OTC) suck and take more pills to work the same.

 

[igor_kavinski]

but my garmin vivo had watch batteries that lasted over a year and also had an actual display and when even when I explained this to others (coworkers and friends), they still bought the fitbit because everyone had one...

Yeah. People are super reluctant to go with the not-so-popular option, even when it's far superior.

I feel like a frickin' snake oil salesman when I tell people how AMD gives you 16 threads in the same price that Intel gives 8 threads. They look at me like, what's he getting out of this???

 

[spacejamz]

Yeah, right. The active ingredient itself might be chemically "the same" but the meds DO NOT always work the same. (very occasionally generics are actually better)

And I currently take an RX PPI which I know is bad but is way better than acid-reflux.

I'm with ya on the advil vs ibuprofen...take 2 advils and call it a day....with the generic ibuprofen, sometimes 3 or 4 don't even feel like they did anything...haven't used non-advil in over 10 years I think

 

[pmv]

i would totally go for a Casio Oceanus over a crummy rolex.

Rolex seems to be just a way of asking to be violently mugged. The only time I ever hear any reference to that brand is when someone is assaulted in the street because they were carrying around an easily-taken item worth tens-of-thousands of £.

I mean, I know that's victim-blaming, but, at that kind of extreme it just seems ridiculous. I feel nervous about going out late at night with my ancient digital music player. Who goes around with a small portable item valued at £100,000?

I mean, I just typed "man mugged for"...and google autocomplete filled in "rolex" as the first suggestion!

Just the first three hits:

Man in his 70s punched repeatedly and has Rolex watch stolen off his wrist

Scotland Yard is urging people to keep an eye out for the high-value watch

www.standard.co.uk

London night bus passenger brutally mugged for his £30,000 Rolex watch

The father-of-one was targeted by three men when he fell asleep on the top deck of the N133 bus through Mitcham

www.standard.co.uk

Gang who mugged American tourist for £100,000 Rolex are jailed for 15 years

The gang were sentenced to 15 years in prison for their sickening attack on a group of American tourists.

metro.co.uk

[Edit] Actually, that last one is kind of interesting in how they caught the gang. Real "CSI" "Zoom...enhance" stuff.

The stolen Jaguar also had false plates, making it difficult to track down.

They were eventually captured after detectives from the Met’s Flying Squad painstakingly analysed the footage and managed to see the car had a small sticker on the bottom right corner of its windshield.

They used this detail to work through crime records and find out how many Jaguar F-PACEs had been reported stolen and were unrecovered in recent months, leaving them with around 30-40 possible vehicles.

One told officers their car had a parking permit for their child’s school – a description which matched the sticker.

This was the breakthrough the team had been looking for as it allowed them to discover the car’s true ‘identity’.

From there, they were able to work out where the car had been before and after the robbery and explore further CCTV opportunities, leading to footage capturing the robbers meeting without masks.

 

[pmv]

Brands are is a way to reduce mental duties. Instead of having to evaluate every single detail about something, you can just go by past experience with a brand.

• Do most people look up quality control records, evaluate raw material inspection criteria, compare ingredients, etc of the food they eat? Or just buy their favorite brand?
• Do most people really read a 300 page bill in the legislature? Or just go by whatever their favorite political brand says?
• Do most people really evaluate sources and trustworthiness of everything they hear on the news? Or just go by their favorite news brand?

Life would be nearly impossible if we had to do a thorough evaluation of everything. Instead we just go to a restaurant we like and order what I liked last time.

Unfortunately, companies know that. All they have to do is hook you once and you'll keep coming back even if they decide later to sell crap.

Broadly true. Not always though. Brands also often "add value" via intensive advertising and fancy-packaging, or paying celebs for endorsements, the cost of all of which gets added to the price but doesn't necessarily make the product any better.

With medication/drugs it's a whole other topic again, because it's about the need to pay for development costs and generics are usually just as good (as the sector is so regulated they kind-of have to be) but you then get into the whole debate about intellectual property and how long exclusive rights should last, etc.

 

[digiram]

Most times, if I buy something that has a good brand name, I’ll take care of it better as it costs more. Like my ray ban sunglasses or Jordan’s. I still wear the same ray bans for almost a decade. I know people that will buy those 10 dollar sunglasses, trash em and buy new ones. Say you buy 10 per year. In 2 years, you’ll have paid for a pair of ray bans. I have 5 Lacoste polos that I rotate. I hand wash em. Bought em when the colors I want go on sale. Just my 2 cent.