by Katie Scarlett (Site Bouncer Wanna Be) O.
Member since:
July 20, 2007

Is This Really A Great Value?

November 03, 2009 11:35 AM EST
views: 160 | comments: 36

I'm a big comparison shopper, especially in these days of prices going up and quantity and quality going down. 

I'm not against purchasing store brand or 'no-name' brand items on certain products. For example, it doesn't really matter to me if my canned corn or beans are store brand, no-frills brand or the pricier name brands.  But some items, I do have brand favorites. My latest dilema came in the form of breakfast sausage patties.

For breakfast sausage, I think I have tried just about every variety there is out there. Jimmy Deans is by far our favorite, but it is sometimes out of my budget.  Armour and Banquet do make a decent breakfast sausage product. When I was shopping in Walmart last week, I wanted to pick up some sausage patties and fix homemade sausage patties and eggs for the family one day.

While looking at my choices, I was a tad upset by the fact that Walmart had more of their own "Great Value" brand than any others.  I did not see any other brand of pattie type sausage that I was willing to buy, and hesitated a bit before deciding that I'd take the chance and purchase one bag and see how good it was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Comments: 36

☃ Aunt Shanny Nov 3, 2009, 11:39am EST
We have a store called Meijer here that makes fantastic store brand products that are as good as the name brands.
I will usually go store brand when I shop at Publix as they have excellent products, but I do hesitate with other stores.
☃ Aunt Shanny Nov 3, 2009, 11:43am EST
I remember making the mistake of buying generic stuff many years ago. What a mistake that was!
Kat W. Nov 3, 2009, 11:52am EST
Generic stuff has come a long way in the last couple of years.
You're right Kat, but it's still scarey the first time you try something new.
Marilyn M. Nov 3, 2009, 11:46am EST
I wouldn't buy it....because I don't shop at Walmart. :)
Many of us do because money is so tight.
Kat W. Nov 3, 2009, 11:53am EST
Katie, do you know if the meat was a U.S. product or China?
Kat W. Nov 3, 2009, 11:53am EST
BTW, do you have an Aldi near you?
I don't know how to answer that Kat. Do you know for sure where the meats in the supermarkets come from, other than they are US inspected?
But no, we have no Aldi.
Kat W. Nov 3, 2009, 12:04pm EST
I do know that it is federal law for the packages to tell if the meat is a product of China, Italy, the U.S. etc. I personally try to avoid buying anything from China, especially food.
Oh well then it must be USA as it does not say that on the package, but does list the distribution source as US.
I will not knowingly purchase foodstuffs from other countries, either. Possibly with the exception of Canada.
Nora Davenport Nov 3, 2009, 11:54am EST
We don't shop at Wal-mart generally.....our 22 yr. old son refuses to eat/or buy, anything at all from Wal-mart Supercenter...........I have a very finicky family......the guys do not like the generic, or store brand, ofanything.........all my groceries are "brand name" stuff, so, consequently, we have high grocery bills....LOL!!!!!
Nora Davenport Nov 3, 2009, 11:55am EST
We do shop at Super Target a lot, though, as they have many products that aren't available at the regularstores!
Michelle S. Nov 3, 2009, 3:59pm EST
i have family who used to be the same way with name brand vs. store brand. i bought store brand peanut butter & put it in a jif jar. not one complaint. i did the same with rice crispies & cheerios; not a single comment from anyone. i've purchased store brand canned vegies & thrown out the label before anyone sees it.
a few weeks later, i let them know what i had done. we buy store brands the majority of the time & everyone is happy!!
Dan R. Nov 3, 2009, 11:59am EST
The thing I really do not like aboujt Wal-mart, is most of their stuff comes from China, and with the issues we have had, that should have been reduced.
Out side of that, many of the generic products are just as good as the name brands today.
d d. Nov 3, 2009, 12:23pm EST
well... what did you think of the sausage patties? there are some things that I have to stick with name brands...
If you click the word 'here' at the end of the article, you will be able to view the entire thing, with photos and conclusion. I will be posting all my reviews and recipes this way from now on.
Christina K. Nov 3, 2009, 12:27pm EST
The ONLY meat my 2 year old daughter will eat is sausage...so we usually buy the local grocery store brand for her since it gets rather expensive otherwise. I don't care for sausage anyway but she seems to like it. :) The one thing I can't do store brand on is mac n cheese!
I have a teenaged son who can wolf down a package of sausage before you can tell him to stop.
Christina K. Nov 3, 2009, 12:41pm EST
I am sincerely hoping this is just a phase with her....my 1 year old will eat anything you put in front of her and my 2 year old barely eats anything...sigh....
Cyndi B. Nov 6, 2009, 3:23pm EST
Robbie also loves breakfast sausage. I find this very strange since he hates ketchup and other sauces because they are 'too spicy'. I guess sausage doesn't taste spicy to him. Since we don't eat pork we tend to purchase turkey sausage - so we get an even smaller package usually.
j - Frugal Mom - r. Nov 3, 2009, 12:57pm EST
I personally prefer a lot of the Publix brand products.
I will say that I'd prefer to pick up the Publix fried chicken than make my own anyday! And we recently had their deli fresh salsa.....oh my but that is good!
Ang, wandering aimlessly, G. Nov 3, 2009, 3:36pm EST
We buy the Great Value steamable veggies and they're pretty good, compared to some of the other brands I have tried.
We don't do sausage so I won't have to worry about trying to find a "good brand" in that area.
Thanks Ang, I'll keep that in mind next time I need them. It's good to know that you can get a good deal with a no-name store brand.
Larry H. Nov 3, 2009, 4:49pm EST
Thanks for sharing
phil w. Nov 3, 2009, 7:36pm EST
I'm going to 'hit' here ,right now !
phil w. Nov 3, 2009, 7:39pm EST
A good review , glad it proved a bargain .
Thanks Phil. I was a bit surprised.
Heather E. Nov 3, 2009, 10:30pm EST
Good review. I have used these sausages for years and have been surprised by how small and overly packaged (environmentally unfriendly) the little bitty heat and serve name brand sausages have been.
Risa G. Nov 4, 2009, 10:05pm EST
I mainly buy the store brand canned corn but I buy Del Monte tomatoes and also some italian brands, I just like the flavor better. I buy name brand ice cream, name brand pastas, name brand sauces, and name brand dried potatoes. BUT we love Kirkland brand (Costco) macaroni & cheese better than Kraft as they give you more noodles for the price and the noodles are actually a bit bigger and it is only 50 cents a box instead of 65.

I mainly buy name brands BUT sometimes the store brand is just as good - Shoprite cream cheese is just as good as Philadelphia Brand (Kraft) and their sour cream is just as good as Friendship or Breakstone.
Canned items really don't make too much difference to me. I have no problem with even going to Sav A Lot and buying my beans and veggies in larger quantities. They usually find their way (most of the time) into soups and stews, so it really doesn't matter. Tomatoes, I would prefer the name brands, but again, I'll go with the cheaper for cooking and fix it with my own spices.
When it comes to meats and things like this, I am usually very skeptical and hesitate. I'm learning to be a bit more daring now.
Cyndi B. Nov 6, 2009, 3:24pm EST
Thanks for the great review - next time I shop at WalMart I will have to look for the beef variety :)
Denise B. Nov 7, 2009, 1:32pm EST
thanks -will check out your article

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