Store brands that trump name brands

Do store brands deliver lower quality for a lower price? Not according to the November 2011 issue of Consumer Reports.

Laundry detergent is one item where people reach for the brand name by rote. But Target’s up & up HE (high efficiency) laundry detergent won the coveted Best Buy rating from the magazine, and it was the only detergent to do so.

Target’s store brand costs 11 cents a load. Tide detergent, meanwhile, is 23 cents a load, though it only scored a little higher than up & up. So you’ll pay more than double the price for roughly equivalent cleaning power.

When it comes to flat-screens, the No. 1 pick in the 55″ category is Vizio. Vizio is practically the king of the off brands when it comes to flat-screens. They got a fantastic score and are available at all the discount outlets for a relatively affordable price.

So these are just two examples of areas where you can save big if you look off-brand, rather than name brand.