Designer versus Home Brand....

A while ago Debt Free Direct challenged me to try some Supermarket own brand home applicances and compare them to the higher priced equivalent. The question they wanted to know was Are supermarket brands worth making the switch for? You can read their views on the matter at their site Debt Free Direct. As to me well…..I decided to go for the Sainsburys Vacuum cleaner and Tescos Fat Fryer….

First up Sainsburys 1600w with pet brush retailing at £39.99 I was a bit dubious about this at first and had to be convinced to try it in replace of my beloved Miele. The equivalent named brand to this was the Dyson Animal cylinder at £369.99. A tad bit of a difference on the price but otherwise fairly similar. Well the Dyson I have issues with. It didn’t pick up dogs hair! And for an animal based vacuum that’s rather essential. I also found I couldn’t get close to the wall edges or under the edge of the sofa. So would the own brand product compare? Well it certainly does. It sucked up the dogs hair and either finer lighter threads which the dyson and miele struggle with it. It was easy to empty and clean and comes with the right accessories too. The downsides were that you could immediately tell it was cheaper made. The plastic components are slightly more brittle (though they haven’t broken) and they feel cheaper and there is nowhere to store them on the actual vacuum. Also the vacuum is nosier than I would like and much more than the other two. Those were the down sides and so far the only ones I could find. The lead length was a decent amount, about the same as my Miele. I have to say despite the fact I adore my Miele I tend to grab the Sainsburys vac first. In fact yesterday my mum went out and brought her own!

As to the fat fryer. It is pretty much identical to the Morphy Richards. I think the only difference was that you needed to use more oil but then if you strained the oil after use you can reuse it! I love it and half the price there seems no reason at all for buying the “designer brand”

In fact overall the whole experiment has completely made me rethink the way I buy products. The home brands were just as good and in fact their performance were better than the named brands. Now I wonder why on earth you would pay almost £330 more for a name?!